Bird Nesting Divorce Plans: The Good and The Bad

If you have gone through a divorce with children, it is likely that one of your biggest priorities was the health and wellbeing of your children. Divorce can be greatly disruptive to a family and for children to cope with. Keeping things as normal as possible can help the transition. This is where there are various methods to allow both parents to be able to continue to be a part of their children’s lives. Because there is not a one-size-fits-all solution, the various approaches to parenting while divorced offers families options for how to proceed with life after the family unit has been split up.

One of the methods for co-parenting is known as bird nesting. As with any method, there are pros and cons to this co-parenting agreement. 

If you are getting a divorce in Oklahoma and you have children, you can come in and speak with the Oklahoma City family law attorney at the Putnam Law Office for assistance.

The Pros and Cons of Bird Nesting

When a divorce happens if it is possible to keep the family home where the children were born and grew up, this is usually an ideal outcome. The parents can keep some type of familiarity and consistency with this situation, where the children know the home, they are not pulled from their schools, and they can stay near close friends.

Bird nesting is a divorce plan with the children in mind where they are able to stay in the family home and live there full time. The parents are the ones that rotate where they live in this situation. The kids stay in the family home and when one parent has their time with the children they move into the home for that time. When their time is up, they leave and let the other parent move in to have their time. And the pattern continues in this way.

There are good points and bad points to consider if you are thinking about bird nesting as a viable option for your co-parenting agreement. These include:

Pros to Birdnesting

• Greater financial ability to keep the family home. If only another small apartment or space is rented out that can be where a parent goes when it is not their time to stay in the home the level of expenses could be better managed.
• The children have more stability and do not have to move in and out of various new residences.
• The emotional toll of a divorce does not have to be increased by leaving a beloved and familiar family home.

Cons of Birdnesting

• A contentious relationship may make this situation much harder to manage.
• The proceeds from the sale of a home may be necessary for each party to start living their own lives apart from each other.
• Privacy with living one’s new life as a single person can be more complicated.
• The children may not understand that their parents are divorced and what is happening around them.

Speak with an Oklahoma Divorce Attorney Today

Determining the right way to co-parent after a divorce is never easy. How the children will respond and what is best for them is always the top concern.

For help with your divorce, the attorney at the Putnam Law Office can meet with you to discuss your case during a free consultation at (405) 849-9149.