When parents go through a divorce, one of their main goals is often to get custody of their children. Some parents want to get sole custody, but many parents accept shared custody, where they both spend time with the children and collaborate on making important decisions on the child’s behalf.
But what about young couples who do not have children, but may have a pet? In the United States, many people think of their cats and dogs as essentially part of the family. It is very important for them to get to spend time with the pet, and they have a close connection. Because of this, can you seek custody of your pet as you go through a divorce?
Pets fall under property laws
You cannot seek custody of a pet on the grounds that the law considers your pet a piece of property. Even though people feel like pets are part of the family, they count as items that you purchased. Therefore, they need to go through property division with things like a home, car, home furnishings, savings, retirement accounts and everything else that the couple owns.
This can lead to some complex and emotionally difficult situations. If the couple cannot agree on a way to share the pet after the marriage, and the court has to rule, the judge is likely going to choose one person to keep the pet and give the other person an asset with a similar value. But it is understandable that people who are not thinking just about the financial value may be unhappy with this arrangement, even though it is fair from a financial perspective.
This helps to show some of the complexities of divorce that people do not always expect. If your marriage is ending, be sure you know what legal steps to take at this time.
