Dodd & Dodd Attorneys, PLLC

Dodd & Dodd Attorneys, PLLC Louisville Kentucky

(502) 584-1108

What is the Best Interests of a Child in a Jefferson County or Louisville Child Custody or Parenting Time Case?

Best Interests of a Child

What is the “best interests of a child” in a Jefferson County or Louisville child custody or parenting time case?  Child custody and parenting time issues are associated with parents in a divorce, as well as unmarried parents in a paternity action. Child custody in Kentucky is legally divided into two forms of custody: physical and legal.  Physical custody is the right to have a child or children live with you and legal custody is the right to make important decisions regarding a child’s life including but not limited to:

  • education
  • religion
  • healthcare

The best interests of a child are encapsulated in Kentucky’s family law code and establish the primary instructions for our Judges in these cases.  Generally speaking, our laws surrounding the best interests of a child establish:

  • The children’s health, safety, and welfare are a top priority
  • Children should have frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents are no longer together
  • parents should share in the rights and responsibilities of raising the child

What happens if continuing contact with a parent is not in the best interests of a child?  Typically, in Louisville divorce cases and post-decree child custody and parenting time cases where there is substantiated drug abuse (not simply drug use), severe mental illness, a Court finding of domestic violence, criminal activity or some similar danger to a child, the Court will find that it is not in the child’s best interest to have frequent and continuing contact with a parent.

In these cases the Court may mandate supervised visitation or a Judge may award sole physical and legal custody to one parent over another.

What is the “best interests of a child” in a Jefferson County or Louisville child custody or parenting time case? We invite you to review the strong recommendations of our former clients and contact us or call 502-584-1108 to schedule an appointment with one of our experienced divorce and family law attorneys.