Who Will Get the Pets After Divorce or Separation?

Posted by Alan Finkel on February 2nd, 2024

Taking care of pets in a divorce take inevitably important place for many couples who would like to dissolve their marriage. But the further we go with time, clearly our pets will continue adopting more and more of a family member role in our lives. As an owner of other pets and as a hot animal lover myself I always understand why clients are those asking what to do with the family furry mates now. I have even had separating spouses ask for ‘spend time’ arrangements to be included in documents, such as using parenting laws when dealing with family pets. Despite the fact that we hope to treat our pets as children, Family Courts in many states does not consider dogs are like human babies.

On The Family Court Level, What Does Family Law Case Hearings Reveal About How Animals Are Assigned Roles in Legal Proceedings?

As a family Law courtroom environment, the pets are proprietary and as such treated like personal property. In case of confusion as to the ownership of the pet, a matter which will arise in property settlements by marital separation and divorce process, a court would consider the animal as an object just like any other chattels.

Divorce And Pet Ownership Affect Pets and Division of Property in a Divorce

This then begs the question, what happens to pet divorce cases. In general terms, pet ownership is also likely to influence the pet issues that would emerge when a marriage is heading towards an end or a divorce.

For instance, suppose one of the parties had the pet prior to dating with their spouse they seek divorce from. In that scenario, the pet is likely to be omitted during dismemberment. Most likely from the court’s point of view, will be allowed to keep ownership of the pet by that person who did own it before this relationship had begun. Although this fact may seem to be not important and it has been mentioned at earlier point, if the parties purchased a pet together then what one of them claims about being an owner, she/he won’t find enough evidence.

The following are some coping strategies for the ownership of pets in a divorce…

When you are in a marriage and have pets, to note some tactics that can be used to establish what plan of action will be adapted if separation happens. For instance, entering into prenuptial agreements or marriage contracts for spouses are legally responsible for the pets together helps them to protect the rights of their pet in case they decide to separate. Other non-legal arrangements such as breed registration can also insufflate concreteness on ownership and the long-term intentions relating to pet care.

Although the parties have already separated, if they are willing to go through alternative dispute resolution processes in order to find a common ground regarding division of property, ownership of pets and other matters which need resolving. Considering that alternative dispute resolution processes are not based on the ruling of a court as is the case with mandatory directions, you need not follow what was ordered by the courts. Therefore, the parties could potentially reach a compromise as to their approach to pet ownership that suits their individual interests better than the courts’ ideal legal views on shared facilitation and it its authority; such as sole or shared ownership.

Whether you are a military spouse who is still married to your partner but no longer resides with the other individual or simply separated due to divorce and keeping pets becomes a sensitive issue, then seeking help of animal rights law attorney specialized in pet ownership after divorce remained a reasonable approach. They will be in the best position to guide you through your rights and what will be accorded you as regards your matters that stand drawing one way unresolved.

Early Advantages to Talking with Animal Rights Lawyer

Issues relating to the dissolution of a family are very sensitive and it takes an unfathomable amount of courage to confront your former partner on these issues. The assertion of legality leaves no direct confrontations, and hiring the lawyer can simplify the process in this regard. In years has passed, you must also swear by our animal rights lawyers to negotiate from a potential outcome and usually drafting a written agreement hopefully preventing the scares of Family Court.

Please note nothing in the above gives any sort of legal advice nor should be construed as substituting speaking directly to an attorney from our office. In case of any questions, you may get in touch with one of our expert Animal Rights Lawyer in Providence, Rhode Island to get the better outcome.