Understanding Your Parental Rights in Kentucky
Being a parent comes with important legal rights and responsibilities. If you are facing a separation, divorce, custody dispute, or another family law matter, understanding those rights can help you make informed decisions about your child’s future.
Kentucky law generally encourages children to maintain meaningful relationships with both parents, but the circumstances of each family matter.
What Are Parental Rights?
Parental rights can include the right to make important decisions about your child’s upbringing, spend time with your child, and participate in decisions involving education, healthcare, and other aspects of the child’s life. These rights may be addressed through legal custody and parenting-time arrangements.
When parents cannot agree about custody, a Kentucky court can make the decision. Under Kentucky Revised Statutes § 403.270, the court determines custody based on the best interests of the child.
Kentucky law also creates a rebuttable presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time are in the child’s best interests, subject to exceptions and other applicable law.
How Does a Court Decide Custody?
The court considers a range of circumstances when determining what arrangement serves the child’s best interests. These can include each parent’s wishes, the child’s relationship with each parent and siblings, the child’s adjustment to home, school, and community, and the mental and physical health of the people involved.
Domestic violence and abuse can also be an important consideration. Kentucky law specifically directs courts to consider whether domestic violence or abuse has occurred and how it has affected the child and the child’s relationship with each parent.
A parent’s willingness to support the child’s continuing relationship with the other parent can also be relevant. However, the law recognizes that maintaining contact with another parent may not be appropriate when doing so would endanger the child or the other parent.
What If You Do Not Have Custody?
Not being awarded custody does not necessarily mean that you lose your relationship with your child. Kentucky law generally provides reasonable visitation rights to a parent who is not granted custody or shared parenting time, unless the court finds that visitation would seriously endanger the child’s physical, mental, moral, or emotional health.
The court can establish specific arrangements concerning the frequency, timing, duration, and conditions of visitation. If domestic violence or abuse is involved, the court must consider what visitation arrangement, if any, would protect the child and custodial parent from serious harm.
Can Parental Rights Be Changed?
A custody or parenting-time order is not necessarily permanent. As circumstances change, a parent may be able to ask the court to modify an existing order. Kentucky law generally requires a parent seeking a change in custody to meet specific legal requirements, which can depend on how long the current order has been in place and what has changed since it was entered.
Because the rules can vary depending on the circumstances, it is important to review the existing order before taking action. A Kentucky family law attorney can help you determine whether seeking a modification may be appropriate.
When Should You Speak With a Family Law Attorney?
Parental-rights disputes can become complicated, particularly when parents disagree about custody, parenting time, relocation, or the child’s safety. A Kentucky family law attorney can review the circumstances of your case, explain your legal rights, and help you understand the options available to you.
At Hoffman Walker & Knauf, we understand how important your relationship with your child can be. If you are facing a custody dispute or have questions about your parental rights, contact our team today to discuss your situation.
