Child custody arrangements usually instruct parents on when to exchange the children between their homes. Each parent has a new living situation after the divorce. The children will live with one parent for a certain amount of time and then move to the other parent’s house when custody rights are exchanged.
But birdnesting flips this model on its head. The children always live in the same house. Often, parents will keep the family home they owned when they were married. The children do not have to move at all. This can be useful in creating more stability and making it feel like life has not changed as much after the divorce.
How do parents share custody?
Parents can still split up custody rights, and they do it by moving in and out of the house. One parent may live with the children for a week, for example, and then move into an apartment while their ex lives with the children. This shifts the responsibility of moving from the children to the parents.
However, this arrangement can create some complexities. For one thing, parents need to have another place to live. They either have to share a second home that they alternate living in or they each have a second house, which can be financially prohibitive.
Additionally, parents who are nesting have to learn how to share the family home. They may need to work out an arrangement for how to pay the mortgage, cover maintenance and upkeep costs or divide household chores.
In other words, this only works for couples who have had a relatively amicable split. If you and your spouse are in that position, however, you can see why it is so important to carefully consider all of your custody options while going through the legal process of divorce.
