Kentucky Divorce Laws: Residency, Waiting Period, Custody and Support

One spouse must have lived in Kentucky, or been stationed in Kentucky as a member of the armed services, for the 180 days before the petition is filed.

Kentucky is a no-fault state; the only ground for dissolution of marriage is that the marriage is irretrievably broken, meaning there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. If one spouse denies under oath that the marriage is broken, the court may continue the case 30 to 60 days, suggest counseling, or order a conciliation conference.

No divorce decree can be entered until the spouses have lived apart for 60 days; living under the same roof without sexual relations counts as living apart. In divorces with minor children, no testimony (other than on temporary motions) may be taken until 60 days after service of the summons, the appointment of a warning order attorney, or the other spouse's appearance or response, whichever comes first.

Kentucky has no separate simplified divorce. Spouses may sign a written separation agreement covering maintenance, property, and child custody, support and visitation; its financial and property terms bind the court unless the court finds them unconscionable, and child-related terms remain subject to the court's review. The Court of Justice offers a free A2J guided interview to prepare forms for a divorce without children.

Kentucky uses equitable distribution. Each spouse is assigned their own (non-marital) property, and marital property is divided in just proportions without regard to marital misconduct, considering each spouse's contributions (including as a homemaker), the value of property set apart to each, length of the marriage, and economic circumstances (including who stays in the family home with the children). Marital property is generally everything acquired during the marriage, except gifts and inheritances (and their income), property exchanged for premarital or gifted property, property acquired after a legal separation decree, property excluded by valid agreement, and passive increases in value of premarital property. Property acquired during the marriage is presumed marital.

Kentucky calls alimony maintenance. The court may award it only if the spouse seeking it lacks enough property (including marital property received) to meet reasonable needs and cannot support themselves through appropriate employment, or is caring for a child whose circumstances make outside work inappropriate. The amount and length are what the court finds just, considering the spouse's financial resources, time needed for education or training, standard of living, length of the marriage, age and health, and the other spouse's ability to pay. There is no duration formula.

Custody is decided by the child's best interests, with equal consideration to each parent. There is a rebuttable presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time are in the child's best interests (subject to the domestic-violence rules in KRS 403.315). The court first considers any allegations of domestic violence or child abuse and makes written findings, then weighs factors such as the parents' wishes, the child's wishes, the child's relationships, adjustment to home and school, health, and each party's willingness to allow frequent contact with the other parent. If equal time is not ordered, the schedule must maximize each parent's time consistent with the child's welfare. No specific age is set for the child's preference; the judge may interview the child in chambers.

Support is calculated under Kentucky's statutory guidelines: the guidelines table amount, based on the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income, is divided between the parents in proportion to their shares of that income (an income shares approach), with a self-support reserve for low-income parents. A parent with the child at least 88 days a year may ask for a shared parenting time credit. The Office of the Attorney General publishes the official worksheet and a manual with examples.

Yes. If one spouse asks for legal separation instead of divorce, the court grants it in that form unless the other spouse objects. No earlier than one year after a legal separation decree, either spouse can ask the court to convert it into a divorce decree.

Kentucky calls this a declaration of invalidity. Grounds are: a party lacked capacity to consent (mental incapacity or the influence of alcohol or drugs) or was induced by force, duress, or fraud involving the essentials of marriage (must be filed within 90 days of learning the facts); a party cannot consummate the marriage and the other did not know (within 90 days); or the marriage is prohibited by law (within 1 year). Prohibited, void marriages include bigamous marriages, marriages to a person adjudged mentally disabled, marriages not solemnized before an authorized person, and certain marriages of persons under 18.

No. A marriage that is not solemnized or contracted in the presence of an authorized person or society is prohibited and void in Kentucky.

The Circuit Court may grant reasonable visitation to either set of grandparents if it is in the child's best interest. If the grandparent's own child (the child's parent) has died, visitation is presumed to be in the child's best interest if the grandparent proves a significant and viable relationship, such as the child living with or being regularly cared for by the grandparent for 6 consecutive months, or frequent contact for 12 consecutive months. The case is filed in the county where the child lives.

When a marriage is dissolved or declared invalid, the court may restore a wife's maiden or former name at her request, and must do so if there are no children of the marriage.

Unless the parents agree otherwise in writing or the decree says otherwise, child support ends when the child is emancipated. If the child is still a high school student at 18, support continues while the child is in high school, but not beyond the end of the school year in which the child turns 19. The death of the paying parent does not automatically end support, and past-due support that built up while the child was a minor is still owed after emancipation.

Parents and guardians can apply for child support services online through the Kentucky Child Support Interactive website. You start by entering an email address, and the site emails you a code so you can finish the application later. Since July 1, 2025, the state child support program is run by the Department of Child Support Services under the Office of the Attorney General; local county attorneys continue to provide services in many counties.

The Department of Child Support Services enforces support orders, collects past-due support, and can prosecute people who fail to pay. If a parent owes past-due support equal to six months of payments (or ignores child support subpoenas or warrants), the state must deny, suspend or revoke driver's, professional, occupational, recreational and sporting licenses until the debt is paid or a payment plan is being followed. Parents who owe $2,500 or more can be reported for passport denial. The agency also uses financial-institution data matches and administrative subpoenas to find assets, and matches state tort-claim settlements against the child support database.

A child support order can be changed only for payments that come due after a motion to modify is filed, and only if there has been a material change in circumstances that is substantial and continuing. If applying the child support guidelines to current circumstances changes the monthly amount by 15% or more, that is presumed to be a material change; a change under 15% is presumed not to be. A parent can file a motion with the court, and the Department of Child Support Services can also seek modification in cases it handles.

A party to a custody case can ask for a temporary custody order by filing a motion supported by an affidavit stating the facts. The court can decide after a hearing, or on the affidavits alone if no one objects. For temporary orders there is a presumption, which can be overcome, that temporary joint custody with equal parenting time is in the child's best interest. A temporary order can be changed if there is a material and substantial change in circumstances.

The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics has divorce records from June 1958 to the present and issues certified divorce certificates for $6 each (a non-refundable search fee). Requests can be made by mail with a check or money order payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer, in person in Frankfort, or online through VitalChek (extra fees apply). The office does not issue non-certified or electronic copies. For divorces before June 1958, or for a copy of the divorce decree itself, contact the circuit court clerk in the county where the divorce was granted.

A license is required before any marriage. Both parties must appear in person before the county clerk and show documentary proof of age, such as a birth record or certificate, passport, driver's license, or other government- or school-issued ID showing date of birth. A Social Security card or other government ID is requested for identification, but the number is not recorded. Any county clerk may issue the license when the female party is 18 or older (or a widow) and applies in person; otherwise it is issued in the county where she lives. The license is valid for 30 days, counting the day it is issued. The statewide county clerk fee for the marriage license, indexing, recording and certificate is $26.50.

Marriage of a person under 18 is prohibited and void, except as KRS 402.210 allows. No license may be issued if either party is under 17. A 17-year-old may marry only with a family court (or District Court) order granting permission and removing the disabilities of minority; the petition must include a parent or custodian's sworn consent and proof of maturity and self-sufficiency. The court must deny the petition if, among other things, the age difference is more than four years, abuse or coercion is present, or it is not in the minor's best interest. At least 15 days must pass after the order before a license is issued.

Any person who is 18 and a Kentucky resident, or who has lived in Kentucky for the 12 months before filing, may petition the Circuit Court of the county where the petitioner lives. A married petitioner's spouse must join the petition unless the petitioner is married to the child's biological parent (the court may waive this if it would deny the child a suitable home). Except for agency or Cabinet placements, the child must have lived in the petitioner's home for at least 90 days before filing, and the child must have been placed by an agency or the Cabinet or with the Cabinet secretary's written approval. The living parents (or the mother, and a father whose paternity is established) must give voluntary and informed consent, which cannot be given until 72 hours after birth and becomes irrevocable 72 hours after signing; a child 12 or older must consent in court unless the court waives it. After filing, the Cabinet or a designee investigates and reports to the court on the petition, the adoptive parents' fitness and the child's best interest.

A stepparent does not need the Cabinet secretary's written placement approval, and a married petitioner adopting a spouse's child does not need the spouse to join the petition. The court may, in its discretion, order an investigation report and a background check. Consent of the child's living parents is still required unless an exception applies, such as termination of parental rights or proof of grounds listed in KRS 625.090. The 90-day residence-before-filing rule applies to adoptions not placed by an agency or the Cabinet.

District Court has exclusive jurisdiction to appoint guardians, limited guardians and conservators for minors, usually in the county where the minor lives. Any interested person or entity may petition for a guardian of an unmarried minor, or a conservator for a minor's property. The petition lists the minor's parents and custodian and the reasons for the guardianship, with a verified application from the proposed guardian (including any criminal convictions). Notice of the hearing goes at least 5 days ahead to listed persons and to the minor if over 14. A minor 14 or older may nominate a guardian, and the court appoints whoever is in the minor's best interest.

District Court decides whether an adult (17 or older for this purpose) is "disabled" or "partially disabled": unable to make informed decisions about personal affairs or finances to the point of lacking capacity to provide for health and safety or manage property. Any interested person, or the person needing help, may petition. An interdisciplinary evaluation is required, the respondent has a right to counsel, and disability must be proved by clear and convincing evidence, by jury unless the conditions for a bench trial are met. The law favors partial (limited) guardianship or conservatorship, ordered only to the extent necessary; limited appointments last up to five years. The petition must disclose anyone serving as the respondent's attorney-in-fact under a durable power of attorney.

Parents can sign a notarized voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, offered through the hospital-based program at birth or later, and submitted to the state registrar of vital statistics (Office of Vital Statistics). The Vital Statistics Branch's acknowledgment form has the same weight as a judgment of paternity. After submission, paternity is rebuttably presumed for the earlier of 60 days or the date of a court or administrative proceeding about the child; an unchallenged acknowledgment is then ratified without a court proceeding. Otherwise the mother, alleged father, child or a supporting agency can ask the county attorney or Attorney General to bring a paternity action in District Court. The court must order genetic testing on request, and an alleged father who refuses or fails to submit results within 30 days loses the question of paternity.

Any person 18 or older may have his or her name changed by the District Court of the county where he or she lives (or an adjacent county for residents of a U.S. Army post or military reservation). The order is certified to the county clerk for recording unless the court seals it; the county clerk's recording fee is set by KRS 64.012. KRS Chapter 401 does not contain a newspaper publication requirement.

The one statutory route found is marriage: when a court grants a 17-year-old's petition for permission to marry, that order removes the disabilities of minority, and the minor has the rights and responsibilities of an adult except for constitutional or statutory age requirements such as voting and alcohol.

The Kentucky Court of Justice posts official AOC forms on its Legal Forms page, searchable by form number, keyword or topic. Divorce forms include the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage (without children under 18) (AOC-252 redacted and AOC-252A unredacted), Waiver of Service and Entry of Appearance (AOC-252.1), Separation Agreement (without children under 18) (AOC-252.4), Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decree of Dissolution of Marriage (AOC-252.6), Motion to Submit for Entry of Decree (AOC-252.8), Preliminary and Final Verified Disclosure Statements (AOC-238/239) and the Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage (AOC-250). Circuit court clerks also provide printed forms, and the Court of Justice offers eFiling (File & Serve).

Kentucky's child support program is run by the Department of Child Support Services, which is being transferred from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) to the Office of the Attorney General. Enforcement is automatic for K-TAP recipients; others can apply online through the Kentucky Child Support Interactive Website (csws.chfs.ky.gov) or complete the Application for Child Support Services (CS33) and mail or deliver it to the local child support office. Services include review and modification of orders, paternity acknowledgment and private wage withholding. Payments can be made online (fee applies), by phone (fee applies), in person, or by mail to Child Support Services, P.O. Box 14059, Lexington, KY 40512-4059. Child Support Hotline: (800) 248-1163, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky's child support program offers an online Estimate Child Support tool that asks for each parent's income, deductions, child care costs and health insurance premiums and applies the Kentucky child support guidelines (KRS 403.212). Its disclaimer says "The calculations are only estimates that are based on information provided by the user" and that "only a Kentucky Court with competent jurisdiction has final authority to determine the amount of child support ordered."