What is a nesting order?

A nesting order is a court-ordered form of shared parenting (after the parents have separated) which features the children staying in a family home, while the parents each “swapping in” separately to come live with and care for them on a weekly alternating basis or on some other fixed schedule.   During weeks that a parent is not living with the children at the family home, he or she is living elsewhere in a separate residence.

It is the exact opposite of most post-separation arrangements, where the children are shuttled back and forth between the parents’ separate houses.  Under a nesting arrangement, it is the parents who do the moving back and forth, while the children stay put.

As post-separation arrangements go, this is the least disruptive to the children;  they can stay in the family home with their same bedrooms, same toys, same neighbourhood and friends while their parents sort out the details of how their separation will continue to unfold in the future.