Parents in New Jersey who are going through the dissolution of a marriage can find comfort in knowing that their children will be able to move past their parents’ marital dissolution over time. Still, this can be a life-altering event for children. One solution that parents have implemented when it comes to dealing with child custody during a divorce is called nesting.
Nesting happens when the children whose parents have gotten divorced get to stay in the marital home. This means they do not have to go back and forth between their parents’ homes each week, for example. Instead, their parents are the ones who do the moving, with one parent staying in the house with the children at a time.
The benefit of nesting is that the children can enjoy more stability, as they do not have to worry about having two separate sets of toys and clothes, for instance. However, nesting may not be feasible for some families, as the parents now must have not just one family home but three homes — one for the children and one for each of the parents. In addition, the parents will have to interact with each other more than they would in a traditional custody arrangement, which may lead to undesirable conflict between the two.
Child custody can be a complicated aspect of divorce in New Jersey, especially when the two parents cannot see eye to eye on who should keep the children. However, if the parents can work toward a parenting plan that satisfies both parties, they may be able to avoid further court intrusion. The most important part of creating such a plan is ensuring that the best interests of the children are protected long term.
Source: washingtonpost.com, “Letting the kids stay in the home while the divorcing parents move in and out. Is it realistic?“, Fiona Tapp, July 27, 2017