Overview of Family Law in Kentucky

Episode 2:  Welcome to the, “Is It Time for a Lawyer?” podcast, with attorney George S. Lamb.  In today’s episode, George provides an overview of family law in Kentucky courts.  He practices primarily in Jefferson County and the surrounding counties. 

What Is Family Law?

George has handled family law cases for the past 15 years.  He begins by explaining that it’s a wide range of legal issues, beyond simply divorce.  Family law can involve both married people and unmarried people.  While both groups may not deal directly with a divorce proceeding, if children are involved, family law would govern child custody, child support, but not necessarily the property division issues a married couple would need to consider. 

Included in family law, you’ll have divorce cases, child custody cases, issues dealing with paternity, domestic violence cases which might involve an EPO, DVO or an IPO.  It may involve Child Protective Service (CPS) matters.  Family law also involves maintenance that may be paid to the former spouse.  Mediation could apply to both married couples and unmarried couples. 

Child Custody Issues

The divorce sub-section of family law would include child custody.  George explains the common misconception that child custody means “where my kid sleeps.”  In reality, in Kentucky, it actually refers to decision-making.  There are 3 major decisions that will typically have to be made relative to the upbringing of the child or children: 

·      - Education

·      - Healthcare decisions

·      - Religious upbringing

George points out that the above 3 decisions really don’t involve where the child sleeps at night.  The presumption is that as a parent, you’re a joint custodian.  The law presumes you’re both fit to be parents, therefore joint decision-making is the default.  It’s possible for one person to attempt to prove the other person is unfit to be a custodial parent. 

The court also presumes parenting time (“visitation”) will also be 50/50.  This presumption reflects current society. 

Child Support Calculations

Child Support this financial issue is calculated by guidelines in state law.  Various factors, including the incomes of both parents, the cost of health insurance, child care expenses, uncovered medical expenses, the cost of extracurricular activities and issues impact child support.  The law provides a guideline, but the actual amount paid by one parent to the other may deviate from the guideline, if agreed upon in the settlement. 

Division of Property

Family law often involves property division, assuming the couple was married and they accumulated property during the marriage.  This can be furniture, vehicles, real estate and other items.  It includes financial assets and liabilities.  The court will attempt to reach an equitable distribution of the property. 

George explains that it’s not just a matter of splitting things down the middle.  Is there debt associated with a particular item (i.e. a car loan or mortgage)?  This debt needs to be taken into consideration during the division of property. 

Certain property may have been owned by an individual before the marriage, and therefore, may not be considered part of the marital estate.  This could also include an inheritance or a gift given exclusively to one of the individuals.  Sometimes, these items might need to be included in the marital estate.

A skilled, experienced Louisville family law attorney can help you to establish think through property division issues, including the calculations needed to value the specific items to be negotiated.  Kentucky law actually contains statutes pertaining to those calculations and the division of property.

Tax consequences also need to be considered.  Certain items (including the payments for those items) my come with tax deductions, tax liabilities or other issues that should be included in the equitably division of property.

If the couple has young children, the impact of family decisions will continue to affect both parties, long after the divorce, itself. 

Focusing on the Future

Once the divorce decree is entered, at some point in the future, the terms of the divorce settlement can be modified.  This is referred to legally as a post-decree modification.  The circumstances are going to change over the years, as the children grow older, jobs change, incomes change and other factors evolve.

The original divorce decree may need to be altered by one of the parties.  You, or your former spouse can petition the court to change the terms of the decree to adapt to the new circumstances. 

Unmarried people may decide to petition the court for a change in child support.  They would use the same legal process.

Once one party files the petition either for the divorce or a modification, the other party will respond and there will be an exchange of financial information as part of the financial disclosure.  Generally, mediation will be involved.  This gives the two parties the opportunity to reach an agreement, without the need to have the judge rule on the issue(s).  If an agreement cannot be reached, a hearing before the judge will provide the attorneys the forum to present their sides of the issues.  A judge will then make a decision on the issues.  This is how the divorce process unfolds, as well as the post-decree modification process. 

George explains that mediation comes down to your level of acceptable risk.  Are you willing to negotiate an agreement, or do you want to proceed to a court hearing that might end up yielding less than you may have been able to negotiate during mediation?  It requires balancing the risk verses what you actually want.

A mediator will attempt to help the parties reach an agreement on the issues, before the issues are scheduled for a hearing.  This process allows the parties to maintain some control over the outcome.  It can also be more efficient and more cost effective, in terms of legal fees.  Litigation can be expensive.

Will You Keep the Same Judge?

In Jefferson County, Oldham County, Bullitt County, Shelby County, Spencer County, Henry County and others, you will typically have the same judge for the duration of your family law experience.  This will last from the divorce through the years of raising the children and even into their college years.  It’s possible spousal maintenance (“alimony”) will last even beyond those years.  So long as your judge is sitting on the bench, your family law issues will be handled by him/her.

Planning for a Divorce

George explains that people inherently pre-plan, sometimes without realizing they’re doing it.  It comes down to the catalyst that creates the need to involve a family law attorney.  George is often contacted by individuals who are ready to file for divorce or sometimes it’s the other spouse who realizes his/her spouse has already filed.  At least one party knows this decision is coming, at times both spouses realize it’s going to happen.

It can be important to take steps to think through the issues when planning for a divorce, assuming you have time to do so.  George can help.

Helpful Tips if You’re deciding Planning for a Divorce

First, watch the bank accounts.  It’s important you understand what’s going on with the money.  This advice is relevant even if you’re simply living with someone and sharing expenses and/or assets.  You probably don’t need an attorney to do this.  You may not even need to speak with the other person, at least initially.

It’s important to look at both the account balances, as well as the expenses that are being paid from those accounts. 

Second, at some point, you need to retain counsel.  You should have an attorney on your side either to file or to respond, once your spouse has filed for a divorce.

The important point is to get prepared, at least to the extent you are able.  The understanding your financials is a significant component.  You may also need to think about where you are going to live (even temporarily) once you move out of the house, if that’s necessary.

Is It Time to Contact George?

If you answered yes, the best way is to reach out to him on his cell phone at [phone].  You can call and/or text him.  He’ll be happy to speak with you.  You might want to listen to Episode 1 of the podcast to learn more about his background.

We hope you enjoyed today’s episode.  The information provided is not meant to be legal advice.  Listening to this podcast does not establish an attorney-client relationship.  However, if it is time for a lawyer, George is ready to listen.  He’d appreciated it of you’d consider sharing this episode on your social media. 

Going forward, we’ll launch a new episode every other week.  You can connect with George on the firm’s Facebook page, on the website, as well as on Spotify, iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts and other platforms. 

Lamb & Lamb, PSC is located at 4310 Robards Lane, in Louisville.  The office phone number is [phone].