Kentucky And Indiana Law Blog

Kentucky residents who do not maintain insurance on their vehicles can be fined as much as $2,500 and sent to jail for as long as 180 days. It's important to understand that uninsured motorists could face severe penalties even if their cars never leave their driveways. To avoid these sanctions, drivers in the Bluegrass State must maintain insurance that includes bodily injury coverage of a minimum of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, minimum property damage coverage of $25,000 per accident and minimum personal injury protection coverage of $10,000 per accident.

Proof of this coverage must be presented before a county clerk's office will register a vehicle, and insurance companies that do business in Kentucky are required to notify the authorities whenever a policy expires or is canceled. The state's Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing then checks these lapsed or canceled policies with active registrations. Uninsured notices are sent to all vehicle owners who have plates but no insurance, even if they don't drive their cars.

Even under the best possible circumstances, divorce can be difficult. Although a Kentucky couple may agree that beginning a new life living apart is the right path, issues such as property division and spousal support often trigger disagreement, but child custody and support present issues that can last well into the future. Ultimately, cooperation on some level must be arrived at, but some individuals are so unrealistic and selfish that there is little room for conciliation and compromise.

Family counseling professionals agree that co-parenting, where mutuality of respect, concurrence on core child-raising issues, and civility can be achieved, is the best possible scenario for children of divorce. Some marital relationships have so deteriorated, however, that those goals are unattainable. Still, the two parties remain bound to each other as parents of their children and some contact between the two must inevitably occur. In many instances, the same personality issues with one party that causes conflict with the post-divorce issues were responsible for the failure of the marriage in the first place.

As a parent, you try your best to protect your teenager. But there is always a possibility that he or she will get into trouble with the law. The last thing you want is your son or daughter to face underage DUI charges, but there is a chance it can happen.

You should be ready to teach your teen about the reality of drunk driving, including the dangers, penalties and importance of having legal defense. Here are some important facts you and your teen should know about underage drunk driving charges in Kentucky. 

Kentucky residents who have certain medical conditions might blow a false positive on breath tests, but there is some disagreement about how accurate the different types of tests may be. Ketosis, which is a state that a low-carb diet can put people into, may cause people to breathe out isopropyl alcohol, and some breath tests might not distinguish this from ethanol alcohol. Diabetes and GERD are among the other conditions that could lead to a similar false positive.

A Texas attorney was able to get DUI charges against his client who was in ketosis dropped, but manufacturers of breath tests that use fuel cell technology say their devices are accurate. The attorney says that there are not peer-reviewed studies to support this claim. Furthermore, one professor of forensic technology published a paper in 2006 about a man who could not get past the breath test ignition lock on a vehicle while he was in ketosis. This device also used fuel cell technology.