LexMonitor

G A Napier

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified a timing issue related to filing a Chapter 13 following the filing of a Chapter 7 (some used to refer to this as a Chapter 20 super discharge). The bankruptcy code requires four years to pass between filing a Chapter 7 and then filing a Chapter 13,...

G A Napier

Knowing the exemption and interplay of bankruptcy and family law can allow for wise planning on the timing of the filing or bankruptcy, how marital assets are divided, and where monies might come from to satisfy domestic obligations.As I have suggested, I believe there is a significant intersection...

G A Napier

A significant link between bankruptcy law and family law in that Chapter 7 or 13 debt relief could provide the breathing room for a marriage to grow strong rather than deteriorate.Common thought has long been that severe financial stress leads to divorce. Such ideas, when repeated often enough,...

Child Support Intricacy: Tax credits

The Court of Appeals addresses the treatment of a couple of different tax credits in determining income for child support calculations in the to be published decision Brausch v. Brausch, 2007-CA-002198-ME (Sept. 12, 2008). The appellant, James Brausch, argued that the Earned Income Credit and the...

Hanging out at the intersection of divorce and business

The Supreme Court of Kentucky recently issues it decision in Medical Vision Group, PSC v Philpot, 2008-SC-000017-MR (Aug. 21, 2008)(to be published) which technically creates no case law, but is instructional regardless. The appeal was dismissed because at the time it came before the Supreme...

De Facto Custodian and Guardianship

The Court of Appeals of Kentucky recently rendered its opinion in McCary v. Mitchell, 2007-CA-000322-DG (Aug. 1, 2008)(to be published) which clarifies a point of law regarding the status of de facto custodian. A de facto custodian is a person who has provided the primary car of a child and the...

NEEDTOBREATHE at Questapalooza!

Grandparents’ rights: custody and visitation

I have come across situations recently where parents were surprised by legal stances the grandparents (their own parents) took regarding their children. In one situation, a young parent went to college to make a better life and was not at a point where he/she embraced the obligations of...

Voluntary versus Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights

There is an interesting post at Elusive Justice about a practice by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services involving parents who think they are voluntarily terminating their parental rights, but then have an involuntary termination entered against them. This may seem like an immaterial...

Time-sharing guidelines

2007finalizedtimesharingguidelines I was recently asked by a reader about what kind of time-sharing he can expect with his daughter. He and the mother never married and he believes the mother is exerting excess control over his contact. I am uploading the Fayette County time-share guidelines as...