KRS 403.211: Action to establish or enforce child support -- Rebuttable presumption for

award -- Allocation of child -care costs and health care expenses -- Order for

payment of health care coverage -- Noncustodial parent's health plan --

Attachment of income -- Credit for disability payments.

(1) An action to establish or enforce child support may be initiated by the parent,

custodian, or agency substantially contributing to the support of the child. The

action may be brought in the county in which the child resides or where the

defendant resides.

(2) At the time of initial establishment of a child support order, whether temporary or

permanent, or in any proceeding to modify a support order, the child support

guidelines in KRS 403.212 or 403.2122 sh all serve as a rebuttable presumption for

the establishment or modification of the amount of child support. Courts may

deviate from the guidelines where their application would be unjust or

inappropriate. Any deviation shall be accompanied by a written fin ding or specific

finding on the record by the court, specifying the reason for the deviation.

(3) A written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the

guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate in a particular case shall be suff icient to

rebut the presumption and allow for an appropriate adjustment of the guideline

award if based upon one (1) or more of the following criteria:

(a) A child's extraordinary medical or dental needs;

(b) A child's extraordinary educational, job training, or special needs;

(c) Either parent's own extraordinary needs, such as medical expenses;

(d) The independent financial resources, if any, of the child or children;

(e) Combined monthly adjusted parental gross income in excess of the Kentucky

child support guidelines;

(f) The parents of the child, having demonstrated knowledge of the amount of

child support established by the Kentucky child support guidelines, have

agreed to child support different from the guideline amount. However, no

such agreement shall be the basis of any deviation if public assistance is being

paid on behalf of a child under the provisions of Part D of Title IV of the

Federal Social Security Act;

(g) Failure by one (1) party to consistently exercise the court -ordered timesharing

schedule or timesharing agreement between the parents; and

(h) Any similar factor of an extraordinary nature specifically identified by the

court which would make application of the guidelines inappropriate.

(4) "Extraordinary" as used in this section shall be determined by the court in its

discretion.

(5) When a party has defaulted or the court is otherwise presented with insufficient

evidence to determine gross income, the court shall order child support based upon

the needs of the child or the previous standard of living of the child, whichever is

greater. An order en tered by default or due to insufficient evidence to determine

gross income may be modified upward and arrearages awarded from the date of the

original order if evidence of gross income is presented within two (2) years which

would have established a higher amount of child support pursuant to the child

support guidelines set forth in KRS 403.212 or 403.2122.

(6) The court shall allocate between the parents, in proportion to their combined

monthly adjusted parental gross income, reasonable and necessary child care costs

incurred due to employment, job search, or education leading to employment, in

addition to the amount ordered under the child support guidelines.

(7) (a) Pursuant to 45 C.F.R. sec. 303.31(a)(2), for the purposes of this section,

"health care co verage" includes fee for service, health maintenance

organization, preferred provider organization, and other types of private

health insurance and public health care coverage under which medical

services could be provided to a dependent child. If health c are coverage is

reasonable in cost and accessible to either parent at the time the request for

coverage is made, the court shall order the parent to obtain or maintain

coverage, and the court shall allocate between the parents, in proportion to

their combi ned monthly adjusted parental gross income, the cost of health

care coverage for the child, in addition to the support ordered under the child

support guidelines.

(b) A parent, who has one hundred percent (100%) of the combined monthly

adjusted parental gr oss income, shall be entitled to a reduction in gross

income of the entire amount of premiums incurred and paid.

(c) The court shall order the cost of health care coverage of the child to be paid

by either or both parents of the child regardless of who has physical custody.

The court order shall include:

1. A judicial directive designating which parent shall have financial

responsibility for providing health care coverage for the dependent

child, which shall include but not be limited to health care coverag e,

payments of necessary health care deductibles or copayments;

2. If appropriate, cash medical support. "Cash medical support" means an

amount to be paid toward the cost of health care coverage, fixed

payments for ongoing medical costs, extraordinary medi cal expenses, or

any combination thereof; and

3. A statement providing that if the designated parent's health care

coverage provides for covered services for dependent children beyond

the age of majority, then any unmarried children up to twenty -five (25)

years of age who are full -time students enrolled in and attending an

accredited educational institution and who are primarily dependent on

the insured parent for maintenance and support shall be covered.

(d) If health care coverage is not reasonable in cos t and accessible at the time the

request for the coverage is made, the court order shall provide for cash

medical support until health care coverage becomes reasonable in cost and

accessible.

(8) (a) For purposes of this section, "reasonable in cost" means that the cost of

coverage to the responsible parent does not exceed five percent (5%) of his or

her gross income. The five percent (5%) standard shall apply to the cost of

adding the child to an existing policy, the difference in the cost between a

single and a family policy, or the cost of acquiring a separate policy to cover

the child. If the parties agree or the court finds good cause exists, the court

may order health care coverage in excess of five percent (5%) of the parent's

gross income.

(b) For purposes of this section, "accessible" means that there are providers who

meet the health care needs of the child and who are located no more than sixty

(60) minutes or sixty (60) miles from the child's primary residence, except

that nothing shall prohibit u se of a provider located more than sixty (60)

minutes or sixty (60) miles from the child's primary residence.

(9) The initial two hundred fifty dollars ($250) of medical expenses shall be covered by

the parent who maintains health insurance for the child o r children subject to the

order per calendar year, unless the parties have agreed otherwise.

(10) (a) The cost of extraordinary medical expenses shall be allocated between the

parties in proportion to their combined monthly adjusted parental gross

incomes.

(b) 1. "Extraordinary medical expenses" means uninsured expenses in excess

of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) for the child or children subject to

the order per calendar year.

2. "Extraordinary medical expenses" includes but is not limited to the costs

that are reasonably necessary for medical, surgical, dental, orthodontal,

optometric, nursing, and hospital services; for professional counseling or

psychiatric therapy for diagnosed medical disorders; and for drugs and

medical supplies, appliances, labor atory, diagnostic, and therapeutic

services.

(11) The court order shall include the Social Security numbers, provided in accordance

with KRS 403.135, of all parties subject to a support order.

(12) In any case administered by the Cabinet for Health and Fam ily Services, if the

parent ordered to provide health care coverage is enrolled through an insurer but

fails to enroll the child under family coverage, the other parent or the Cabinet for

Health and Family Services may, upon application, enroll the child.

(13) In any case administered by the cabinet, information received or transmitted shall

not be published or be open for public inspection, including reasonable evidence of

domestic violence or child abuse if the disclosure of the information could be

harmful to the custodial parent or the child of the parent. Necessary information and

records may be furnished as specified by KRS 205.175.

(14) In the case in which a parent is obligated to provide health care coverage, and

changes employment, and the new empl oyer provides health care coverage, the

Cabinet for Health and Family Services shall transfer notice of the provision for

coverage for the child to the employer, which shall operate to enroll this child in the

obligated parent's health plan, unless the obl igated parent contests the notice as

specified by KRS Chapter 13B.

(15) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, any wage or income shall not

be exempt from attachment or assignment for the payment of current child support

or owed or to-be-owed child support.

(16) A payment of money received by a child as a result of a parental disability shall be

credited against the child support obligation of the parent. A payment shall not be

counted as income to either parent when calculating a child suppor t obligation. An

amount received in excess of the child support obligation shall be credited against a

child support arrearage owed by the parent that accrued subsequent to the date of

the parental disability, but shall not be applied to an arrearage that accrued prior to

the date of disability. The date of disability shall be as determined by the paying

agency.