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Last week, the Kentucky Supreme Court issued a very important decision for all employees in the State of Kentucky. The Supreme Court ruled that employers cannot require its employees to sign Arbitration agreements as a condition of being hired or maintaining their current jobs.
Ziegler & Schneider attorney, Shane Sidebottom, briefed the case and then successfully argued this very important issue before the Supreme Court.

On April 25, 2018, Governor Bevin signed House Bill 11 into law. House Bill 11 establishes Chapter 457 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes adopting portions of the Uniform Power of Attorney Act (2006). Effective July 14, 2018, these new statutory guidelines will replace the previous common law guidelines. The execution of a Power of Attorney will now require that it be signed in the presence of two (2) disinterested witnesses by the principal or in the principal’s conscious presence. Such signature of the principal should also be acknowledged by a notary public to be presumed genuine.

The Act provides a new landscape for Powers of Attorney in Kentucky. For instance, it provides for the specific circumstances in which a Power of Attorney would terminate, such as when: the principal dies; the principal become incapacitated (if not durable); a court appoints a fiduciary charged with the management of the principals property; the power of attorney is revoked; the terms of the power of attorney indicate termination; and when the purpose of the power of attorney is accomplished. The Act further excludes certain Power of Attorney documents from the purview of its statutes. One such exception is for medical decisions outlined in accordance with the Kentucky Living Will Directive Act. These documents shall be drafted in accordance with all previously established Kentucky Law.

This new Act will not affect existing Power of Attorneys that were properly executed prior to the effective date of the Act. However, as of July 14, 2018, changes will need to be made to new Powers of Attorney to ensure compliance with the Act. For questions concerning how the Act will impact your estate planning documents or for assistance executing updated estate planning documents, please contact our office.

As of July 1, 2018, KRS 403.270 will be amended, and Kentucky law will officially recognize that parents involved in a custody or divorce case will have the statutory right to petition the Court for equal parenting time for their children. While the practice of joint custody has been an unwritten rule in the state for the past few years by many judges, the revision to the custody statute makes it clear that courts are to default to an equal parenting time schedule for each parent, unless evidence is presented by a party in a proceeding that there are safety issues present in such parenting time arrangement.

The key change to the custody statute reads as follows:

“There shall be a presumption, rebuttable by a preponderance of evidence, that joint custody and equally shared parenting time is in the best interest of the child. If a deviation from equal parenting time is warranted, the court shall construct a parenting time schedule which maximizes the time each parent or de facto custodian has with the child and is consistent with ensuring the child’s welfare.”

A Family Court’s hands will not be bound to the new statutory language if a Court determines after an evidentiary hearing that it is in the “best interest” of the child that a deviation from equal parenting is justified. However, there are new statutory factors that the courts may consider in any such evidentiary hearing on parenting time that focus on the individual petitioning custodian. In determining what is in the best interest of a child in a custody hearing, the court will also hear any evidence on “the influence a parent or de facto custodian may have over the child’s wishes” as to who is their custodian, and “the motivation of the adults in participating in the custody proceedings.”

Kentucky’s custody statute was previously amended to apply equal shared parenting time to temporary custody order last year.

No Ordinary Bad Faith Case: The Repercussions of Indiana Insurance Co. v. Demetre on Kentucky Tort Law was written by attorney, Justin Sanders and was published in the November/December 2017 – Volume 45, Number 6 publication of The Advocate presented by the Kentucky Justice Association.

We at Ziegler & Schneider are pleased to announce that attorney Debbie Pleatman completed the two-day Collaborative Law Introductory Interdisciplinary Training presented by the Central Ohio Academy of Collaborative Divorce Professionals. This training allows Debbie to engage in the collaborative law process with other Collaborative professionals.

The collaborative law process is used primarily in this area for family law matters. In short, the parties enter into an agreement to negotiate in good faith to settle the legal matter without resorting to the court system. The parties provide all relevant information and they engage neutral experts and professionals to assist in resolving issues. It provides an alternate method to resolve issues based on individual and family goals. Debbie is looking forward to engaging in the collaborative process for the benefit of her clients.