50% Custody Discussions in Mutual Consent Divorce

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: California

My divorce was made final a while back, the court basically applied community property, but since it's a "mutual consent" divorce, things have to be worked out between me and my ex-spouse. At this point, we are still in the same house, because it hasn't been sold yet.

The decree also states that child custody will be split between parents, 50%. How is this applied when you are still living in the same house? Since I'm the one working and always have been, I can only take care of my children in the late afternoon and weekends. However, my ex-spouse is telling me I must stay home 3 days a week, to comply with the court decision. Again, nothing in the paper specifies precisely how the custody will be arranged, I would guess we are supposed to work it out together, but does custody even make sense when we still live under the same roof, and that I'm the only one working?

My main question is whether my ex-spouse has the right to force me to stay home half the week, jeopardizing our children's only source of income (my job). What can I do if he refuses to discuss this matter with me or specify days that work for the both of us?

Thank you for your time

Is that word for word (minus names of course) what the decree states about custody?

Dogmatique,

Thank you for your answer. On the paper, it states that custody will be equally shared between parents. I know some plans involve one week for the mother, the next for the father, sometimes it is different. My understanding is that it has to be worked out between the parents, since there is a mutual agreement. I was wondering - since a detailed plan hasn't been set up - how such a plan is made.

Your ex cannot, given the current order (which is admittedly horribly vague - to the point of being virtually unenforceable), force you to stay home 3 days per week. However if he's the one staying home while you're working, he'll be able to make a very good case for him being primary with you having standard NCP visitation if you can't come to an agreement.

Please bear in mind that unless the parents are willing to work together, 50/50 timeshares are not commonly ordered if one parent objects. I'm getting the feeling that Dad might object if you don't agree to his request.

So, do you have an alternate plan?

Dogmatique, I appreciate your reply and I'm sorry it took me so long to get back to you.

It's just all very confusing to me. It is the same with material belongings. For instance, everything we own has been split evenly, the house, the cars, etc. The problem is that we find ourselves in this "post-divorce limbo" so many people seem to experience. What if one spouse refuses to sell an item that is jointly owned? How can you ever move forward with your life if there is no deadline enforced by the court and one party is willing to drag it on forever?

An example as silly as jointly owning a car. The court say it's 50% his, 50% mine. Very well. But I cannot put it for sale without his approval since the registration lists both our names. He refuses. Is the 50% ownership "forced" at some point? Or am I supposed to go back to court for every little detail?