Kentucky Family Law

Guide to Kentucky Family Law

While other areas of Kentucky law focus on lawsuits or criminal defense, KY family law attorneys and judges focus on the best interests of children who are caught in the middle of family changes. Understanding Kentucky family law can help you navigate the family court system and get the resolution you're hoping for. This guide will cover some of the basic areas of KY family law so that you can have a starting point for additional research. If you need more in-depth information about Kentucky family law, you may want to consult a family law attorney or look at other pages on this website.

Kentucky Family Law and Child Custody

Some of the most difficult cases involving KY family law are about child custody. It can be tough for parents to divide their parenting responsibilities, and the family courts in Kentucky will look at a wide variety of factors when determining who should be awarded custody. If you are involved in a custody dispute, you may want to talk to a Kentucky family law attorney who can give you competent legal advice for your particular situation.

If you are seeking custody, KY family law allows you to ask for either legal custody (which allows you to be involved in decision-making about your child) or both physical and legal custody (in which your child also lives with you). If one parent is moving out of the state, Kentucky family law allows child custody arrangements to be revisited.

Usually, KY family law will result in one parent being awarded primary physical custody, while the other parent will have visitation rights. Usually, visitation will be unsupervised, but Kentucky family law allows for supervised visitation if there is reason to believe that unsupervised visits would put a child at risk.

KY Family Law and Child Support

Currently, Kentucky family law determines child support based on an “income shares” model. The basic expenses of supporting a child are calculated based on the two parents' combined income, and the non-custodial parent must pay a share of the support amount that is proportional to his or her income. You may find a table for child support obligations, as well as the full text of this KY family law, at the following website.

Kentucky Family Law and Adoption

Adoptions in Kentucky also require parents to go through the family court system. If you are interested in adopting a child, family courts must approve the adoption in order to finalize it. Before you can have an adoption finalized, you will have to go through state or agency qualifying procedures to qualify as an adoptive home. While most Kentucky residents can adopt a child, the adoption process can take months and requires a home study, including interviews of all household members, an inspection of your house, and a medical examination. Both domestic and international adoptions will need to be finalized by a Kentucky family court before you can consider your adoption complete.