Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky

Re: parental rights of unwed mothers

In Kentucky, there is a presumption of joint custody between unwed parents of a child. If one parent dies, then physical and legal custody is vested solely in the surviving parent UNLESS that parent is proven to be unfit.

One way you can address this is to have a will drawn up that names some other family member or members as the guardian of the children and put a statement in there that this is because you believe the father to be unfit. The courts do not have to honor this provision, however it should be enough to give that relative standing to challenge the father for the care of the children.