Divorce issues that trigger intense commotions can make the process more challenging. Emotional people have a hard time compromising and may fight needlessly in pursuit of terms that the courts are unlikely to grant.
Few issues prompt intense emotional responses more quickly than disputes about companion animals. Dogs, cats and other pets can enhance people’s quality of life, but they can quickly become a complicating factor during divorce.
Both spouses may feel an intense attachment to their shared animals and may want to continue owning them after the divorce. Who usually gets to assume ownership of a pet when its owners divorce?
Spouses can set their own arrangements
Divorcing couples typically have the option of establishing their own preferred terms for major divorce issues. For example, they can establish a custody arrangement that works well for their family without involving a judge. They can also negotiate property division outside of court and pursue an uncontested divorce.
Pet ownership falls into that second category of property division. While they may feel like a member of the family, household pets are technically possessions according to the courts. Spouses can factor in ownership of their pets when reaching property division arrangements. If they cannot do so, then they must go to court.
Judges view pets as property
Although judges may understand the emotional attachment people have to their pets, they have to treat animals like property rather than people. A judge can determine what the pet is roughly worth and then factor that into the overall division of marital property.
Generally speaking, judges do not establish shared ownership arrangements for a pet. Couples can theoretically establish those arrangements on their own, but enforcing them in court can be very difficult.
Establishing reasonable goals for divorce, including who may keep a shared pet, can help people minimize the emotional turmoil during a divorce. Pet owners who think carefully about what may be best for their animals may be able to agree about who should keep the animal when they divorce.