Court Opinion

ID: 9729877
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 14:51:16.73776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:26:01.907785
License: Public Domain

STUMBO, Judge,
dissenting.
Respectfully, I dissent. In Realty Improvement Co., Inc. v. Raley, supra, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the KRS 342.750(6) estate payment is compensation as it applies to KRS 342.165(1), as discussed in the majority opinion. KRS 342.0011(14) defines compensation as “all payments made under the provisions of this chapter representing the sum of income benefits and medical and related benefits[.]” KRS 342.180 states that “[n]o claim for compensation under this chapter shall be assignable, except court or administratively-ordered child support pursuant to KRS 403.212. All compensation and claims therefor, except child support obligations, shall be exempt from all claims of creditors.”
If the KRS 342.750(6) estate payment is compensation for the purposes of KRS 342.165(1), as discussed in Raley, it should also be considered compensation as it applies to the KRS 342.180 creditor exemption. As such, the approximately $41,000 at issue in this case should be an asset of the estate, but also exempt from the claims of the Appellees.
Accordingly, I would reverse the order of the Bourbon Circuit Court.