What is best for the child? This is perhaps one of the most important questions that must be answered during the divorce process when Michigan parents decide to divorce. As such, it is the essential component of the child custody agreement.
In most cases, the child lives with one parent and then either visits or moves to the other parent’s home on a regular basis. However, some families are taking a different approach, called nesting. With nesting, the children remain stable and the parents move in and out of the family home.
On the surface, nesting appears to be a benefit for the children. They are allowed to stay in their own room, in their own home without having to pack up and move homes on a regular basis. This provides stability and a sense of normalcy for the children.
However, nesting does have some drawbacks. In a relatively short period of time, the income that used to support one household must now support three. Additionally, how to treat the family home can become a problem area in regard to property division. Finally, expenses related to this home and alimony can have potential tax consequences for each individual.
Throughout the divorce process, each parent works to come to an agreement as to what is going to be in the best interest of the children. This can be pretty obvious in some cases. In others, many difficult decisions will need to be made. Experienced legal counsel can help guide a parent throughout the child custody and Michigan divorce process.
Source: The Washington Post, “Letting the kids stay in the home while the divorcing parents move in and out. Is it realistic?“, Fiona Tapp, July 27, 2017