During and after a divorce, child custody and parenting plans can become complicated and expensive, and have some negative effects on their kids. It is this fear of the hardships of divorce that can often keep unhappy couples together long past when they should have separated. But, there are creative solutions to make the transition much easier for everyone in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
Is the split that bad?
For some couples, yes. There will be two households where there was once one. This means two mortgages (or two apartment rents), two electric bills, two water bills, double food costs, double the clothing costs, double the toy costs, etc. But, the now-separated couple’s income is halved. Then, there is the situation where one spouse has not worked for years, and they must now figure out how to transition back into the workforce with alimony payments. In other words, in these situations, one person’s income will now have to stretch to support two Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, households.
One creative solution, nesting
One creative solution that has gained popularity in the past few years is nesting (also called bird nesting). This is where the divorcing and then, the divorced couple keeps the family home, and each parent shuttles in and out as the parenting/custody plan dictates.
Cheapest version
Nesting can take various forms to meet the needs of your Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, family. The cheapest version is where the family home is maintained, and then, a space on that land (i.e., mother-in-law suite, garage apartment, etc.) is utilized by the parent not caring for the children. In this version, the spouses move in and out of the home and separate spaces as the parenting plan dictates. The children stay put, and the only change they notice is they see their parents less often. In this version, the bills are split largely the same as they were before the divorce, and no increased childcare costs.
Other versions
In other, more expensive nesting scenarios, the couples share a small apartment or have their separate apartments or homes. The Bloomfield Hills marital estates are much larger and the divorcing spouses can afford to maintain two or three households, but the kids still stay in the family home.
In these scenarios, money is not so much an issue, but reducing the mental toll of the divorce on the kids is the goal. By maintaining the family home for the kids, their lives change very little. They stay at the same school, keep their friend circle and they do not have to move between two, unfamiliar, new homes. This can make a divorce much easier on the children. No matter what divorcing families choose to do, if they keep the best interests of their children at heart, and are willing to be creative, there are divorce options that make the process much easier.