Last amended January 1, 2023 · Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026
In one sentenceAppendix B lists twenty-six sample parenting conduct provisions a court may include in a custody or parenting order — and says in its own first paragraph that none of them binds anyone unless specifically ordered.
This list below includes examples of terms that may be included in a court order relating to custody or parenting. A court may issue one or more of these orders and may issue orders not on this list. These examples are not binding upon any party unless specifically ordered in that party's case. Each party should review the specific orders in his or her case to determine which, if any, orders apply to him or her. Absent a court order permitting them to do so, no parent or legal custodian of a child shall:
1.Permit or encourage a child to refer to someone other than the child's actual parents as “father”, “mother”, “mom,” or “dad”.
2.Change the child's surname without written permission from the child's parent(s).
3.Fail as soon as practical to notify the other parent or custodian of a medical or psychiatric emergency involving the child which requires professional treatment.
4.Ask the child questions about events and activities at the other parent or custodian's home.
5.Ask the child to keep secrets from a parent or custodian.
6.Discuss litigation between parents or custodians and, in particular ask a child to choose who they want to live or spend more time with.
7.Conduct parental or custodial business, make threats, or argue during possessory exchanges.
8.Disparage the other parent, custodian, or siblings in the presence of the child or permitting third persons to do so.
9.Interfere, by word or deed, with the natural development of the child's love and affection for a parent or custodian.
10.During periods of parenting time, unreasonably prohibit the child from contacting the other parent or custodian.
11.Listen to, eavesdrop on, or record conversations between the child and the other parent or custodian.
12.Contact the child during the other parent or custodian's parenting time without having first been contacted by the child or given permission to do so by the possessory parent or custodian.
13.Discuss matters of child support or maintenance in the presence of the child or permitting third persons to do so.
14.Pass money or messages through the child to the other parent or custodian, particularly messages relating to money or the possessory schedule.
15.During non-parenting time, attempt to remove or remove the child from an individual providing child care, an institutional daycare provider or school, for any period of time, without the expressed consent of the parent or custodian with the right to possession of the child.
16.Change the child's school without written consent of the other parent or joint legal custodian.
17.Remove a parent or custodian as an emergency contact or recipient of medical, schooling, or extracurricular activity information.
18.Reschedule medical and counseling appointments for the child without reasonable prior notice to the other parent or joint legal custodian.
19.Fail to administer medicine to the child as prescribed.
20.Fail to ensure the child's continued participation in scheduled or traditionally scheduled extracurricular activities.
21.Schedule activities of any kind during the other parent or custodian's parenting time without permission from the other parent or joint legal custodian.
22.Intentionally or repeatedly fail to return the child's clothing, medicine, or property at the end of his or her parenting time.
23.Fail to use age appropriate vehicle restraints or legally required protective equipment during any activity.
24.Prohibit the child from having reasonable contact with his or her friends.
25.Fail to reasonably assist the child with school homework or projects during overnight possessory periods.
26.Fail to agree to occasional, but reasonable, requests to alter the possessory schedule.
End
Amendment History
Kentucky publishes each rule’s amendment record as a “HISTORY” note beneath the rule, citing the Supreme Court order that adopted or amended it and that order’s effective date. It is reproduced verbatim below.
HISTORY: Amended by Order 2022-58, eff. 1-1-23. Adopted by Order 2020-1, eff. 2-1-20
Plain-English Summary
The opening paragraph does the most important work: these are examples of terms that may be included in an order about custody or parenting, a court may issue one or more of them and may issue orders not on the list, and they are not binding on any party unless specifically ordered in that party's case. FCRPP 2(5)(b) says the same thing from the other direction.
Read together, the twenty-six items are a portrait of the conduct that damages children during a separation. Several concern the child's identity and stability — not encouraging a child to call someone else mother or father, not changing the child's surname or school without written consent, not removing a parent as an emergency contact or recipient of medical and school information.
Others concern putting the child in the middle: asking the child about the other home, asking them to keep secrets, discussing the litigation or support with them, asking them who they want to live with, passing money or messages through them, disparaging the other parent in front of them or letting others do so, and interfering with the natural development of the child's affection for a parent.
The rest are practical: not conducting business or arguing at exchanges, not eavesdropping on or recording the child's conversations with the other parent, not contacting the child during the other parent's time uninvited, administering prescribed medicine, keeping the child in their activities, using age-appropriate restraints and protective equipment, returning the child's clothing and property, helping with homework on overnights, and agreeing to occasional reasonable requests to alter the schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the Appendix B rules apply to my case automatically?
No. The appendix states that these examples are not binding upon any party unless specifically ordered in that party's case, and FCRPP 2(5)(b) says the same.
Can a Kentucky court order something not on the list?
Yes. A court may issue one or more of these orders and may issue orders not on this list.
What kinds of conduct does the list address?
Conduct that draws a child into the dispute or destabilises them — asking the child about the other home or to keep secrets, discussing the litigation or support in front of them, disparaging the other parent, passing messages through the child, changing the child's school or surname without consent, and recording the child's conversations, among others.
Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the
Kentucky Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice (Ky. FCRPP App. B). Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Kentucky. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as:parenting conduct orderco-parenting rulesdisparaging the other parentstandard parenting provisionssample orders