Cumberland County judge schedules child interview and orders focused financial tracing in divorce dispute

A Cumberland County judge said the court will interview a 15-year-old whose parents are seeking a temporary custody modification and instructed parties in a separate divorce to prepare targeted financial tracing exhibits.

In the custody matter the judge authorized an in-chambers interview of the child with the court's staff attorney, saying the interview could inform whether to pursue a permanent modification or another path. Counsel were told they might listen to the recorded interview or receive the report afterward; the judge noted the child's age (15) and said the child's views would be weighed in context.

In a matrimonial dispute over proceeds from an insurance payment and the sale of property called 'Ardan Lane,' counsel vigorously debated tracing assertions—one side contending proceeds were split 50/50 at sale, the other asserting funds later appeared in Fidelity and Raymond James accounts. The judge encouraged the parties to use a cumulative-tracing exhibit approach (KRE 106-style) to streamline evidence and asked them to attempt to agree on exhibits before a status date; if no agreement is reached, the court said it would set a hearing.

Both matters were scheduled for further attention at the next docket call; the court invited the parties to confer and deliver the agreed exhibits or a proposed schedule for contested proof.