In Depth: Uniform Family Court Rules In Place

Tony McVeigh January 14, 2011
WFPL

Kentucky now has a uniform set of rules governing all family law cases in the Commonwealth.

In November 2002, voters approved a state constitutional amendment creating family courts in Kentucky. Since then, family courts have been established in 71 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, serving more than three million citizens. Family legal matters in the other 49 counties are still handled by circuit and district courts. But Chief Justice John Minton (in photo with Deputy Chief Justice Mary Noble) says there were no uniform rules of procedure governing family law in the state, until now.

“We’ve done our best to try to live up to the uniform nature of our court system, and the unified nature of our court system, by developing a uniform set of rules to be applied in the Court of Justice across the Commonwealth,” said Minton.

The new rules, unveiled at the State Capitol, went into effect on January 1st. Chief Justice Minton says the measures, developed by a civil rules committee, are almost two years in the making.

....“There is no value that we have that is greater than the value of the worth of our families, and raising our children appropriately, and raising them within the rule of and bounds of law,” said Noble. “And so it is very appropriate for the Supreme Court to focus on family court and to do whatever we can to make it work better.”

Justice Noble says the Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice that emerged from the deliberations apply to all family law cases, including divorce, termination of parental rights, domestic violence, child support, juvenile offenses, adoption and neglect or abuse. FULL STORY