James Eric Bankston v. Jennifer S. Mattingly, No. 2021-CA-1490-MR Marion Circuit Court Mom and Dad, joint custodians of one child, disagreed on who should be permitted to claim Child for tax purposes. Dad – who had a significantly higher income than Mom – motioned the Circuit Court to claim Child each year pursuant to 26...Read More

In re: Michelle Dougherty-Kelsay v. Michael Stephen Kelsay U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Family Court ordered Mother to pay monthly child support and 32% of childcare expenses to Father. Shortly thereafter, Father filed for contempt due to Mother’s refusal to pay certain child related expenses. Child then incurred certain medical related expenses,...Read More

In addition to a child custody agreement, the primary parent or custodian of the child involved can also receive child support. Child support cases can become heated if both parties involved do not agree on support terms. However, the law provides that children have the right to receive financial support from both parents no matter...Read More

Normandin v. Normandin Questions Presented: Marital Dissolution. Restricted Stock Units. Trial court improperly classified restricted stock units (RSUs) as entirely nonmarital property. To appropriately classify such assets the trial court applies a presumption that the RSUs are earned over the period between grant and vesting, and the proportion of RSUs acquired for purposes of marital...Read More

In Kentucky, child support is calculated using the statutory guidelines provided in KRS 403.212. These guidelines consider the monthly gross income of both parents, the number of children in common between the parents, and the costs of any childcare and healthcare expenses for the children. Although you and your co-worker have the same income, your...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

In Kentucky, child support is calculated using the statutory guidelines provided in KRS 403.212. These guidelines take into account the monthly gross income of both parents and the number of children requiring support. The base child support obligation is divided between each parent in proportion to their respective incomes. Unfortunately, the child support guidelines were...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

Ridgeway v. Warren http://opinions.kycourts.net/coa/2019-CA-001207.pdf Mother moved Family Court to enter an order allowing her to enroll Child at a private school due to Child experiencing academic difficulties in her parochial school, to apply for financial aid, and asking that Father be required to assist in the financial aid application process. Father objected, citing concerns, such...Read More

The novel coronavirus has introduced some novel issues for family courts to address in 2020. Do parents have to exchange the children during this health emergency? With child care facilities largely closed, if one parent ends up caring for the child for more of the time during the day thereby incurring additional expenses feeding the...Read More