A judge has given former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and his ex-wife, Glenna Bevin, 48 hours to file detailed financial disclosures as part of their divorce settlement or face sanctions including possible contempt of court.
In a sternly-worded order issued March 10, Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela J. Johnson said the Bevins acted in “bad faith” by concealing their financial status as their estranged adopted son, Jonah Bevin, seeks such information in hopes of obtaining financial support.
Reports the Bevins filed with the court with all financial details redacted are not sufficient, the order said.
“No reasonable person could possibly perceive financial disclosures with every single piece of financial information redacted to fulfill adequately the court’s requirement that financial information be handed over to Jonah,” it said. “Matt and Glenna acted with the intent to delay and frustrate proceedings. This is the only warning the court will issue; any deficiency or failure to adhere to the letter and spirit of the court’s rulings pertaining to discovery SHALL result in sanctions against Matt and Glenna.”
The judge also said she will consider awarding Jonah Bevin’s lawyers their costs of asking the court to force the Bevins to produce financial information.
The ruling is the latest development in the year-long legal battle between Jonah Bevin and his wealthy parents whom he alleges abandoned him at age 17 in a brutally abusive youth facility in Jamaica closed in 2024 by child welfare officials.
Jonah Bevin, now 19, is one of four children from Ethiopia the Bevins adopted in 2012.
Neither the Bevins nor their lawyers immediately responded to requests for comment.
Matt Bevin, a Republican, business entrepreneur and conservative Christian, served as Kentucky governor from 2015-2019, running on a campaign promoting adoption and foster care. He and Glenna Bevin have nine children, four adopted.
John H. Helmers, a lawyer representing Jonah Bevin, said he and his law partner, Melina Hettiaratchi, are pleased with the judge’s order.
“The finding that Matt and Glenna Bevin have acted in bad faith is supported by the facts,” Helmers said in an email. “At every turn, the Bevins have assumed that they are above the law. The order proves that they are subject to the same rules as everyone else in family court.”
Bevins: no ‘regular income’
The Bevins’ divorce was finalized a year ago but the financial settlement has been delayed after Jonah successfully petitioned last year to intervene, arguing that he is entitled to support and assistance in completing an education after his abandonment at 17 left him without resources and no valid high school degree.
The Bevins have twice unsuccessfully appealed the family court judge’s decision to allow Jonah to intervene in their divorce case, with both appeals rejected, most recently last month.
The family court judge also rejected the Bevins’ efforts to seal the case from public disclosure, a ruling affirmed in the most recent decision by the state Court of Appeals, which found such records should be “open and available to the public unless a family court determines there is a reason to seal the records.”
The judge’s order noted that lawyers for the Bevins argued at a recent hearing that the couple should not be forced to disclose their financial details because “they do not have regular income.”
‘I don’t have anybody’: Adoptive teen son of a KY governor talks about life on his own
“According to their attorneys, Matt and Glenna live off dividends and interest,” Johnson’s order said.
Matt Bevin’s net worth was estimated in the millions when he ran for governor in 2015 and he and his ex-wife owned several houses, each valued at more than $1 million.
Johnson said she would need current financial information from the Bevins in making any potential calculation of child support.
The Bevins’ lawyers have argued Kentucky law makes no provision for children to intervene in their parents’ divorce case or seek child support.
But Johnson’s order said the Bevins’ case is “markedly distinct from any other child support case before the court” and as a result, “may make departure from the typical process for calculating child support necessary.”
A dispute over whether Jonah is entitled to child support is “no excuse” for the Bevins’ failure to disclose financial information, her order said.
The judge’s deadline for the Bevins’ financial disclosures is Thursday, March 12, at 12:56 p.m.