John Schrader Law
  • Home
  • About
  • Mediator
    • Schedule a Mediation
  • Blog

Judge Schrader's Top 25 FAQs About Kentucky Child Support

4/28/2015

 
After having served for 8 years as a Family Court Judge in Fayette County, I returned to private law practice. As a Judge, I was responsible for thousands of child support matters every year, and I learned that even though a lot of money was on the line, most people who came to court had very little knowledge or understanding about Kentucky child support law.  Especially when there is more than one child, the child support in question was often more than the monthly rent or mortgage!


             Because of this shocking lack of understanding, and because I am not aware of any similar program, I am pleased to be able to present this free series of lessons that will familiarize the lay person with the essentials of Kentucky child support.  You have already seen my list of the 25 most common questions about child support.  I will present through this blog my answers to those questions, two or three at a time, over the next several weeks.  

             Before we begin, let me state the obvious.  I will offer my knowledge and my insight as a former Family Court Judge concerning Kentucky Child Support Law in this series, and I am not creating an attorney-client relationship by this offering.  Feel free to use this information as you will, but understand that I am not presenting any opinions as the attorney for the reader. I am not giving legal advice to anyone here, but am simply explaining in general terms the law regarding Kentucky Child Support.  

             Kentucky Child Support is governed by statutes enacted by the Kentucky Legislature, by rulings made by appellate courts which interpret those statutes and by rules enacted by local courts and the Supreme Court of Kentucky.  These laws change from time to time as new statutes are enacted, new appellate court rulings are rendered and new rules are promulgated.  The information I will present in this series applies to the law in general as it stands as of April 15, 2015.  I do not necessarily intend to update this series as the law evolves, so the reader should keep that in mind as he or she considers and uses the materials I am now presenting.

             One final word of caution - many of these laws are the subject of great debate and controversy among lawyers and even among judges.  There is often room for interpretation as cases frequently present different versions of contested facts, and each judge looks at evidence from his or her own unique perspective.  When in doubt about a Kentucky child support issue, do not rely on what you read here - consult a lawyer!  SCR 3.130(1.1) of the Kentucky Code of Professional Conduct requires that a lawyer provide "competent representation to a client" which includes "legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation."  The lessons presented here are an overview, and more understanding of the laws, and the procedures required to present an argument in court, may well be required to achieve the desired result in the event of a dispute.
 

            In this series, we will consider a generic married couple, Mother and Father, and their two children, Jr. and Sissy.  The law concerning unmarried parents will be discussed more specifically in the very last Lesson, No. 25, but most of what is presented in the other 24 Lessons will apply to them as well.

             Thanks for working through these Lessons.  I hope they are beneficial to you.


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Judge John Schrader is a Husband, a Father, and a Lexington Attorney providing legal and mediation services in the office of Sherrow, Sutherland & Associates, P.S.C.

    Archives

    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All
    Child Support
    Veterans

    RSS Feed

    CHILD SUPPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS
    1. Who is required to pay child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    2. What do I do to obtain a Kentucky Child Support Order?

    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    3. How is child support calculated under the guidelines?
    Publish Date: April 30, 2015
    4. What is considered “gross income” for child support calculations?
    Publish Date: May 5, 2015
    5. How do I find out what the other parent's income is?
    Publish Date: May 6, 2015
    6. What about income from self-employment or business income?
    Publish Date: May 7, 2015
    7. What if a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    8. What if one parent is paying maintenance?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    9. Is there an adjustment to a parent's "gross income" if he or she is supporting a prior-born
    child?

    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    10. What happens in a split custody arrangement where Sissy lives with Mother and Jr. lives with Father?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    11. When can a judge deviate from the child support “guidelines”?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    12. When the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 per month, how is child support calculated?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    13. How does Kentucky law deal with the big-ticket item of childcare expense?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    14. Do parents have to maintain private health insurance for their child, and if so, who pays
    for it?

    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    15. Who pays for deductibles and co-pays and how do we deal with extraordinary medical expenses not covered by the insurance?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    16. How does a parent actually recover the proportionate share of extraordinary medical expenses from the other parent?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    17. What if I find out the other parent has not been paying for childcare even though I have been paying for my share?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    18. How do I get a modification of child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    19. When does child support terminate?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    20. Is a Wage Assignment Order required for child support in Kentucky?

    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    21. What does the court do about child support when the child spends a considerable amount of time with both parents?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    22. What is involved in collection of child support?
    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    23. How does the law deal with enforcement of the child support order when my ex and I
    live in two different states?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    24. If Kentucky does not have jurisdiction over the other parent of my child, what is the UIFSA process to deal with establishment, enforcement and modification of child support
    orders?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    25. What about parents who were not husband and wife to each other when their child was
    born?

    Publish Date: June 24, 2015
THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

200 SOUTHLAND DRIVE
LEXINGTON KY 40503
(859) 685-0035