Orange County Custody Lawyers for Parents Considering the Bird’s Nest Approach to Custody

Bird’s nest custody is an option for divorcing parents in Orange County that has gained popularity in recent years. Unlike a traditional custody arrangement in which children split time between their parents’ homes, bird’s nest custody gives children a permanent home where they spend time with both parents.

This is a unique form of post-divorce parenting that won’t work for all couples. But, when it makes sense, it can be beneficial for everyone involved. It is most common with co-parenting arrangements, although co-parenting isn’t strictly necessary for bird’s nest custody.

Considerations for Divorcing Parents Interested in Bird’s Nest Custody

Due to the unique nature of bird’s nest custody, several important considerations are involved in establishing this type of arrangement during a divorce. Some of these considerations include:

• Maintaining Multiple Residences – Establishing a bird’s nest custody arrangement requires divorcing spouses to maintain multiple residences. Typically, each spouse will have his or her own home, and then the spouses will jointly own (or otherwise share) the home where their children reside full-time.
• Decorating and Maintaining the Shared Residence – Divorcing parents who wish to enter into a bird’s nest custody arrangement must also address various matters related to their shared residence. This includes everything from décor to maintenance.
• Financial Responsibility for the Shared Residence – The parents will need to address the financial aspects of owning this shared residence as well—including whether one parent will own the home or both parents will have their names on the deed and share responsibility for mortgage payments and other expenses.
• Parenting Time – Beyond issues related to the shared residence itself, divorcing parents must also establish the parameters of their respective parenting time. While spending time at the shared residence individually is an option, many parents who decide to pursue bird’s nest custody will include provisions for jointly spending time with their children as well.
• Practicalities – Splitting time between multiple residences can present practical challenges for many parents, particularly those working full-time. Parents interested in bird’s nest custody will need to think carefully about the locations of their separate and shared residences. They will need to ensure that their parenting time schedule adequately meets their needs while also serving the best interests of their children.  

As with all other aspects of getting divorced, it is important to address these issues in advance and establish a clear plan for moving forward. Both parents will need to carefully consider these issues during the divorce process and make informed decisions about what will work for them post-divorce. Similar to co-parenting, establishing a bird’s nest custody arrangement involves preparing a comprehensive agreement that will serve as the parents’ roadmap for navigating their custody arrangement in the years to come.

Schedule an Appointment Today to Learn Your Custody Options

If you have questions about bird’s nest custody, co-parenting or any other issue related to getting divorced in Orange County, we invite you to schedule an appointment at Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader. To speak with an experienced lawyer at our Irvine office in confidence, please call 949-474-0800 or inquire online today.

Common Questions About Bird’s Nest Custody in California

What is a bird’s nest custody arrangement?

An arrangement in which the children stay put in the family home and the parents rotate in and out on a schedule, rather than the children moving between two households. The appeal is obvious: the children keep one bedroom, one school route, one neighborhood, and none of the packing. Some families use it as a permanent arrangement, but far more use it as a transition, holding the arrangement in place for a defined period while both parents establish separate homes and the children adjust.

Does it work as a long-term arrangement?

For some families, and the honest answer is that it requires more cooperation than a conventional schedule, not less. Both parents remain financially tied to one property and continue sharing a kitchen, a laundry room, and a thermostat on alternating weeks. It works where the parents communicate functionally, both maintain the house to a similar standard, and neither has a new partner whose presence complicates the residence. It tends to break down where conflict is high, where one parent is not carrying their share of the household, or when a new relationship begins.

What does a nesting agreement need to spell out?

Considerably more than a standard parenting plan. It should set the rotation schedule and exchange times, allocate the mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, and maintenance, state house rules that survive the rotation, including cleaning standards, groceries, and whether guests or new partners may be present, provide where each parent stays when off duty, and identify who may make repairs and up to what cost. It should also state how long the arrangement lasts and what triggers its end, because an arrangement with no exit provision is the one that produces litigation.

How does keeping the house jointly affect the property division?

It postpones part of it, which has consequences. While the residence is jointly retained, both spouses remain on the loan and on title, so both carry the liability and neither can refinance or sell without the other. Mortgage principal paid after separation from a spouse’s separate earnings can generate reimbursement claims, and the eventual sale price may differ substantially from any value used at judgment. Those points can be handled, by fixing a valuation date, by specifying how post-separation payments are credited, and by setting a definite sale or buyout deadline, but they must be addressed in the judgment rather than deferred.

About the Firm

Seastrom Tuttle Murphy Dockstader is a family law firm in Irvine representing clients throughout Orange County, and in Los Angeles County. The firm practices family law exclusively. Its attorneys include Fellows of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers and of the International Academy of Family Lawyers, and attorneys certified as specialists in family law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Call 949.474.0800 to discuss a nesting arrangement or parenting plan with the firm.