Letting Kids Keep the House Gains Popularity Among Divorcing Couples
Nov 9, 2011
Zephyrhills, FL (Law Firm Newswire) November 8, 2011 – An article in the Sept. 26 issue of Time Magazine reports that the challenging housing market is leading to a trend among divorcing couples who let the children stay in the house while they rotate who stays with them.
This trend is not without its challenges, but it highlights the lengths many divorcing parents are willing to go in order to do what is best for their children.
“Every family is unique and needs to work through the challenges of divorcing parents differently,” said Zephyrhills family lawyer Marcie Baker. “A division of households that works fine in one situation may be a big challenge in another.”
Keeping one house for the children to live in while the parents alternate who spends time with them there can help avoid “treating children as Frisbees,” according to one judge who was quoted in the Time article. The children have all their possessions available at all times and there are not the issues of forgetting their sporting equipment or homework at one parent’s home when they are staying with the other.
To set up an arrangement like this, Baker recommends detailed guidelines about who can be in the house and what happens there. “A set up like this requires a lot of cooperation,” she said. In addition to issues of having “significant others” in the house, parties have to establish a routine for cleaning and shopping, so that the house is not in disarray when one parent leaves and the other parent arrives for their time sharing. “In all circumstances, a divorcing couple needs to be as specific as they can when laying out the groundwork for how to best care for the children,” Baker said.
This type of arrangement, sometimes called nesting, is usually a solution families try for a few years until their financial situation improves or until the parents are sure the children are ready for a different arrangement. Many parents who try this arrangement are children of divorce, according to the article. Those parents might be eager to try something different than the situation they grew up with.
Marcie Baker is a partner in the firm of Alston & Baker, P. A. To contact a Zephyrhills divorce lawyer, Zephyrhills social security lawyer, or Zephyrhills accident attorney, visit http://www.alstonbakerlaw.com.
Alston & Baker, P.A.
5518 Seventh Street
Zephyrhills, Florida 33542
Call: 813-779-8895
Toll-free: 1-888-500-5245
