Domestic Violence Orders and Dating Couples

House Bill 396 has been introduced in the Kentucky General Assembly to allow members of dating couples to obtain domestic violence orders. Currently, Kentucky law does only allows for a boyfriend or girlfriend to petition courts for a DVO if they live together or have a child in common. Current law specifies that unmarried couples may petition for a domestic violence order. However, in the case of Barnett v. Wiley, 103 S.W.3d 17 (Ky. 2003), the Court of Appeals held that an unmarried couple must have lived together to have standing to petition for a domestic violence order. The proposed legislation recognizes the dearth of domestic violence protection for many unmarried couples. Read more at kycases.com