Gone are the days when divorcing parents had few options for sharing custody of the kids. Increasingly, newly single mothers and fathers are looking for innovative ways to provide stability for their children after divorce. Nesting, sometimes called birdnesting, is one of these.
With nesting, your kids always live at the family residence, which keeps them from shuffling between two separate households. When your and your ex-spouse’s parenting time begins, you move into the family home with the kids. Otherwise, you and your former spouse live elsewhere.
A nesting agreement
When you are negotiating your custody arrangement, you are likely to draft a comprehensive parenting plan that outlines each parent’s rights and responsibilities. If you want to try nesting, you may also choose to execute a nesting agreement. This agreement establishes household rules and sets other guidelines for you and your ex-spouse to follow.
A second residence
For nesting to work, you and your ex-husband or -wife must have a second place to call home. This means you are likely to incur additional expenses, so you may want to think about your nesting arrangement when finalizing your divorce and contemplating spousal support.
An expiration date
While it is certainly possible to utilize nesting until each of your children becomes an adult, you may want to set an expiration date. Nesting for a year or two may give your kids time to adjust to your divorce without unnecessarily depleting financial resources or inconveniencing yourself.
Successful nesting requires buy-in from both parents and from the children. Ultimately, if everyone can get on the same page, nesting may work perfectly for your post-divorce family.
