SF294 • 2026

A bill for an act relating to temporary orders of child custody in dissolution proceedings.(See SF 514 .)

Children

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor: EVANS
Last action: 2025-03-05
Official status: Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 514 . S.J. 425 .
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The candidate explanation included speculative elements about court actions and agreements between parents that are not directly addressed in the provided bill summary.

Law for Temporary Child Custody Orders

This law changes how courts handle temporary child custody during divorce cases.

What This Bill Does

Requires courts to give both parents joint physical care of the child unless there is a reason not to do so based on a rebuttable presumption against awarding physical care to one party.
Makes sure that if one parent does not get joint physical care, the court must explain why in writing using factors listed in section 598.41, subsection 3.
Encourages visitation schedules for noncustodial parents to ensure they spend time with their children unless such visitation is not in the best interest of the child.

Who It Names or Affects

Parents going through divorce or separation who have custody disputes over their children.

Terms To Know

Temporary joint physical care: Both parents share the responsibility of taking care of the child temporarily during a legal process.
Rebuttable presumption: A belief that something is true unless there is evidence to prove otherwise.

Limits and Unknowns

The law does not specify what happens if both parents agree on custody arrangements.
It's unclear how this will affect existing cases before the new rules are in place.

Bill History

2025-03-05 Iowa Legislature
Committee report approving bill, renumbered as SF 514 . S.J. 425 .
2025-02-19 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee recommends passage.
2025-02-17 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee Meeting: 02/19/2025 11:00AM Senate Lounge.
2025-02-17 Iowa Legislature
Subcommittee: Evans, Dickey, and Petersen. S.J. 282 .
2025-02-12 Iowa Legislature
Introduced, referred to Judiciary. S.J. 254 .

Official Summary Text

A bill for an act relating to temporary orders of child custody in dissolution proceedings.(See SF 514 .)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Senate

File

294

-

Introduced

SENATE

FILE

294

BY

EVANS

A

BILL

FOR

An

Act

relating

to

temporary

orders

of

child

custody

in

1

dissolution

proceedings.

2

BE

IT

ENACTED

BY

THE

GENERAL

ASSEMBLY

OF

THE

STATE

OF

IOWA:

3

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S.F.

294

Section

1.

Section

598.10,

subsection

1,

paragraph

b,

Code

1

2025,

is

amended

to

read

as

follows:

2

b.

In

order

to

encourage

compliance

with

a

visitation

order,

3

a

temporary

order

for

custody

shall

provide

for

a

minimum

4

visitation

schedule

with

the

noncustodial

parent,

unless

the

5

court

determines

that

such

visitation

is

not

in

the

best

6

interest

of

the

child.

In

considering

the

temporary

order,

the

7

court

shall

order

on

a

temporary

basis

during

the

pendency

of

8

the

original

custody

proceeding

temporary

joint

physical

care

9

of

the

child

to

both

parties

unless

a

rebuttable

presumption

10

exists

against

awarding

physical

care

to

one

of

the

parties.

11

If

the

court

finds,

by

a

preponderance

of

the

evidence,

that

12

joint

physical

care

is

inappropriate,

the

court

shall

cite

the

13

reasons

that

joint

physical

care

would

be

inappropriate

using

14

the

factors

listed

in

section

598.41,

subsection

3.

15

EXPLANATION

16

The

inclusion

of

this

explanation

does

not

constitute

agreement

with

17

the

explanation’s

substance

by

the

members

of

the

general

assembly.

18

This

bill

relates

to

temporary

orders

of

child

custody

19

during

dissolution

proceedings.

The

bill

provides

that

unless

20

a

rebuttable

presumption

exists

against

awarding

physical

21

care

to

one

of

the

parties,

the

court

shall

award

temporary

22

joint

physical

care

of

the

child

to

both

parties

during

the

23

pendency

of

the

custody

proceeding.

If

the

court

finds,

by

24

a

preponderance

of

the

evidence,

that

joint

physical

care

is

25

inappropriate,

the

court

is

required

to

cite

the

reasons

for

26

its

decision.

27

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