Rule 1. Introduction / administrative procedure
Baldwin's Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated16th Judicial Circuit - Kenton Family Court
KY RKFC Rule 1
Rule 1. Introduction / administrative procedure
101.1. These are the Local Rules of Practice of the Family Court of the 16th Judicial Circuit. These rules supplement the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure (CP), the Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure (RCr), and the Kentucky Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice (FCRPP). If these rules conflict with any of these rules, statute or other law of the United States and/or the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and/or Order of the Kentucky Supreme Court, at any time legally adopted, then, any such statute, law, rule or Order shall at all times prevail.
101.2. Pursuant to FCRPP 1(2) and KRS 23A.100, these Rules shall be applicable to the procedure and practice in all actions pertaining to dissolution of marriage; custody and support; visitation and timesharing; property division; maintenance; domestic violence; paternity; dependency, neglect or abuse; termination of parental rights; adoption; and status offenses, or any other matter exclusively within family law jurisdiction, except for any special statutory proceedings, which shall prevail over any inconsistent procedures set forth in these Rules.
These rules are adopted pursuant to the authority granted by SCR 1.040(3) of the Rules of the Supreme Court and shall apply with full force and effect to all actions filed or pending after, and their promulgation by order of the judges of the Kenton Family Court and certification of approval by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
These rules shall be cited as the Kenton County Family Local Rules of Practice (KCFLRP).
The Kenton Family Court shall consist of two numbered divisions, namely: Second Division and Fifth Division.
Cases shall be assigned, as provided by these Rules, to the divisions of the Kenton Family Court so as to distribute the workload of the Court as equally as possible among the judges. The judge of one division of the Kenton Family Court may preside over and determine any case or question in any other division of the Kenton Family Court and sign any order or judgment submitted for entry in any other division of the Kenton Family Court when a judge of that division is sick, or absent from the county or is otherwise unavailable.
At the time of filing of a complaint, petition or other initiating pleading, the Clerk of the Court shall review the Court's records to determine whether the family involved has had any prior contact with the Kenton Family Court. If no contact is revealed, the case shall be assigned to a numerical division of the Kenton Family Court by random assignment, and scheduled for further proceedings in accordance with these rules. If prior contact is revealed, the case shall be assigned to the numerical division of the Kenton Family Court which issued the most recent order concerning the family. In the event that there is only a Domestic Violence (D) case in the system, it shall never control for assignment; only J, CI or AD cases shall control.
After a case has been assigned to a division of Kenton Family Court, the judge thereof may for good cause transfer the case by written order from the division when: (1) there has been a recusal, or (2) the case has been transferred with the judge's consent. On recusal, the Clerk shall assign a case from one division of Kenton Family Court to the other division of Kenton Family Court. The Clerk shall file the order of transfer in the record and serve a copy upon all parties of record. Upon such transfer being made, the Clerk will make a proper endorsement upon the docket and the record.
a. When two (2) or more cases have been filed in different divisions of the Kenton Family Court, the Court may consolidate the cases for the purpose of a hearing. In such a situation, the cases will be consolidated to the division where the low number case is, or the division that is already handling matters with that family, to fulfill the “one family one court” purpose of Family Court. If it is later determined that consolidation is not proper or not in the best interest of the parties, the judge of that division may Order that the case be unconsolidated and return the case back to the original division. Also see reference to KCFLRP 104.03.
b. Pursuant to FCRPP 2(2), when actions concerning the same subject matter are filed in different circuits, the first action filed shall be the controlling action, subject to transfer by the court of that circuit on a motion for forum non conveniens or other appropriate legal grounds. A motion for transfer shall be filed prior to or with the response. On notice to the parties, the courts in both circuits may confer concerning the proper venue.
All attorneys or pro se litigants seeking to practice in the Kenton Family Court shall register their e-mail address with the Kenton County Family Court Judicial Secretary.
Kenton County Family Court will follow the Kentucky Court of Justice Holiday Schedule on the COJ website at: http://courts.ky.gov/research/holidayschedule.htm
All official AOC forms as set forth in these Rules are listed numerically in Appendix A to these rules. These forms may be found on the AOC website, http://courts.ky.gov/forms/.
a. When a ruling is made or opinion rendered, an order or judgment in conformity therewith shall be prepared by the movant or as directed by the Court and signed by counsel for all parties thereto as being in conformity to the ruling or opinion, and shall be presented to the Court within fourteen (14) days following the date of the hearing or trial.
b. All Orders tendered must contain a “Have Seen” endorsement of all other attorneys of record. This endorsement shall constitute an acceptance by said counsel only that the order or judgment is in conformity with the ruling of the Court. Should counsel for any party refuse to endorse the Order “Have Seen,” counsel who prepared it shall file the Order with the Court, together with a certification that it was tendered to counsel who refused to make the endorsement and the date of such tender. The Court shall enter the Order after the expiration of five (5) (Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays excluded) days from the time it was filed, unless counsel who refused to make the endorsement shall have filed written exceptions to it and set such exceptions for hearing before the Court at the earliest practicable time.
c. In the event counsel disagree on whether a proposed order is in conformity with the judge's ruling, counsel shall notify each other of the disparity, and within five (5) business days of notice, shall review the video tape of the hearing, and if still in disagreement, counsel shall tender a joint cover letter to the judge with both proposed orders attached thereto for entry by the Court. The cover letter shall reference the tape citation to the judge's ruling.
e. Each judge, at their discretion, may ask that Orders or Agreed Orders be electronically mailed to the judge. In this event, the attorney designated as the preparer of the Order shall either fax, e-mail, or mail a copy of the Order to opposing counsel for their “Have Seen.” If/when opposing counsel authorizes signature on the Order, the attorney preparing the Order shall indicate both signatures on the Order prior to e-mailing the Order to the judge. No other correspondence shall be attached to the e-mail except for the Order. If the Judge makes changes to the Order, the Judge shall remove the “Have Seen” from the Order in order to indicate that the Judge has made a change to the Agreement and shall also remove the “Prepared By.”
At the initial court appearance, the court may enter an order on AOC-237, Status Quo Order, as authorized and described by FCRPP 2(5).
If an agreed order is submitted signed by counsel for all parties affected, or if the court is notified by both counsel or pro se parties that an agreement has been reached, counsel need not attend the call of the docket and the Agreed Order shall be tendered within fourteen (14) days of the date the Motion is scheduled to be heard by the court. Any Agreed Order regarding child support must comply with FCRPP 9 and have a Child Support Worksheet attached.
b. When this motion and affidavit are filed, an Order may be issued ex parte which shall not come on for a hearing sooner than five (5) days from the date it is served, unless otherwise ordered by the Court. The Respondent shall appear on the date noticed for hearing, but may be entitled to a continuance if served less than five (5) days from the date noticed.
c. No order shall come on for hearing unless it has been served on the person named in the Order by an Officer authorized to serve a summons. The Order shall contain a short statement of the grounds for its issuance and the following statement: IF YOU FAIL TO APPEAR AT THE HEARING, AN ORDER FOR YOUR ARREST WILL ISSUE.
108.2. In all family cases the Clerk shall notify the attorneys for the parties that exhibits introduced during any proceeding shall be picked up within 30 days after the time for appeal has expired. If the attorneys do not pick up the exhibits within that time, the Clerk shall dispose of the exhibits pursuant to the Court of Justice Records Retention Schedule of the Administrative Office of the Courts or as ordered by the Court.
110.01. In all cases of default, all applicable requirements in FCRPP 3(1)(a)(i) shall apply with the addition of an affidavit with the attorney's certificate that no answer or pleadings have been received by counsel, and that notice of hearing or submission has been served on the opposing party in compliance with FCRPP 3(2).
Legal briefs or memoranda shall be filed of record in the Clerk's office. Copies of cases cited therein should not be filed with the Clerk's office, but should be provided directly to the Court along with a copy of the brief or memorandum.
When propounding interrogatories and requests upon a pro se litigant or upon written request of counsel, the propounder of interrogatories or requests shall leave adequate room for reply between questions. The propounder of the interrogatories or requests shall provide opposing counsel upon request a copy of said interrogatories and requests when possible via e-mail.
Originals of interrogatories or requests for admissions shall not be filed in the court record unless offered as proof. The attorney who propounded the interrogatories or requests for admissions shall be the custodian of the record for the originals, and shall present them when directed by the court or at the request of any party.
Pursuant to CR 77.02(2), when any action has remained on a docket for one (1) year without any step being taken indicating an intention to prosecute, the action may be dismissed for want of prosecution on motion of either party or on the Court's own motion.
Credits
HISTORY: Amended effective June 8, 2020. Adopted effective December 2, 2008. Amended effective April 11, 2012.
Kenton Family Court Rule 1, KY R KENTON FAM CT Rule 1
Current with amendments received through November 15, 2023. Some rules may be more current, see credits for details.
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