Alimony and Spousal Support in Kentucky

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.

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.