Nesting Arrangement

I tell people that the only limits on how to create a placement schedule for your children is your own imagination. That might seem like an odd statement, but what works for your children might not work for the family down the street. Children at different ages need different schedules. Often, it is easiest to start a separation by implementing a nesting arrangement. Instead of having your children bounce between households, you as the parents move in and out. For example, some teenagers can go a week without seeing one parent (or even noticing one parent is missing), so mom takes week one and dad takes week two. On Sunday at noon mom leaves for her parents for the week and dad moves in for the week. Next Sunday, mom and dad switch. When parents live it first, they can under the impact living in two households has on their children. (i.e. How aggravating it is leaving items behind on accident, like homework or a tooth brush. Parents also get the benefit of test driving a schedule to see if it works for the children before a divorce is final. But, nesting arrangements are not, repeat not, for everyone. If you are going to fight over who buys what for the house, who mows the lawn, who cleans, . . . its not for you. The children will be negatively impacted by the bickering and annoyed with having to call mom on dad's week to ask if they can drink mom's orange juice in the frig.

While this posting is not full of legal terms or theories, I still have to remind readers that this is no substitute for legal advice from an attorney who knows your particular family situation.