Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Kentucky is a no-fault state, and either spouse can get a divorce based on irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. This means you're claiming there's no realistic chance to continue the marriage. Either you or your spouse must be a state resident for 180 days before filing. The court won't grant your divorce until you've lived apart for 60 days.
Your case starts by filing a complaint for dissolution of marriage with the Circuit Court within a county where either of you live. Once you file, either spouse can ask the court for temporary assistance, such as custody and support.
Kentucky law allows for a simplified divorce procedure if a couple agrees on these major issues: property and debt division, child custody, child support and visitation matters. Your written agreement becomes part of your divorce decree.
Dividing the Property
Kentucky is an "equitable distribution" state. The court makes an equitable or fair division of marital property, and this isn't necessarily a equal division. Marital property is the property acquired during your marriage. Separate property is property you had before marriage, or received during marriage as gifts or inheritance.
Courts don't decide property division issues based on marital misconduct, looking instead at these factors: including
- Each spouse's contribution to marital property, including work as a homemaker
- Separate property value
- Marriage duration
- Expected economic circumstances of each spouse upon dividing property, such as awarding family home to the spouse who has custody of the children
Be prepared with information on your property, including when you purchased it, an estimate of value, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. You'll be ready to meet with a Kentucky divorce lawyer, and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court can order alimony, also called maintenance, to either spouse if it finds support is needed. The court may find support is needed because the spouse doesn't have enough property to provide support, working won't provide adequate support or has custody of child and working outside the home isn't appropriate.
The court considers the following factors when setting the amount and duration of maintenance:
- Financial resources of the spouse seeking support
- Time needed to gain education or training for an appropriate job
- Standard of living during marriage
- Marriage duration
- Age, physical condition and emotional condition of spouse seeking maintenance
- Ability of paying spouse to meet his or her own needs and pay alimony
An order for temporary maintenance provides support while a case is pending. Once ordered, for modification, you must show a change of circumstances.
Child Custody and Visitation
In Kentucky, the court may award sole or joint child custody to either spouse based on a child's best interests. The court looks at these factors:
- The child's preference
- Wishes of the parents
- Child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community
- Mental and physical health of the individuals involved
- Child's relationships with family members
- Information, records and evidence of domestic abuse
The court doesn't look at a parent's conduct if it doesn't impact the parent-child relationship. Abandonment of the family home isn't a factor when a parent's actions were due to threats of or actual physical harm by the other parent.
Non-custodial parents are entitled to visitation, unless the court finds visits would endanger your child. If you seek a modification to your visitation arrangement, the court decides the issue based on the best interest of the child.
Child Support
In Kentucky, child support may be based upon a pretrial agreement between the parents. The court will probably award the support in the agreement if it determines that the agreement is reasonable. If the parents have not reached an agreement, the court orders support based on the Kentucky's child support guidelines.
The child support amount based on the guidelines is presumed correct. A court can order a different amount, but must make a finding stating its reasons. Examples include extraordinary medical expenses of a child or parent, or when the parents' combined income exceeds amounts listed in the guidelines.
You need to show a material or substantial change in circumstances to modify a child support order. A change is presumed to be material if the new guidelines amount differs by at least 15 percent. Examples of other changes that could affect child support include a change in a parent's income or employee benefits or a change in the child's needs, such as education or health expenses.
Questions for Your Attorney