{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-15.820","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 15.820","heading":"Child support lien or levy in favor of office -- Filing of notice -- Foreclosure","body":"actions -- Immobilization of vehicles of child support obligors.\n(1) A child support lien or levy in favor of the Office of the Attorney General shall b e\nenforceable against all real and personal property of the obligor if he has failed to\nmake child support payment in an amount equal to support payable for one (1)\nmonth and the child support has been assigned to the office. In accordance with\nsubsection (4) of this section, the lien or levy shall have first priority over any other\nlien assigned by any other agency, association, or corporation.\n(2) The Office of the Attorney General shall file a notice of lien or levy with the county\nclerk of any county or counties in which the obligor has interest in property and the\nnotice shall be recorded in the same manner as notices of lis pendens. The\nrecordation shall constitute notice of both the original amount of child support due\nand all subsequent amounts due b y the same obligor. Upon request, an authorized\nagent of the Office of the Attorney General shall disclose the specific amount of\nliability to any interested party legally entitled to the information. The notice, when\nso filed, shall be conclusive to all p ersons of the lien or levy on the property having\nlegal situs in that county. The lien or levy shall commence as to property of the\nobligor located in the Commonwealth at the time the notice is filed and shall\ncontinue until the original amount of child su pport due and any subsequent\namounts, including interest, penalties, or fees, are fully paid. The lien or levy shall\nattach to all interest in real and personal property in the Commonwealth, then\nowned or subsequently acquired by the obligor. The clerk sha ll be entitled to a fee\npursuant to KRS Chapter 64.\n(3) The Office of the Attorney General may force the sale of the property of the parent\nsubject to the lien or levy for the payment of assigned child support, and distribute\nthe proceeds in accordance with 42 U.S.C. sec. 651 et seq.\n(4) The Office of the Attorney General's lien or levy shall be superior to any mortgage\nor encumbrance created after the notice of lien or levy is recorded. The office shall\ngive full faith and credit to child support liens or levies created in other states\nwithout requirement of judicial notice or proceedings prior to enforcement, but the\nliens or levies shall subordinate to any child support lien or levy of the office that\nrelates to the same obligor and property.\n(5) The Office of the Attorney General shall not enforce the lien by foreclosure action\non a principal residence of an obligor if to do so would deprive a minor child of the\nobligor of a homestead, unless the failure to enforce the lien by foreclosure would\nresult in the loss of the home of the minor child of the custodial parent.\n(6) In the event another lienholder initiates a foreclosure action against the property of\nthe obligor, the Office of the Attorney General may protect its interest in the\nproperty by filing a n answer counterclaim and cross -claim and participate in the\nproceeds of any sale of the property as its interests may appear.\n(7) The Office of the Attorney General shall notify the obligor of the filing of its claim\nof lien or levy and the opportunity to  contest and appeal the action in accordance\nwith the requirements of KRS Chapter 13B.\n(8) Liens or levies resulting from actions provided by this section shall be inapplicable\nto an account maintained at a financial institution that is or may be subject t o the\ndata match system established by KRS 15.846, and is subordinate to any prior lien,\nlevy, or security interest perfected by a financial institution or other legitimate lien\nor levy holder.\n(9) The Office of the Attorney General may, after application to and approval of the\nCircuit Court, enforce the lien by the immobilization with vehicle boots of a vehicle\nregistered in the obligor's name. The office shall establish procedures for vehicle\nbooting by the promulgation of administrative regulations in ac cordance with the\nprovisions of KRS Chapter 13A. The procedures shall require that the following\nconditions are verified before a vehicle is immobilized with a vehicle boot:\n(a) There is an arrearage that equals or exceeds six (6) months without payment;\n(b) The obligor has failed, after receiving appropriate notice, to comply with\nsubpoenas or warrants relating to child support proceedings;\n(c) A lien has been filed in the county where the vehicle is kept;\n(d) The Department of Vehicle Regulation shows th at the vehicle identification\nnumber for the vehicle to be booted is registered in the obligor's name;\n(e) The vehicle to be booted is solely owned by the obligor, co -owned by the\nobligor and current spouse, or owned by a business in which the obligor is t he\nsole proprietor;\n(f) A notice of intent has been sent to the obligor, unless there is reason to believe\nthat the obligor will leave town or hide the vehicle;\n(g) The obligor does not contact the cabinet within ten (10) days of notice to\nnegotiate a settlement; and\n(h) A target date is set for booting.\nThe administrative regulations shall also require that the cabinet send a cancellation\nnotice to the obligor and the sheriff if a decision is made to terminate the booting of\na vehicle. Once a vehicle has been booted, the Office of the Attorney General shall\nattempt to reach a payment agreement with the obligor including terms for the\nrelease of the vehicle. If an agreement is not reached with the obligor, the office\nmay proceed with the sale of the vehicle. If the office sells a vehicle, the office shall\nnotify the Department of Vehicle Regulation to issue clear title to the new owner of\nthe vehicle.","path":["KRS Chapter 15"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54324","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:34Z","sha256":"26b1e7274aaf55bc4c37a7d918b63e05b582a8fb0f12cc2e67c7c84ee630e934","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-15.818","next":"us-ky/krs-15.822"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}