Is nesting a good choice for our family?

Divorce is a complicated and often emotional process. However, the process of building your life back after a divorce can be just as complicated. Particularly if your divorce involves minor children, figuring out a new rhythm to family life requires a lot of trial and error.

In a traditional joint custodial arrangement, the children will move back and forth between the parents’ houses according to a preset custody schedule. However, this arrangement does not work for all divorced families. For this reason, some families are experimenting with nesting as an alternative method of managing joint custody.

What is nesting?

Nesting involves the children residing in a single dwelling. Instead of the children moving between parental households, the parents are the ones who rotate in and out of the family home.

When should we consider this?

This is not an arrangement that will work if you are on bad terms with your ex-spouse. A successful nesting arrangement requires jointly managing the family home. This means that you will still be managing household bills and splitting expenses even though you and your ex-spouse are no longer married.

Nesting is a good option for families that reside in expensive areas. If it is not possible for you to maintain a household in your neighborhood as a single-income entity, nesting may be the only real way to keep your children in the same school district. Nesting is also a good option for families who have children with special needs as it keeps the children in one household.