Who Keeps The Pets During A Divorce?

If you’re married and have gotten a pet with your spouse, you may be wondering what happens to it during a divorce. Is it handled like child custody or viewed more closely as an asset. At Simonetti & Associates, we have the answer to this question. Our Divorce Lawyer in Springs will walk you through what to expect, so you aren’t surprised by the fate of your pet.  

Questions To Consider

When possible, it’s best to try and work out who will keep the pet amongst yourselves when going through a divorce. Doing so can make the other aspects of divorce a bit easier to handle. Should you and your spouse want to try and address this decision on your own, our Divorce Lawyer in Springs recommends asking yourself the following questions:

  • Is one spouse going to stay in a house with a fenced-off backyard?
  • Does one spouse have to move out of state or abroad?
  • Can one of you better financially support the pet than the other?
  • Does one’s schedule allow better care for the pet than the other?

What Does The Law Say?

Our team knows that even when you’re on the best possible terms with your spouse, trying to decide custody of the pet can be difficult. If you’re unable to come to a decision, you’ll need to take the matter to court. While you may think it will be similar to a custody dispute, that is not the case. In the eyes of the law, pets are assets or property. When one spouse owns the pet before entering the marriage, it will stay with them. However, when the pet was a joint purchase, the judge will look at both spouses’ lifestyles to determine who receives ownership.

Getting Creative  

Even if you aren’t awarded ownership of your pet, if you’re on good enough terms with your spouse, there are some creative workarounds for this. Some examples of this that our Divorce Lawyer in Springs suggests include:

  • Offering to be the dog sitter if your spouse travels a lot for work.
  • If children are involved in the divorce and custody is split, have the dog and children travel between houses as a unit.

Contact Our Divorce Lawyer in Springs

People who don’t have children can be devastated if they lose their pets during a divorce. To avoid this happening to you, consider working with our team at Simonetti & Associates. Our Divorce Lawyer in Springs will do everything in their power to help you keep your pet. To learn more about how we can help with this process, contact our team today. 

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