{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-31.211","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 31.211","heading":"Determination of ability to pay partial fee for representation and services at","body":"arraignment -- Collection of unpaid partial fee by civil judgment -- Funds\nplaced in special trust and agency account.\n(1) At arraignment, the court shall c onduct a nonadversarial hearing to determine\nwhether a person who has requested a public defender is able to pay a partial fee for\nlegal representation, the other necessary services and facilities of representation,\nand court costs. The court shall order p ayment in an amount determined by the\ncourt and may order that the payment be made in a lump sum or by installment\npayments to recover money for representation provided under this chapter. This\npartial fee determination shall be made at each stage of the proceedings.\n(2) If the partial fee, or any portion thereof, is not paid by the due date, the court's order\nshall be considered a civil judgment subject to collection under Civil Rule 69.03\nand KRS Chapter 426.\n(3) All moneys collected by the public advocat e from indigent defendants pursuant to\nsubsection (1) of this section shall be credited to the Department of Public\nAdvocacy special trust and agency account to be used to support the state public\nadvocacy system.\n(4) If a person receives legal assistance or other benefit under this chapter to which he\nor she is not entitled or if a person receives legal assistance under this chapter and is\nfinancially able to pay for representation on the date the suit is brought, the public\nadvocate, on behalf of the Comm onwealth, shall recover, where practical, payment\nor reimbursement, as the case may be, from the person who received the legal\nassistance or from his or her estate. Any suit seeking recovery under this subsection\nshall be brought within five (5) years after the date on which the aid was received.\n(5) Attorneys providing representation under this chapter shall forward all information\nthat indicates that payment or reimbursement may be obtained pursuant to\nsubsection (4) of this section to the public advocate.\n(6) The duty of recovery contemplated by subsection (4) of this section shall extend\nagainst persons who were the custodial parents or guardians of unemancipated\nminors at the time these minors were deemed needy as defined in KRS 31.100(5)(c)\nor (d).\n(7) All moneys collected under this section shall be placed in a special trust and agency\naccount for the Department of Public Advocacy, and, notwithstanding KRS 45.229,\nthe funds shall not lapse.","path":["KRS Chapter 31"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57831","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:51Z","sha256":"4ffa1ad887b4af08276f25b57cefe6eb0adb753a126daad5f6f0ba59dc6bc85b","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-31.210","next":"us-ky/krs-31.215"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}