GroundRules
← Search the law
Kentucky · Snapshot 09/05/2026

KRS 15.800: Definitions for KRS 15.800 to 15.876.

Read at publisher ↗
Where this section sits in the code
  1. KRS Chapter 15

As used in KRS 15.800 to 15.876, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise:

(1) "Cabinet" shall mean the Cabinet for Health and Family Services;

(2) "Consumer reporting agency" means any person or organization which, for

monetary fees, dues, or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly engages in whole

or in part in the practice of assembling or evaluating consumer credit information or

other information on consumers for the purpose of furnishing consumer reports to

third parties, and which uses any m eans or facility of interstate commerce for the

purpose of preparing or furnishing consumer reports;

(3) "Court order" shall mean any judgment, decree, or order of the courts of this state

or any other state. For the purposes of KRS 15.800 to 15.876, 403.2 15, 405.405 to

405.520, and 530.050, it shall also include an order of an authorized administrative

body;

(4) "Dependent child" or "needy dependent child" shall mean any person under the age

of eighteen (18), or under the age of nineteen (19) if in high sc hool, who is not

otherwise emancipated, self-supporting, married, or a member of the Armed Forces

of the United States and is a recipient of or applicant for services under Part D of

Title IV of the Social Security Act;

(5) "Duty of support" shall mean any duty of support imposed or imposable by law or

by court order, decree, or judgment, whether interlocutory or final, and includes the

duty to pay spousal support that applies to spouses with a child even if child support

is not part of the order or when sp ousal support is assigned to the Office of the

Attorney General and arrearages of support past due and unpaid in addition to

medical support whenever health-care coverage is available at a reasonable cost;

(6) "Earnings" means compensation paid or payable for personal services, whether

denominated as wages, salary, commission, bonus, or otherwise, and

notwithstanding any other provision of law exempting such payments from

garnishment, attachment, or other process to satisfy support obligations and

specifically includes periodic payments from pension and retirement programs and

insurance policies of any kind. Earnings shall include all gain derived from capital,

from labor, or both, including profit gained through sale or conversion of capital

assets and unem ployment compensation benefits, or any other form of monetary

gain. The term "disposable earnings" means that part of earnings remaining after

deductions of any amounts required by law to be withheld;

(7) "Employer" means any individual, sole proprietorshi p, partnership, association, or

private or public corporation, the United States or any federal agency, this state or

any political subdivision of this state, any other state or a political subdivision of

another state, or any other legal entity which hire s and pays an individual for his

services;

(8) "Enforce" means to employ any judicial or administrative remedy under KRS

405.405 to 405.420 and KRS 405.991(2) or under any other Kentucky law;

(9) "Income" means but is not limited to any of the following:

(a) Commissions, bonuses, workers' compensation awards attributable to lost

wages, retirement and pensions, interest and disability, earnings, salaries,

wages, and other income due or to be due in the future from a person's

employer and successor employers;

(b) Any payment due or to be due in the future from a profit -sharing plan,

pension plan, insurance contract, annuity, Social Security, proceeds derived

from state lottery winnings, unemployment compensation, supplemental

unemployment benefits, and workers' compensation; and

(c) Any amount of money which is due to the obligor under a support order as a

debt of any other individual, partnership, association, or private or public

corporation, the United States or any federal agency, this state or any politic al

subdivision of this state, any other state or a political subdivision of another

state, or any other legal entity which is indebted to the obligor;

(10) "Need" includes, but is not limited to, the necessary cost of food, clothing, shelter,

and medical c are. The amount determined under the suggested minimum support

obligation scale shall be rebuttably presumed to correspond to the parent's ability to

pay and the need of the child. A parent shall be presumed to be unable to pay child

support from any incom e received from public assistance under Title IV -A of the

Social Security Act, or other continuing public assistance;

(11) "Obligor" means a parent who has an obligation to provide support;

(12) "Office" means the Office of the Attorney General;

(13) "Parent" means a biological or adoptive mother or father of a child born in wedlock

or a father of a child born out of wedlock if paternity has been established in a

judicial proceeding or in any manner consistent with the laws of this or any other

state, whose child is entitled to support, pursuant to court order, statute, or

administrative determination;

(14) "Real and personal property" includes all property of all kinds, including but not

limited to, all gain derived from capital, labor, or both; compensatio n paid or

payable for personal services, whether denominated as wages, salary, commission,

bonus, or otherwise; periodic payments from pension and retirement programs; and

unemployment compensation and insurance policies; and

(15) "Recipient" shall mean a relative or payee within the meaning of the Social Security

Act and federal and state regulations who is receiving public assistance on behalf of

a needy dependent child.

Collected 2026-09-05T20:48:34Z. Source file · JSON

Browse this collection