Many Mississippi parents experience high levels of stress in a divorce due to financial issues and other factors. Some worry about having to sell their marital home and how doing so might negatively affect their children. Such parents may be glad to know that a child custody arrangement known as “bird nesting” may be a viable option.
When a bird nesting option is chosen in a divorce, the marital home is not sold. In fact, the children keep living in it full time. Parents share custody and take turns living in the house with the kids. There are numerous benefits to this type of custody arrangement and a few possible downsides.
Children cope with divorce better with a bird nesting child custody plan
One of the greatest benefits of a bird nesting custody arrangement is the way it enables children to maintain a sense of structure, routine and normalcy in their daily lives during an otherwise disruptive time. When they do not have to switch schools or make new friends in a different neighborhood, there is less stress associated with their parents’ divorce. Bird nesting also enables kids to have ample time with both parents since each one comes and goes on a rotating schedule.
What are the downsides of bird nesting?
The expense of a secondary residence is, perhaps, one of the greatest downfalls of a bird-nesting custody plan for Mississippi parents. However, there are ways to minimize costs, such as living in a spare room of a family member or friend, or by splitting expenses with the other parent in a studio apartment. Because one parent is always living with the children, the other one can stay in the apartment when it is not his or her turn for custody. For help in crafting a bird-nesting child custody plan, a parent can seek assistance from an experienced family law attorney.
