With Americans being so fond of their pets, it’s not surprising that one of the major issues during a divorce, is who gets custody of Max.
In California, pets are considered as community property, and during a divorce, the pet will be considered as property just like property or vehicles. The pet will therefore be handed over to one partner.
Typically, when it comes to issues of child custody, many courts go with some sort of sharing arrangement, in which custody is shared between parents, or in which the non-custodial parent gets some mandated time by the court to spend with the children. However, it is not so in the case of pet custody . In most of these cases, one partner gets to keep the pet.
Over the past decade, there has been an increase in the number of custody cases involving pets. According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, since 2001, there has been a significant increase in the number of pet custody cases that family lawyers are seeing. That is not so surprising because in the average American household, pets are viewed as a part of the family, just like children.
So, how does a judge decide who deserves to get the pet? Very often, the judge will go with the partner who seems to have the strongest emotional bond with the pet. For example, the spouse that ends up performing most of the caretaking activities for the animal, including feeding the animal, walking, grooming and so on, may end up getting custody of the pet.
Pet custody is also an important point to include in your prenuptial agreement or cohabitation agreement to avoid nasty disputes down the road.
