KRS 403.280: Temporary custody orders.

(1) A party to a custody proceeding may move for a temporary custody order. The

motion must be supported by an affidavit as provided in KRS 403.350. The court

may award temporary custody under the standards of KRS 403.270 after a hearing,

or, if there is no objection, solely on the basis of the affidavits. If the parents or a de

facto custodian joined under subsection (9) of this section present a temporary

custody agreement and mutually agreed plan for parenting time, and the court

confirms that the agreement adequately provides for the welfare of the child, the

agreement shall become the temporary custody order of the court.

(2) Subject to KRS 403.315, in making an order for temporary custody, there shall be a

presumption, rebuttable by preponderance of eviden ce, that it is in the best interest

of the child for the parents or a de facto custodian joined under subsection (9) of

this section to have temporary joint custody and share equally in parenting time.

(3) If a deviation from equal parenting time is warran ted, the court shall construct a

parenting time schedule which maximizes the time each parent or de facto custodian

joined under subsection (9) of this section has with the child and is consistent with

ensuring the child's welfare.

(4) Each temporary custody order shall include specific findings of fact and conclusions

of law, except when the court confirms the agreement of the parties.

(5) Any temporary custody order shall address the circumstance in which physical

possession of the child will be exchanged.

(6) Modification of a temporary custody order may be sought when there is a material

and substantial change in the circumstances of the parents, de facto custodian, or

child.

(7) If a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or legal separation is dismisse d, any

temporary custody order is vacated unless a parent or the child's custodian moves

that the proceeding continue as a custody proceeding and the court finds, after a

hearing, that the circumstances of the parents and the best interests of the child

require that a custody decree be issued.

(8) If a custody proceeding commenced in the absence of a petition for dissolution of

marriage or legal separation under KRS 403.822(1)(a) or (b) is dismissed, any

temporary custody order is vacated.

(9) If a court de termines by clear and convincing evidence that a person is a de facto

custodian, the court shall join that person in the action, as a party needed for just

adjudication under Rule 19 of the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure.