Nesting in California child custody cases

Californians who are parents and who are planning to divorce often have concerns about how to best handle their child custody and parenting time arrangements. For most parents, their primary goals are to protect their children while helping them to deal with the divorces and the changes in their lives.

In the past, mothers used to usually receive primary residential custody with the fathers receiving visitation every other weekend and some extra time during the summer months. In more recent years, courts have instead tended towards equal shared-parenting arrangements with the children spending nearly equal amounts of time with both parents.

One problem that some parents have with shared parenting is the disruption that it causes to their children. The children are forced to move back and forth between their parents’ homes and are thus uprooted on a regular basis. Some parents are opting for a novel arrangement called nesting. In this approach, the parents move back and forth in the marital home, splitting their time in the home equally. The children remain in the home at all times. When a parent is not having his or her scheduled time, he or she will stay in a nearby apartment or home that the ex-couple shares.

Child custody and parenting plans should be in the best interests of the child. Nesting may not be a good option for everyone, but it may be beneficial to some divorced parents and their children. Parents who want to divorce might want to seek advice from experienced family law attorneys. The lawyers may talk with their clients about their potential options and make recommendations according to their children’s best interests as well as their own. The attorneys may then work to negotiate full settlements that might allow the parents to get divorced without litigating in court.