What are some of the most common misunderstandings in a Kentucky divorce case? Divorce rates in Kentucky have steadily dropped since 2008/2009, and fewer divorces provide more opportunities for mistaken presumptions that many people hold about some of the most important issues in a local divorce.
My name is John Schmidt, and after more than 25 years of experience as a divorce and family law attorney serving Jefferson, Bullitt, Hardin, Spencer, Shelby, and Oldham counties here in Kentucky, I can help you to understand every issue of your own family law case, while dispelling false perceptions about others.
For example, it used to be quite common for people to assume that a mother has priority when it comes to child custody and visitation. Kentucky family law has established a legal (and rebuttable) presumption that it is in the best interests of each child to spend equal quality time with each parent during and after a divorce. Therefore, the starting point for any discussion regarding the division of child custody and visitation is joint or shared custody, with a relatively 50%/50% split of each child’s time between each parent’s home. Several key issues must be considered, including the location of each parent’s house after the divorce, the child’s educational and health needs, as well as the existing patterns and daily routines within the family. However, in most cases, each parent stands on equal footing before the Court at the outset of the case.
Another of the common misunderstandings in a Kentucky divorce case involves the division of marital property. Kentucky is an “equitable distribution” state when it comes to dividing marital property in a divorce within the Commonwealth. It helps to consider the word equitable to mean “fair” instead of “equal.” The Judge is looking for a solution that is reasonable, fair, and just based upon the facts of the case, the duration of the marriage, the lifestyle the parties enjoyed while married, and even the age and health of the parties at the time of the divorce.
There has been a substantial change in the way that maintenance, often referred to commonly as “spousal support,” is calculated, as well as when and how it is awarded. The need for maintenance is quite different from, say, calculating child support. Child support is determined by a specific formula, where one simply plugs in the numbers, and our Family Court’s child support calculator provides a specific answer. The parties may then be able to negotiate further. Still, the conversation for child support begins with the prescribed calculation(s).
There is no such calculator for maintenance. Spousal support is based upon the needs of the recipient and the abilities of the payor, as well as multiple factors including, but not limited to, the length of the marriage, the earning capacity of each party, the lifestyle of the parties during the marriage, health, career skills, and whether or not one of the parties supported the other while the other achieved a degree, or gave up a career to manage the home and raise children. The Court must balance all of these factors when determining “temporary” spousal support orders (during the divorce), or “permanent maintenance orders” (issued toward the completion of the divorce process, covering a specified amount of time after the completion of the divorce). Maintenance is much less often “until death or remarriage of the recipient.” Our Courts are more interested in the ability of each party to become self-supporting.
These common misunderstandings in a Kentucky divorce case are but a few of the reasons you need an experienced, proven divorce and family law attorney. Are you thinking about or planning a divorce? We invite you to contact us via e-mail, schedule an appointment or call us today at (502) 509-1490 to get answers to your questions and to learn more about your unique circumstances and how to protect what is most important to you in your family law case.
