The Legal Issues 147
with essentially duplicate rooms and accouterments for the
children.
Joint physical custody is sometimes referred to as “yuppie
Custody” because parents are often only able to make it work if
they can afford it. A divorce I handled for a big-shot partner in a
major accounting firm provides a good example. His approach
to the custody issue was to buy his ex-wife a second house right
around the corner from the former marital residence (which he
retained). Then his kids could just peddle their bikes back and
forth between the two houses. This worked out great since the
kids could remain in the same school district, maintain their same
friends, etc. So long as we can all afford to buy second homes
right around the block—no problem.
Joint physical custody can be a workable approach to accom-
modating people with unorthodox work schedules—such as folks
who work night shifts or have extensive out-of-town travel sched-
ules. One party can handle the parenting while the other is out
of town, and the other can parent for a block of time upon their
return. Likewise, the ability to flip-flop nighttime and daytime
schedules can add some flexibility.
Joint physical custody arrangements can actually allow each
parent a bit more free time to live his or her own life. Over the
years I have fought to the death to win sole custody for many of
my clients—only to have several of them come back a few years
later and say: “I don’t know why I fought so hard for sole custody.
Perhaps I should have agreed to joint custody in the first place.
After all, my ex is basically a good dad and he should be doing
his fair share to raise our son. Furthermore, I certainly could use
a few weeks off.”
Joint physical custody is particularly difficult as regards very
young infants since all parenting and scheduling decisions must
be coordinated. Younger kids probably also need the added sta-
bility of having one main place to call home. Many experts recom-
mend against joint physical custody for kids younger than four
or five years of age.
For somewhat older children, however, joint physical custody
may be just the thing for a fast-changing modern world. After all,
kids do seem to learn to adjust well to change and fluidity under