Judge names Kayla Michelle Cuff primary residential parent, keeps existing custody schedule

A Dixon County judge on April 2 named Kayla Michelle Cuff the primary residential parent of her 3-year-old son, Bryce, and kept the temporary parenting schedule the parents had been using during divorce proceedings. The ruling preserves an alternating-week arrangement while adding specific summer-week and holiday allocations and directing the parties to complete child-support calculations.

The judge said he had considered the statutory factors that govern custody decisions and found that while both parents love the child and have contributed to his care, the totality of evidence — including repeated trips the father took while the child was in his parenting time and the way communications and scheduling disputes unfolded — weighed in favor of the mother's continued role as the primary caregiver. “I think I have 2 good parents,” the judge said in explaining a decision that nonetheless favored the mother on several statutory factors.

The ruling keeps the existing schedule the parties had followed on a temporary basis: the father will continue to have custody from Friday at 3 p.m. until Tuesday at 7 a.m. on alternating weeks, with the alternate-week pattern for the other weeks (Sunday evening through Tuesday evening on the off weeks). The judge ordered that, when the child begins school, the school calendar will govern exchanges and that the parties will split summer vacation into two one-week blocks each (one week in June and one in July for each parent) until the school calendar takes effect.

The court also addressed decision-making authority: parents are to make major decisions jointly; if they cannot agree, the primary residential parent (the mother) will have final decision-making authority. The judge said that approach should resolve recurring disagreements the pair had reported, including conflicts over extracurricular signups and which park the child's T-ball team should use.

Both parents gave extended testimony. Matthew (Matt) Cuff, the father, described his work schedule, his parenting routine and a relationship that began online in March 2025; he acknowledged multiple trips to Washington while he was separated from the mother and denied abandoning or neglecting the child during emergencies. “I would never leave him behind like that in an emergency situation,” he testified about prior medical visits. The mother, Kayla Michelle Cuff, recounted discovering the relationship and described concerns about in-person contact between the father's partner and the child, communication lapses and particular incidents she said raised safety concerns — including an episode in July 2025 when the child was briefly locked in a running car inside a garage because an automatic closer engaged.

Counsel for the mother argued the pattern of absences and the father's conduct supported a primary-parent designation for the mother; defense counsel emphasized the father's love for his child and his role in providing for him, including paying day care and maintaining insurance.

The judge ordered the father to continue the child's health insurance and directed the parties to exchange income documentation so the court can calculate child support (the father testified to a current annual income of about $145,000; the mother testified to approximately $81,000). The judge also lifted a previously-discussed restriction against the father's fiancee being around the child, saying there was not sufficient evidence that she posed a risk; he warned the father that his first obligation is to his son and that the presence of other people in his life must not interfere with that duty.

The hearing record shows the court will enter a written order spelling out the schedule details, holiday alternation and summer blocks. The judge urged both parents to prioritize co-parenting norms and warned that continued animosity and game-playing around exchanges would harm the child’s interests. The hearing was adjourned after the court issued its bench ruling; the clerk will provide the signed order to counsel for entry and implementation.