Leslie Geralds v. Janie Geralds No. 2021-CA-0667-MR Jefferson Circuit Court Leslie and Janice Geralds negotiated a property settlement agreement through a collaborative divorce process.  The property settlement agreement awarded Mrs. Geralds 40.62% of Mr. Geralds’ retirement plan.  Several years following the entry of the decree and property settlement agreement, Mr. Geralds retired and signed a...Read More

Lewis v. Fulkerson Oldham Circuit Court Wade B. Lewis and Laura R. Fulkerson, after a tumultuous relationship, filed a petition for dissolution of marriage on April 3, 2013. During the process, a key dispute was the gift status of a trust established in 2009, titled the Laura Renee Fulkerson (“LRF”) Trust. While Wade stated the...Read More

There may be people reading this blog who perhaps don’t even have kids. They might think, “I don’t have kids, so this isn’t an issue.” It actually is an issue for people who just have assets. To give an example, I worked with a couple who was living in Kentucky, and one of the parties...Read More

It is not uncommon for married couples to hold title to assets in the name of only one spouse. Most often, couples will hold a joint savings or checking account and also have separate banking, investment, and retirement accounts. In Kentucky, all assets acquired during the marriage are presumed to be marital property and subject...Read More

Unlike property that was earned during the marriage, there is no presumption that debt incurred during the marriage is marital debt. Neidlinger v. Neidlinger, 52 S.W.3d 513, 523 (Ky. 2001). See also KRS 403.190. There is also no presumption that debts must be divided equally or in the same proportions as marital property but rather...Read More

In Kentucky, debts accumulated during the marriage are treated differently than assets acquired during the marriage. Unlike assets, there is no statutory presumption that debts accumulated during the marriage are marital. To determine if a debt is marital or non-marital, courts look to the following factors: (1) who received the benefits for which the debt...Read More

A deposition is a discovery tool by which your attorney can obtain sworn testimony from a witness outside of the courtroom and the presence of the Judge.Read More

Ehret v. Ehret The parties entered into a marital settlement agreement, which was incorporated into a Decree of Dissolution of Marriage entered on June 27, 2012. The parties amended the agreement and a supplemental decree was entered on March 6, 2013. In 2017, the parties revisited the issue of Husband’s retirement accounts. A QDRO was...Read More

When discussing arbitration with your legal counsel, you will want to talk through the potential advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of divorce law arbitration include: The ability of participants to decide who will be their judge. Parties can select an arbitrator with particular expertise, such as business valuation, retirement plans, tax, nonmarital tracing issues, mental health,...Read More

Alternative Dispute Resolutions (“ADR”) include divorce mediation, arbitration, and collaborative family law. Kentucky Courts regularly order family law cases to mediation, but arbitration is used much less frequently. What is arbitration? The American Bar Association describes arbitration as “a private process where disputing parties agree that one or several individuals can make a decision about...Read More