HEADS OR TAILS: DIVIDING THE FAMILY PET UPON DIVORCE
Over the last several decades, the family pet has increasingly become the fabric of the family unit. As a result of the American movement towards providing animals with greater rights and protections, Matrimonial and Family law has also evolved. Rather than seeing Fido as a mere possession of the family, the Courtsnow treat this issue akin to deciding custody of children. Over the course of my career, I have negotiated the care, custody and control of family pets into many agreements. Provisions are made for the parties to share in food, medication and veterinary expenses after separation, including the division of time with the pet between the parties. Often, parties may agree that the dog goes along with the children for parenting time between the parties on the same schedule.
When the parties cannot agree, this issue will be decided by the Court. Decisions as to the division of the family pet are handled pursuant to the statute applied to property division. However, the Courts have recognized how emotionally important the family pet is to the family and that it cannot decide the rights between the parties by treating the pet as a mere possession. Accordingly, in 2021, the legislature enacted “the best interest” of a companion animal standard. A party seeking custody of the family pet will have to show factors like that party’s involvement with the family pet, or the other spouse’s lack of involvement; how the party was actively involved in the day-to-day life of the pet (feeding, walking, taking the pet to the veterinarian);who bore responsibilities for the costs of the pet; the quality of each party’s respective home environments; and the party’s caretaking abilities.
If you are about to embark upon the divorce process, it may be important to develop these factors with your lawyer, so that you are prepared ifthe custody of your family pet cannot be amicably resolved between you and your spouse.Furthermore, if you are entering into an agreement with your spouse, you may want to consider including provisions in your agreement relating to custody and costs of the family pet between you and your spouse.
If you believe that custody of your pet is applicable in your situation, and you are considering moving forward with the divorce process, contact a member of Geffner Kersch for an exploratory conversation of how to protect your custodial rights.
