Change isn't Always Negative we can help there is a positive future ahead
Change isn't Always Negative, we can help you move on there is a positive future ahead
By: Sampair Group

Living with Your Spouse During Your Divorce

Glendale divorce attorney

When you decide to get a divorce, you likely look forward to the day when you can live on your own, without your spouse. For many couples, it may take time before you are able to afford two separate homes, or it may take time for one of you to agree to move out. Additionally, your attorney might recommend that you not leave, even though you might desperately want to. If you are disputing custody, moving out, prior to discussing this issue with an attorney, may be against your best interests. Some couples choose to continue to share a home because they feel it benefits their children, or because it makes financial sense for both of them.

Living in the same home when you are divorcing can be challenging, but creating clear, basic ground rules and compromises from the beginning can make things easier.

  • Designate zones. It can be helpful to clearly create personal spaces, such as bedrooms and bathrooms that will belong to each of you. Discuss shared usage of common areas, such as living rooms. If sharing common spaces is a problem, you can divide the rooms in half with tape.
  • Create schedules. If you want to minimize contact, a schedule can give each of you set times to use the kitchen, TV, or bathroom so you won’t be in each other’s way.
  • Set up a parenting schedule. It might seem silly to set a formal parenting schedule, but doing so will give each of you individual time with your child. It also gives each of you some free time. Starting to work on a schedule now can help you ease into a parenting schedule once you do physically separate.
  • Try rotations. If living under the same roof at the same time is too hard, you could take turns staying in the house with your child. One parent is home with the child while the other stays somewhere else (with relatives, friends or in a small apartment). You then switch every few days. This can be a beneficial arrangement for your child, who won’t have the disruption of a move.

The attorneys at the Sampair Group are ready to represent you in your divorce or custody case in the Mesa or Glendale areas of Arizona. Call us today.