Gonzalez v. Dooley Warren Circuit Court Before Wife petitioned for divorce, Husband and Child relocated to Kansas City, Kansas, where Husband’s parents lived. Wife contended that Husband did not consult her about the relocation but rather that Husband had sent her a text message that he was going to look for employment and would return...Read More

S.B. v. Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Com. Jefferson Family Court After cannabinoids and opiates were detected in Child’s system after birth, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (“the Cabinet”) filed a dependency, neglect, and abuse petition, resulting in Family Court ordering a treatment plan for her parents. Mother soon after died, and...Read More

McCain v. McCarty Daviess Family Court Parties were granted joint custody of their three minor children, and Father was required to pay $158.17 per week in child support and to maintain the children on his health insurance plan. Several years later, Mother moved to hold Father in contempt for failure to pay child support. At...Read More

Carver v. Carver Boyd Circuit Court After a hearing on Father’s motion to modify custody from joint custody to sole custody, the Domestic Relations Commissioner (“DRC”) recommended that the parents continue to have joint custody; that Father be designated as the primary residential parent; and that Father make all decisions concerning Child’s medical and educational...Read More

The Court of Appeals held that the maintenance obligation ceasing once Wife “is of the age to receive Social Security” is arbitrary, because there was no evidence submitted regarding when that would occur or how much Wife would be eligible to receive.Read More

KRS 405.021(1)(b) and (c) of Kentucky’s grandparent visitation statute is violative of due process on its face because it permits a grandparent to prove a significant and viable relationship by a preponderance of the evidence rather than the clear and convincing standard required under Walker v. Blair. The statute also fails to accord the parent’s...Read More

Parish v. Petter  Fayette Circuit Court After a banquet for a business fraternity to which Nathaniel Parish (“Parish”) and Kaitlynn Patrice Petter (“Petter”) belonged, Parish and Petter attended an after-party at an apartment complex. Petter then invited some people from the after-party to her home. At Petter’s home, she went into a room to retrieve...Read More

Lawson v. Woeste and Villarreal Questions Presented: Family Law. Writ of Prohibition. Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. A circuit court’s decision that it continues to have jurisdiction over a child custody matter under the UCCJEA is an exercise of a court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. A circuit court’s determination that it has “exclusive, continuing jurisdiction” over...Read More

Satterfield v. Satterfield http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-000011.pdf The parties were divorced in 1998, with the decree of dissolution of marriage requiring Husband to execute a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (“QDRO”) within 30 days of the date of entry of the decree. Husband did not execute the QDRO, of which Wife did not become aware until 20 years later,...Read More

Clark v. Workman http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-000805.pdf Father appealed Family Court’s child support order requiring him to pay child support to Mother. The Kentucky Court of Appeals first admonished the bar for noncompliance with the Rules of Appellate Procedure, describing the pervasiveness of the problem, which is continuously on the rise. Because Father’s brief violated at least 11...Read More