You may accept that you must part ways with your spouse, but the hardest part for you may be to walk away from the things you worked so hard to build during your marriage. For one, you may miss the family home where you created so many fond memories with your family. At the same time, you may regret uprooting your small children from possibly the only home they have ever known. With these factors at play, you may think long and hard about proposing a nesting arrangement to your soon-to-be former spouse and their legal representation in the divorce case. For this, please read on to discover how a nesting arrangement is supposed to work and how a seasoned Bergen County child custody attorney at McNerney & McAuliffe can help you determine whether this schedule will work in the best interest of all your household members.
In a divorce case, what is a nesting arrangement?
Coined after a bird’s nest, a nesting arrangement in a divorce case allows the children to remain in the family home full time while the parents take turns living there according to a predetermined parenting time schedule. With this, each parent may acquire separate residences elsewhere, where they reside alone when not scheduled to be with the children. It is even possible for both parents to share a secondary home or apartment and alternate staying there. This may make the most sense if the couple has already purchased a vacation home or otherwise a second property in the course of their marriage. The bottom line with this arrangement is that the children stay put.
How will I know if a nesting arrangement will work?
Obviously, you may want a nesting arrangement to work because you want to disrupt your children’s lives as little as possible in the wake of your divorce. With this, they may be able to attend the same school, participate in the same sports and activities, and overall maintain the life they have grown accustomed to. This may be especially better if your or your former spouse’s separate residence is a long distance away from your family home, given how frequently you would be scheduled to hand off parenting time. Also, if these separate residences are not equipped with the same accomodations or overall safety and security features as your family home.
Even if everything in your being hopes that this arrangement works for your children’s sakes, at the foundation, you must establish an amicable relationship with your former spouse. This is because, even if you are not living in the family home at the same time anymore, you are still sharing a space. This will require a lot of communication and negotiation over how to maintain the property and run the household, with possibly even trusting one another with certain responsibilities to uphold.
In conclusion, if you find yourself in need of legal aid, look no further than a competent Bergen County family law attorney. Whether you simply have a legal question or require legal representation in an upcoming court case, our team at McNerney & McAuliffe is willing to help out. Please pick up the phone and call us today.