Legal Question in Family Law in Kentucky

Our sister died unexpectantly two weeks ago. She had legal custody of her two granddaughters, and they have resided with my sister for the past 4 1/2 - 5 years in the state of Kentucky, due to her daughter being in prison (indefinitely) in NC. Our sister lived with a man who was not her legal husband for 25 yrs. She never had anything written up to 'share custody' of the girls. He is now wanting full custody of my sister's two granddaughters. He is not a blood relative.Our sister has another adult daughter who is considering seeking custody. Several other aunts and uncles would like to be considered for taking custody of our great nieces. We all have stable homes, with stable jobs. Our sister's live-in boyfriend threatens that he has $250,000 from my sister's insurance policy to fight any of us in court who might seek custody of the girls. Does he have a legal right to keep these two young girls who have no blood ties with him? Our sister was their main caregiver. This gentleman owns a business that has always occupied his time 12-15 hours a day/6-7 days per week. This was always an issue when our sister was living. This gentleman forced our sister to list herself as 'single, living in a separate household' in order to get Social Security benefits for herself, and medical cards on the children. Now he is playing the part of 'grieving widower' and letting everyone believe he 'supported our my sister financially'...and he's happy to 'be her husband' insofar as the $250,000 life insurance policy is concerned. Are the things he is doing legal....and more importantly, do the blood relatives have the right to seek custody of these two young girls and raise them as our sister would have wished for them to be brought up? This gentleman is very good friends with the local attorney's in our small town, and it would be difficult to 'fight' him locally. Please do not seek answers from any attorney's in Lewis County, Kentucky.


Asked on 9/26/10, 9:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Gregory Napier Troutman & Napier, PLLC

Fortunately, that much money to throw around is unlikely to change the outcome in a family law case. His only argument would be that he qualifies as a de facto custodian by providing care for the children for over a year AND providing more than 1/2 of the financial support. However, I consider this a weak argument and there is case law in Kentucky that would prevent him from counting as a de facto custodian just by virtue of being the partner of your sister. A blood relative will most likely prevail over him in court.

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Answered on 10/01/10, 10:13 am


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