Source: http://www.kenturnerlaw.com/divorce/2015/01/
Timestamp: 2017-11-23 16:47:12
Document Index: 16419519

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 17', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 1', '§ 2', '§ 1', '§ 51', '§ 42', '§ 401', '§ 403']

January, 2015 | Divorce and Family Law Blog
KRS 403.270 Kentucky’s Best Interests of the Child Statute
403.270. Custodial issues — Best interests of child shall determine — Joint custody permitted — De facto custodian.
(a) As used in this chapter and KRS 405.020, unless the context requires otherwise, “de facto custodian” means a person who has been shown by clear and convincing evidence to have been the primary caregiver for, and financial supporter of, a childwho has resided with the person for a period of six (6) months or more if the child is under three (3) years of age and for a period of one (1) year or more if the child is three (3) years of age or older or has been placed by the Department for Community Based Services. Any period of time after a legal proceeding has been commenced by a parent seeking to regain custody of the child shall not be included in determining whether the child has resided with the person for the required minimum period.
(2) The court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interests of the childand equal consideration shall be given to each parent and to any de facto custodian. The court shall consider all relevant factors including:
(Enact. Acts 1972, ch. 182, § 17; 1978, ch. 86, § 1, effective June 17, 1978; 1978, ch. 369, § 1, effective June 17, 1978; 1980, ch. 158, § 1, effective July 15, 1980; 1992, ch. 169, § 2, effective July 14, 1992; 1998, ch. 250, § 1, effective July 15, 1998; 2000, ch. 14, § 51, effective July 14, 2000; 2004, ch. 133, § 42, effective July 13, 2004.)
This entry was posted in Child Custody and tagged best interest of the child, de facto custodian, joint custody on January 25, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
This Guy Has Been Writing About His Wife Cheating On Him On Reddit
First, let me point out the obvious: In no fault divorce states like Kentucky and Florida, infidelity has no bearing on whether you may get a divorce or not. I’m not sure what more evidence the man needs. Courts do not punish people for cheating on their spouse. Maybe if someone is wasting marital assets on an extramarital affair, then it may become an issue. Otherwise, save yourself the time, money, and grief. If you want a divorce, you can get one without putting yourself through all this headache.
Secondly, in Kentucky and Florida, a judge can order that the spouse that has the greater resources to pay the attorney fees for less advantaged spouse. Bragging on reddit that you can afford a better attorney than your wife means that you have handed a judge all the information they need to order you to pay for her attorney too. Also, there are just as many quality affordable attorneys as there are expensive quality attorneys. Don’t waste your assets thinking you have an advantage by paying more for your attorney.
Thirdly, don’t do what this guy is doing. Keep your notes private. None of this really matters in the long run anyway and it will ultimately make you look like a jerk to the court.
The Reddit link can be found here.
This entry was posted in Divorce, Family Law and tagged cheating, infidelity, no fault divorce on January 21, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
Rights of Fathers to Have Their Children Bear Their Last Name
Pursuant to Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 401.020, a child’s parent has the right to have the name of a child under the age of 18 changed by the district court. However, pursuant to Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 403.110(1) and (3), there are safeguards to mitigate potential harm to spouses and their children:
The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that having the child bear the father’s last name is important to preserving family relations and the public policy favoring preservation of family relationships outweighs the statutory right to apply for one parent to unilaterally apply for a name change. Any name change of a child will not only be reviewed under the “best interests of the child” standard; but requires the parent requesting the name change to prove through ‘clear and convincing’ proof that the name change will promote the best interests of a child or children. The high burden of proof is necessary in order to balance a natural father’s protectable right to have his children bear his name, against what is best for the child or children.
Even in cases where the child has expressed a desire to have both her father’s surname and her mother’s new surname; the court has stood firm. The fact that a proposed name would include the father’s surname does not exempt it from the grounds established by the supreme court. The father had the right to have the child bear his name to the exclusion of all others.
This entry was posted in Child Support, Divorce, Family Law, name changes and tagged best interest of child on January 21, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
Guardian Ad Litems Are Being Overused and Misused
There is a rush in many parenting/custody cases to request that a guardian ad litem (GAL) be appointed for children. However, Kentucky law does not specifically define the role of a GAL in custody proceedings. Requesting a GAL to be appointed is often times the lazy way around a high conflict proceeding. The goal of all parties involved should be to keep the children as far away from the litigation and the conflict as possible. Having a GAL as part of a custody case, puts the children front and center of the conflict.
GALs are attorneys. Attorneys are not psychologists, therapists, or family counselors. There is nothing that a guardian ad litem can deliver to the court that competent family law attorneys and the parties can’t deliver on their own. And what is “counsel for the child”? There is no explanation in the law. The meaning is left up to the reader. The plain meaning of term is legal representation for the child. Which poses the question, if a GAL is an attorney for the child then the GAL cannot be a witness to the court. Right?
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. What we have here in Kentucky is some very vaguely written statutes across the board in family law. Perhaps rewriting and updating the “best interest of the child” statute would be a better place to start. Judges are afforded the power and authority to consider evidence and make the determination of the best interests of the child. There is always an opportunity for a well qualified expert to be appointed to provide testimony to the Court. But Judges should not be divesting their power and authority to other attorneys.
This entry was posted in Child Custody and tagged guardian ad litem on January 20, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
Co-owners Of Real Property In Kentucky Have Rights To Force Sale
There are many different situations where two or more individuals may be co-owners of real property. One of the most common examples of co-ownership of property is by a husband and a wife. When a married couple decides to divorce and their marital home or other real property is titled in both of their names, then something has to be done about the property if the two cannot agree. A request for a partition should become part of your divorce petition.
If you are a co-owner of property in Kentucky, you have an absolute right to file for partition of the property if you no longer wish to own or utilize the home or the land. In Kentucky, there are two means of effectuating a partition: one can either have a voluntary partition, where the co-owners agree to divide the land between them, or a judicial partition, where the co-owners commence partition litigation and the land is split by a court order.
Regardless of whether the partition is voluntary or judicially-enforced, the parties have two main ways of dividing the land. It can be a partition in kind, where the parties each have their own section of the land carved out, which will then belong to only them. This is generally only used in cases where the land can easily be split, such as vacant land. The other alternative is a partition by sale, where the home or building is sold at auction and any proceeds from the sale are divided between the co-owners.
In Kentucky, there are two types of co-ownerships available to property owners. They can either take property as tenants in common or as joint tenants. Tenants in common own property in whatever share they contributed to the original purchase in, or whatever share they agreed to contractually. Joint tenants, however, must own property in equal shares, regardless of the contributions to the acquisition of the property. In partition, the land must be divided according to the shares delineated in the tenancy.
Kentucky is a lien theory state, which means that when you file a partition lawsuit and Kentucky is the jurisdiction, all liens held by mortgage companies or lenders must be satisfied before the land can be divided or sold.
This entry was posted in Divorce, Partition and tagged real property, rights, sale on January 18, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
How To Write the Perfect Dear John Letter
Have you ever wondered how to write the perfect Dear John letter? Jackie Kennedy did long before she became Mrs. Kennedy.
On January 20, 1947 the young Ms. Bouvier wrote to her Harvard boyfriend:
The letter is part of a lot held by Christies
This entry was posted in Divorce and tagged breakup, dear john letter, relationship on January 16, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.
Legal separation is a means of establishing some legal rights in a marriage short of divorce. A legal separation means that the two people have agreed to how to divide up property and marital obligations but will remained legally married. During a legal separation action, the parties enter into a Separation Agreement which is then filed with the court. The agreement then governs the husband and wife in how they deal with marital property and assets going forward. Both parties must be in full agreement on every issue in order to be granted a legal separation. It is the equivalent to entering into a contract. Such an agreement may define what actions must be taken to restore the marriage, list which events will cause either party to move for divorce, or deal with child or monetary issues while the parties live apart, etc.
If a Decree of Legal Separation is entered:
A a divorce decree then cannot be entered until 1 year has passed from the date of the legal separation. The divorce is not automatic after 1 year but the court cannot enter a divorce decree until the 1 year has passed. Property later acquired by either spouse is his or hers to keep if the spouses ultimately divorce. Such property is not considered “marital property” which a court must divide “in just proportions.” KRS 403.190.
Provisions in each spouse’s will which award property to the other spouse are not affected. In contrast, when divorce is granted, all dispositions of property made to the former spouse are automatically revoked. KRS 394.092.
The parties are not free to marry someone else. Parties may marry again only if they have been granted a divorce. KRS 403.010.
The parties are willing to see if a time apart will cure a temporary marital problem or will prove that divorce is necessary.
The parties feel the need to separate but one or both have religious, moral, or social misgiving about obtaining a divorce.
The parties want to separate in some fashion but would like to retain certain benefits such as health insurance, Social Security, or the ability to file joint tax returns. Some may choose legal separation as opposed to marriage due to religious beliefs.
If you have question regarding anything mentioned on this site, please contact a family law attorney in your area. If you would like to schedule a free consultation with a northern Kentucky family law attorney please call (859)400-3733, (859)400-FREE or visit the main page at kenturnerlaw.com.
This entry was posted in Legal Separation and tagged attorney, family law, marital property, separation agreement on January 8, 2015 by Attorney Ken Turner.