by Travers & Travers | Jan 13, 2021 | Child Custody

If you have some concern about how your children may adjust to their post-divorce living situation, you may want to explore nesting. This relatively new concept keeps the children in the family home while having each co-parent rotate in and out at the beginnings and ends of parenting time.

While there are some advantages and disadvantages to nesting, it may be right for your family. Still, managing finances for three separate households can be challenging. Drafting a comprehensive nesting plan that details who pays for what may be help you start your nesting journey on the right foot.

Determine all related expenses

Before tackling the financial part of your nesting plan, you need to know how much nesting is likely to cost. You and your ex-spouse should estimate monthly expenses for the family home. These may include the following:

• Mortgage or rent
• Utilities
• Property insurance
• Groceries
• Repair costs
• Other expenses

Estimating expenses for the nesting home is only part of the equation. You and your ex-spouse must also determine how much it costs to maintain a separate household. After all, you probably must pay for the same or similar expenses at the place you live when you are not in the family home.

Consider a joint account

Even though separating yourself financially from your ex-spouse generally makes sense, you may need a joint account to pay for expenses at the nesting house. If you go this route, you and your ex-spouse make regular deposits into the account.

Having a joint account with your ex-spouse can be awkward, though. Therefore, your nesting plan should include precise rules for both using and auditing the account. Finally, you probably want your nesting plan to include a process for resolving account-related disputes.