Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 530.050 (2026)

Nonsupport and flagrant nonsupport

✓ current as of May 2026
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(1) A person is guilty of nonsupport: (a) When he or she persistently fails to provide support which he or she can reasonably provide and which the person knows he or she has a duty to provide to a minor, a child adjudged mentally disabled, an indigent spouse, or indigent parent; or (b) Upon a finding that a defendant obligor, subject to court order to pay any amount for the support of a minor child, is delinquent in meeting the full obligation established by the court order, and has been delinquent for a period of at least two (2) months duration. (2) A person is guilty of flagrant nonsupport when he or she persistently fails to provide support which he or she can reasonably provide and which the person knows he or she has a duty to provide by virtue of a court or administrative order to a minor, a child adjudged mentally disabled, an indigent spouse, or indigent parent, and the failure results in: (a) An arrearage of not less than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); or (b) Six (6) consecutive months without payment of support; or (c) The dependent having been placed in destitute circumstances. For the purposes of this paragraph, it shall be prima facie evidence that a dependent has been placed in destitute circumstances if the dependent is a recipient of public assistance as defined in KRS 205.010. (3) A person has a duty to provide support for an indigent spouse, a minor child or children, or a child or children adjudged mentally disabled and, for purposes of this section, is presumed to know of that duty. (4) Any person who is eighteen (18) years of age or over, residing in this state and having in this state a parent who is destitute of means of subsistence and unable because of old age, infirmity, or illness to support himself or herself, has a duty to provide support for such parent and, for purposes of this section, is presumed to know of that duty. (5) Nonsupport is a Class A misdemeanor. For a second offense, the person shall receive a minimum sentence of seven (7) days in jail. For a third or any subsequent offense, the person shall receive a minimum sentence of thirty (30) days in jail. (6) Flagrant nonsupport is a Class D felony. Effective: June 29, 2021 History: Amended 2021 Ky. Acts ch. 51, sec. 1, effective June 29, 2021. -- Amended 1988 Ky. Acts ch. 411, sec. 30, effective July 15, 1988. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 144, sec. 18, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 141, sec. 136, effective July 1, 1982. -- Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 361, sec. 1, effective June 19, 1976. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 261, effective January 1, 1975. Note: 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 396, sec. 148 would have amended this section effective July 1, 1982. However, 1980 Ky. Acts ch. 396 was repealed by 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 141, sec. 146, also effective July 1, 1982.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 23 cases (6 in the last 5 years), 1979–2026 · leading case: Schoenbachler v. Commonwealth, 95 S.W.3d 830 (Ky. 2003).
Schoenbachler v. Commonwealth, 95 S.W.3d 830 (Ky. 2003). · cites it 5× “At oral argument, however, the Commonwealth conceded the legal issue and agreed that KRS 530.050 requires the Commonwealth to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant can reasonably provide the support ordered.”
Commonwealth v. Marshall, 345 S.W.3d 822 (Ky. 2011). · cites it 6× “" KRS 530.050(2). (Emphasis added.) The Court today seems to unrealistically think of these defendants in flagrant nonsupport cases as being dressed in the rags of a Dickens' chimney sweep struck down by the oppressive yoke of penury beyond *836 his or her control.”
Posey v. Commonwealth, 185 S.W.3d 170 (Ky. 2006). · cites it 2× “990, flagrant non-support, KRS 530.050, reckless homicides involving vehicle accidents, KRS 507.”
Gamble v. Commonwealth, 293 S.W.3d 406 (Ky. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “See KRS 530.050(2). He was sentenced pursuant to the terms of his plea agreement to five years’ imprisonment, which was discharged on the condition that he pay child support in the amount of $131 per month plus $144 per month toward the arrearage that then totaled $8,598.”
Staples v. Commonwealth, 454 S.W.3d 803 (Ky. 2014). “For example, KRS 530.050 and KRS 530.060 criminalize a legal custodian's failure to support or failure to shield from neglect, dependency, or delinquency his or her child.”
Waddell v. Commonwealth, 893 S.W.2d 376 (Ky. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 6× “Waddell, entered a conditional plea of guilty to the charge of Flagrant Nonsupport, KRS 530.050, a class “D” felony. The plea was specifically conditioned on Waddell’s right to appeal the trial court's denial of his motion to dismiss the indictment.”
Dunagan v. Commonwealth, 31 S.W.3d 928 (Ky. 2000). · cites it 5× “The Bullitt Circuit Court entered an order dismissing an indictment against Mark Dunagan for flagrant non-support, KRS 530.050, on double jeopardy grounds. The Court of Appeals vacated the circuit court’s order and remanded for trial.”
Commonwealth ex rel. Bailey v. Bailey, 970 S.W.2d 818 (Ky. Ct. App. 1998). “Shortly thereafter, he was charged with flagrant nonsupport (KRS 530.050). Bailey pled guilty to flagrant nonsupport, and he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on July 22, 1991.”
Tucker v. Commonwealth, 295 S.W.3d 455 (Ky. Ct. App. 2009). “KRS 530.050(6). On April 1, 2004, Tucker entered a plea of guilty, and on the same date the trial court entered an order placing him on Class D Felony Pretrial Diversion (KRS 533.”
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Justin Ross Morgan, 465 S.W.3d 447 (Ky. 2015). · cites it 2× “4(b) 3 by failing to comply with the support order to such an extent as to constitute the crime of flagrant non-support, under KRS 530.050(2), and SCR 3.130-8.4(c) 4 by fading to pay his child support as ordered.”
Boudreaux v. State, 1999 UT App 310 (Utah Ct. App. 1999). “See Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 530.050 (Michie 1990).”
Matter of Carlson, 489 S.E.2d 834 (Ga. 1997). · cites it 2× “" KRS § 530.050. Had alcoholism and mental illness truly affected Carlson's ability to pay the $43,000 in child support that accrued while he was a member of the bars in Georgia and Illinois, under the plain language of the Kentucky statute Carlson could not have been guilty of…”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 530.050(2) — 5 cases
Schoenbachler v. Commonwealth, 95 S.W.3d 830 (Ky. 2003). “At oral argument, however, the Commonwealth conceded the legal issue and agreed that KRS 530.050 requires the Commonwealth to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant can reasonably provide the support ordered.”
Commonwealth v. Marshall, 345 S.W.3d 822 (Ky. 2011). “" KRS 530.050(2). (Emphasis added.) The Court today seems to unrealistically think of these defendants in flagrant nonsupport cases as being dressed in the rags of a Dickens' chimney sweep struck down by the oppressive yoke of penury beyond *836 his or her control.”
Gamble v. Commonwealth, 293 S.W.3d 406 (Ky. Ct. App. 2009). “See KRS 530.050(2). He was sentenced pursuant to the terms of his plea agreement to five years’ imprisonment, which was discharged on the condition that he pay child support in the amount of $131 per month plus $144 per month toward the arrearage that then totaled $8,598.”
Kentucky Bar Ass'n v. Justin Ross Morgan, 465 S.W.3d 447 (Ky. 2015). “4(b) 3 by failing to comply with the support order to such an extent as to constitute the crime of flagrant non-support, under KRS 530.050(2), and SCR 3.130-8.4(c) 4 by fading to pay his child support as ordered.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 530.050(2)(a) — 2 cases
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 530.050(3) — 1 case
Vincent v. Conn, 593 S.W.2d 99 (Ky. Ct. App. 1979).
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 530.050(6) — 3 cases
Commonwealth v. Marshall, 345 S.W.3d 822 (Ky. 2011). “" KRS 530.050(2). (Emphasis added.) The Court today seems to unrealistically think of these defendants in flagrant nonsupport cases as being dressed in the rags of a Dickens' chimney sweep struck down by the oppressive yoke of penury beyond *836 his or her control.”
Tucker v. Commonwealth, 295 S.W.3d 455 (Ky. Ct. App. 2009). “KRS 530.050(6). On April 1, 2004, Tucker entered a plea of guilty, and on the same date the trial court entered an order placing him on Class D Felony Pretrial Diversion (KRS 533.”
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