IN PLAIN ENGLISH
How custody works in Kentucky
Kentucky judges decide custody based on your child's best interests, and they give equal consideration to each parent. [KY-P1] The law starts from the idea, called a presumption, that joint custody and equally shared parenting time are best for your child. [KY-P1] Either parent can overcome that starting point with evidence, and if equal time is not right, the judge must build a schedule that still gives each parent as much time as is consistent with the child's welfare. [KY-P1]
Since July 15, 2026, a judge must look at any claims of domestic violence or child abuse or neglect before anything else, and write down how those claims affect your child. [KY-P1] The equal-time starting point does not help a parent who has a domestic violence order against them, and a finding of two or more acts of domestic violence creates a starting point against that parent having joint custody or equal time. [KY-P2]
Kentucky does not have one required statewide schedule. [KY-P1] The statewide family court rules include Sample Parenting Time Guidelines, which suggest at least every other weekend and one midweek visit for the parent with less time, but the judge may use them, a local court's guidelines, or a schedule the parents agreed to in writing. [KY-P4] Many Kentucky family courts have their own standard schedule, so ask the court in your county. [KY-P8]
Words you’ll see in your papers
- Joint custody
- Both parents share custody. Shared legal custody means you make big decisions together, like school and medical care. [KY-P8]
- Timesharing
- Kentucky's common word for parenting time, the schedule of when your child is with each parent. It is also called visitation. [KY-P8]
- Presumption
- The starting point the judge uses. In Kentucky the starting point is joint custody and equal time, but evidence can change the outcome. [KY-P1, KY-P8]
- De facto custodian
- A person, such as a grandparent, who a court finds has been a child's main caregiver and financial supporter for a set period. Once the court makes that finding, that person stands on equal footing with a parent in custody matters. [KY-P1]
COMMON QUESTIONS
What parents in Kentucky ask first
Does Kentucky start from 50/50?
Yes, as a starting point. [KY-P1] The law presumes joint custody and equally shared parenting time are best for your child. [KY-P1] The other parent can overcome that with evidence, and it does not help a parent who has a domestic violence order against them. [KY-P1, KY-P2]
What does the judge look at?
First, any claims of domestic violence or child abuse or neglect. [KY-P1] Then the judge considers what each parent wants; what your child wants, keeping in mind that a parent may have influenced those wishes; your child's relationships with parents, brothers, sisters and others; the adults' motives; how settled your child is at home, school and in the community; everyone's mental and physical health; any domestic violence; any knowingly false abuse claim made on purpose; and whether each parent will allow frequent, meaningful contact with the other parent. [KY-P1]
Does my child get to choose?
No age gives your child the final say. [KY-P1] The judge considers your child's wishes as one factor, with attention to whether a parent has influenced them. [KY-P1] The judge may also talk with your child privately in chambers, and a record of that talk is made part of the case. [KY-P5]
Can I move away with my child?
Before you move, you must file a written notice with the court and send it to the other parent, giving the new address, the moving date and how the move affects the timesharing schedule. [KY-P4, KY-P6] The statewide rule does not set a number of days, but some local courts do: Fayette County (Lexington) requires notice at least 60 days before the move. [KY-P4, KY-P11] If the schedule is affected, there are 20-day deadlines to ask the court to change custody or timesharing. [KY-P4, KY-P6] If you have an active emergency protective order or domestic violence order against the other parent, you do not have to reveal your new address to them; the court's notice form lets you give it to the judge in a sealed envelope. [KY-P6]
Can the order be changed later?
Yes, but custody is harder to change than the schedule. [KY-P7] A request to change custody generally cannot be filed within two years of the order unless sworn statements show the child may be in serious danger or has been placed with a de facto custodian. [KY-P7] The judge must find that circumstances have changed and that a change is needed for your child's best interests. [KY-P7] Timesharing can be changed whenever that would serve your child's best interests, but a parent's time cannot be restricted unless it would seriously endanger the child. [KY-P3]
We were never married. What happens first?
Usually the father's legal fatherhood, called paternity, has to be established first, either by both parents signing a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity Affidavit or by a court order after genetic testing. [KY-P9] Paternity and custody are separate issues; in most cases the child lives with the mother, and once paternity is established the father can ask the court for timesharing. [KY-P9]
What if I am not safe?
A judge who issues a domestic violence order can also grant temporary custody. [KY-P10] In a custody case, the equal-time starting point does not apply to a parent with a domestic violence order against them, and repeated violence can bar custody or unsupervised visits until required programs and hearings are completed. [KY-P2] A judge cannot limit a parent's timesharing unless it would seriously endanger the child, but when domestic violence is alleged, the judge must set an arrangement, if any, that does not seriously endanger the child or the custodial parent. [KY-P3]
Free, official places to start
- Kentucky Justice Online: Custody and Parenting Time
Free legal aid questions and answers on custody types, timesharing and how judges decide, with links to free legal help.
- Kentucky Court of Justice: Family Court
The state court system's family court page, with links to legal forms, legal self-help and local rules.
- Kentucky Court of Justice: Local Rules of Practice
Find your county's family court rules, which may include a local timesharing schedule.
LOCAL SPOTLIGHT · LEXINGTON
Fayette County
Fayette Family Court, 22nd Judicial Circuit
Fayette Family Court's local Rule 703 says possible schedules include the statewide Sample Parenting Time Guidelines or any option in the Fayette County Model Parenting and Timesharing Guidelines attached to its rules as Appendix B. [KY-P11] Those local guidelines offer a menu of model schedules, such as week-on, week-off, 2-2-3, 2-2-5-5 and every other weekend, plus holiday terms like alternating Thanksgiving and splitting Christmas Eve and Christmas Day by odd and even years. [KY-P11] The court calls them a starting point for discussion, says each case's facts can lead to a different schedule, and says no timesharing agreement can be enforced until the court orders it. [KY-P11] Like the state rule, none of these schedules applies to you automatically. [KY-P4, KY-P11] Fayette's local Rule 704 also requires a parent who plans to move with the children to give written notice at least 60 days before the move and file it with the court, and says no move that would materially change the current arrangement may happen without a written agreement or court order. [KY-P11]
- Fayette Family Court Rules, including Rule 703 and Appendix B Model Parenting and Timesharing Guidelines (PDF)
The Lexington family court's local rules, including Rule 704's 60-day move notice. Read Appendix B to see the model schedules parents and judges in Fayette County often start from.
- Notice of Relocation, form AOC-241 (PDF)
The statewide court form a parent files before moving with a child under a custody or timesharing order.
Other counties in Kentucky can have different local rules and forms. Check the court where your case is filed.
THE DETAILED GUIDE · WHAT KIND OF SCHEDULE THE LAW PROVIDES
No fixed statewide schedule identified
Research overview
Equal-time statutory presumption does not prescribe a particular calendar; local family-court rules may supplement process.
Legal force and applicability
Case-specific calendar; no fixed statewide calendar identified in reviewed sources. Any custody/allocation presumption is separate.
Authority and geographic scope
KRS 403.270/.315/.317 statewide. Local rules apply only within named circuit. [KY-1,KY-4]
Custody and parenting-time presumptions
Joint custody and equally shared parenting time presumed best, rebuttable by preponderance, subject to §403.315; if deviation warranted, maximize each parent/de facto custodian time consistent with child welfare. [KY-1]
Schedule & conditions
Read these topics together with your actual order. A model, form, or presumption does not automatically supply an enforceable calendar.
Regular school-year schedule
No mandated 2-2-3, alternating-week or weekend calendar in statute. [KY-1]
Holidays and school breaks
Individual schedule; no fixed statewide holiday parity identified in the reviewed sources. [KY-1]
Summer and vacation time
Individual schedule; no fixed statewide summer dates identified in the reviewed sources. [KY-1]
Age and development
Under-three/three-plus thresholds in §403.270(1) concern de facto-custodian qualification, NOT automatic visitation age bands. [KY-1]
Distance, travel, and relocation
Continuing proximity to home/school/community is a factor; no statutory mileage-tier calendar found. [KY-1]
Safety & exceptions
2026 changes: abuse/neglect allegations considered first with written impact findings; DVO removes pro-joint/equal presumption for respondent; two or more DV acts create adverse presumption and bar custody/unsupervised visits pending required programs, supervised visits and hearings. §403.317 protects qualifying nonoffending bonded parent from reductions solely to improve abuser relationship. [KY-1,KY-2,KY-3]