Divorce

Divorce changes more than your marital status. Decisions about your home, finances, children, and future may suddenly have to be made while the life you built together is coming apart. If you are considering divorce in Kentucky, we can help you understand what needs to be resolved, protect your interests, and move the case toward a workable conclusion. 

At Evan Taylor Law Offices, we represent people in Owensboro through the legal and practical decisions that come with ending a marriage. We bring more than 20 years of service in Kentucky to that work, along with a commitment to honest advice and personal attention. Talk with us about what you need your next chapter to look like. 

Starting Your Divorce with a Clear Plan

We help you identify what needs attention at the beginning of your divorce so important issues do not get lost in the uncertainty of separating. That starts with understanding your family, finances, property, and immediate concerns before deciding how to approach the case. 

Kentucky allows a divorce when the marriage is irretrievably broken. At least one spouse must have lived in Kentucky for the 180 days before the divorce petition is filed, and a divorce decree cannot be entered until the spouses have lived apart for at least 60 days. For this purpose, Kentucky law can count spouses as living apart while under the same roof if they are not sexually cohabiting. 

We can explain how those requirements apply to your circumstances, prepare the necessary filings, and help you determine which issues may need to be addressed before the divorce can be completed. 

Protecting What You Have Built

We help you identify the property involved in your marriage and determine what should be addressed in the divorce. A house may be the most obvious concern, but bank accounts, retirement benefits, vehicles, debts, and other assets can also affect the financial outcome. 

Kentucky courts divide marital property in “just proportions” after considering factors that include each spouse's contribution to acquiring the property, the value of property assigned to each spouse, the length of the marriage, and each spouse's economic circumstances. The law also recognizes that some property may belong separately to one spouse rather than being marital property. 

Our experienced attorney will review the financial picture with you, identify issues that may require negotiation or court involvement, and advocate for your interests when the division of property is in dispute. 

Working Toward Parenting Arrangements That Fit Your Family

We help parents address custody and parenting time with attention to both Kentucky law and the realities of their children's lives. Divorce may end the marriage, but decisions about school schedules, exchanges, holidays, routines, and major choices can continue to connect parents for years. 

Kentucky courts decide custody according to the child's best interests. Kentucky law generally creates a rebuttable presumption that joint custody and equally shared parenting time are in a child's best interests, although exceptions may apply, including in cases involving domestic violence or abuse. Courts consider factors such as the child's relationships, adjustment to home, school, and community, the adults' motivations, and issues involving domestic violence or abuse. 

We can help you develop a proposed parenting arrangement, address disagreements with the other parent, and present your position when the court must make a decision. Our family law representation stays focused on arrangements that account for your circumstances rather than treating every family the same. 

Sorting Out Child Support and Ongoing Expenses

We help you understand how child support may fit into the financial arrangements that follow divorce. Support is not simply a number chosen by either parent; Kentucky uses statutory child support guidelines, and parenting time can also affect the calculation. 

Income and the circumstances of both parents matter, and some cases raise additional questions about child-care costs, health coverage, or other expenses. Rather than leaving you to make sense of the numbers on your own, we can explain what information matters and what a proposed support obligation means for you. 

When support is disputed, we can review the relevant financial information and advocate for a child support order that complies with Kentucky law and reflects your circumstances. 

Looking at Whether Spousal Maintenance Is Part of the Picture

We can assess whether maintenance—sometimes called spousal support—is an issue that needs to be addressed in your divorce. It is not automatically awarded simply because one spouse earns more than the other. 

Under Kentucky law, a court may award maintenance when the spouse seeking it lacks sufficient property to meet reasonable needs and cannot support themselves through appropriate employment, or when circumstances involving the care of a child make outside employment inappropriate. If maintenance is warranted, factors such as financial resources, the length of the marriage, the standard of living during the marriage, and the spouses' financial circumstances can affect the amount and duration of maintenance. 

We can evaluate the financial circumstances underlying a maintenance request, advise you on your position, and address the issue through negotiation or in court when necessary. 

Resolving What You Can—and Fighting Over What You Must

We help you determine which divorce issues may be resolved through agreement and which may require a judge's decision. Reaching an agreement can avoid unnecessary conflict, but we also make sure you understand the terms and how they may affect you before you agree to them. 

Kentucky law allows spouses to enter a written separation agreement covering matters such as property, maintenance, and, subject to the court's authority, issues involving children. We can review proposed terms, negotiate unresolved issues, and represent you in court when an agreement cannot be reached.