What Are Kentucky Family Court Records?

Kentucky Family Court records are official documentation relating to the various stages of court proceedings heard by the sub-division of Kentucky state courts, which handle family law cases and domestic relations matters. These records include case files, transcripts, dockets, orders, motions, petitions, and agreements issued or generated in the course of judicial proceedings by the Family Court. Like other Kentucky court records, most Kentucky Family Court records are available to the public. While some records are confidential by default, others may be sealed by court order.

What Is a Family Court in Kentucky?

In Kentucky, the Family Court is a division of the Circuit Court. It was first introduced in Jefferson County in 1991. This court was established following the pilot program's success with selected counties and incorporated it into the state's constitution. However, not every county in the Commonwealth of Kentucky has a Family Court. Only 71 of the 120 counties in the state have a Family Court. This court is primarily found in suburban and rural areas of the state. Circuit and District Courts handle family law cases in counties without Family Courts.

In Kentucky, Family courts handle cases involving:

• Divorce cases
• Spousal support
• Domestic violence
• Parental rights
• Paternity
• Adoption
• Child custody, visitation, and child support
• Juvenile matters, including abuse, dependency, neglect, and status offenses

Kentucky Family Courts handle family law matters using a One-Family, One-Judge, One-Court approach. This assigns all family law cases involving one family to one court and one judge, making it easier for families to attend court when resolving different issues. It also ensures the sitting judge knows the complete case histories of each family and fully understands their particular situation and needs.

How to Serve Family Court Papers in Kentucky

When initiating legal action in a family law case in a Kentucky Family, Circuit, or District Court, the party bringing the lawsuit is typically required to serve initial court papers to the other party named in the suit. Kentucky allows these three methods of serving Family Court papers:

• Acceptance of Service
• Personal Service
• Service by Mail

Acceptance of Service is generally considered a more straightforward method. It involves the other party agreeing to pick up the court papers. They will usually collect these documents from the first party's attorney's office. The receiving party must sign an Acceptance of Service form that must be filed with the court. This method is only possible when both parties are on good terms. It is a standard method of service in uncontested divorces.

Personal Service requires delivering the court papers by hand to the other party or someone of age sharing the residence with them. Kentucky does not allow the party to bring the legal action to serve initial court papers themselves. Instead, they must contract this task to an adult who is not involved in the case. This may be a Sheriff's Deputy, a private investigator, or a Process Server. The server is then expected to complete and return a Return of Service form filed with the court clerk as proof of service.

If the named party cannot be served in person, service by mail is considered the most suitable option. It involves sending copies of initial court papers to the other party's address. To guarantee delivery, these documents must be delivered by certified mail, including a return receipt. The receiving party signs the receipt and mails it back. This receipt must then be filed with the court clerk.

What Is Contempt of Family Court in Kentucky?

Contempt of court is the willful disobedience of a court order or open disrespect for the rules and authority of the court. Kentucky recognizes both civil and criminal contempt of court. A civil contempt results from a failure to comply with a court order. Some examples of civil contempt of the Family Court include refusal to pay child/spousal support and not abiding by the visitation rules ordered in a divorce settlement. Kentucky Family Court judges may punish civil contempt by:

• Instructing the violating party to comply with court orders
• Fining the individual held in contempt of court
• Sentencing the individual to jail

Jail terms resulting from civil contempt are meant as deterrents. The jailed person may be freed upon complying with the court order in question.

Criminal contempt arises from obstruction of justice and open disregard for the court. It may be direct or indirect. Direct criminal contempt occurs in court and requires no additional investigation. The court can summarily punish the individual found in contempt. Indirect criminal contempt occurs outside the court, and the contempt may be brought separately to ascertain the guilt of the accused party.

Are Kentucky Family Court Records Available to the Public?

Yes. Like other civil court records, records of family law cases in Kentucky are open to the public by default. Therefore, anyone can view and request copies of these records. Kentucky Family, Circuit, and District Courts may seal specific family law case records at the behest of one or both parties involved.

A few family and juvenile case records are presumptively closed in Kentucky. Confidential Family Court records include those involving:

• Juvenile delinquency
• Juvenile dependency, abuse, and neglect
• Adoption
• Paternity
• Child custody if the judge deems it necessary to protect the child's identity and welfare

In Kentucky, guardianship cases involving incompetent and disabled individuals are partially open. The Family Court makes public documents establishing the individual's disability and court orders modifying this status. Other court records pertaining to such cases are closed to the public.

Are Child Custody Records Public In Kentucky?

In Kentucky, custody case documents—including pleadings, orders, decrees, hearing transcripts, evaluations, and any other records related to juvenile proceedings—are preserved by the court until the child reaches 18 and are part of the public record unless sealed by court order or statute. This preservation and public accessibility derive from the Uniform Child-Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (KRS 403.820), and the Kentucky Open Records Act (KRS 61.870–61.884), which presumes broad public access unless a specific exception applies.

Does Kentucky Make Divorce Records Public?

Yes. Divorce records are public records in Kentucky, and divorce proceedings are presumptively open to the public. The parties involved in a divorce may petition a Family Court to seal some or all of their divorce records. The judge then rules on the merits of the petition and may decide to make the records confidential or leave them in the public domain. Reasons commonly given for sealing divorce records include preventing public access to personal and financial information.

In addition to accessing divorce court records, the state also allows anyone to request divorce certificates from the Vital Statistics Branch of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services. The Kentucky Office of Vital Statistics maintains divorce records from June 1958 to the present and accepts requests for them made in person, by phone, by mail, and online. To request copies of a publicly available divorce vital record in Kentucky, you must provide the following information:

• Full names of both parties involved in the divorce
• Date of divorce, including day, month, and the year it was granted
• The county where the divorce was granted

Kentucky Family Court Case Lookup

Members of the public may perform a Kentucky family court case lookup and access the records of the Kentucky Family Courts from the search portal of the Kentucky Court of Justice website. Record seekers may search for publicly available records by providing the name of a party involved in the case. You can narrow down the search results by providing extra details, such as the county where the case was filed.

Publicly available records are also accessible from some third-party websites. These websites are convenient for searching for multiple records across several judicial districts as they aggregate case information from various custodians nationwide. To find a record using the search engines on these sites, interested parties must provide:

• The name of the individual(s) involved, provided it is not a juvenile
• The assumed location of the record in question, such as a city, county, or state name

Third-party sites are not government-sponsored websites; record availability may differ from official channels.

Family Court Records can include Kentucky marriage and divorce records. These records contain personal information of those involved, and their maintenance is critical should anyone involved wish to make changes. Marriage and divorce records can be considered more challenging to locate and obtain than other public records and may not be available through government sources or third-party public record websites.