When your children don’t get along, should you separate them?

by | Mar 17, 2022 | Child Custody | 0 comments

When your children don’t get along and you are getting a divorce, one of the things you may consider is separating your children by having a split custody arrangement. A split custody arrangement is designed in a way that will allow each child to spend time with one parent while their sibling is with the other parent.

The nice thing about a split custody arrangement is that if your two children don’t get along…they don’t have to be together. However, court judges usually don’t like split custody arrangements because they separate siblings and could hurt the sibling bond.

That being said, there are times when a split custody arrangement may be worth considering.

When would you want to split custody?

You may want to have split custody arrangements in place if you have two children who are very different in age. For example, if one child is 17 and the other child is only four, the differences in their schedules, friendships and other parts of their lives may create conflicts. Separating them may allow your older child to have more independence and your younger child to have more one-on-one support.

Another time to consider split custody is if your two children often fight and don’t get along. Separating them to make both households calmer may make sense, at least until they are able to resolve their differences and learn to live together.

A split custody arrangement doesn’t mean that your children won’t ever see each other. It may mean separating them doing the school week or allowing them to go to different homes on the weekends. Rarely, a split custody agreement could separate the two siblings permanently, though that is very uncommon.

Split custody may be a good option for some families, so consider it during your case

If you think split custody could be an option for you, it is worth discussing it with your attorney. If you have a good reason to want to separate your children, then the court may agree that it is in their best interests to have such a unique arrangement to keep them both in a positive situation at home.