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Who Gets the Pet During a Divorce?
Custody of Pets During a Divorce
As any owner will confirm, pets are a part of the family. It’s very easy to get attached to your four-legged companions. After all, they provide unconditional love and support, and the relationship with them is quite straightforward. A pet is one stable, consistent presence in your life that’s vital when life gets tough.
So, it’s no wonder that so many people lean on their pets during a divorce. However, pets can become the source of additional strife in such a situation. Namely, the question of pet custody can arise, especially if you and your spouse got the animal together.
Pet custody battles can get as heated as the ones for children, and sometimes even more so. That’s because the law isn’t quite so definitive when it comes to pets, and the parties frequently have to reach an agreement on their own. And that’s difficult to achieve in the emotionally charged circumstances of a divorce.
To help you prepare for potential pet ownership challenges in a divorce, we’ll take a look at how the courts deal with pet custody, as well as how you might resolve the issue on your own.
States With Pet Custody Laws
Some states — New Hampshire, New York, Alaska, California, and Illinois — have pet custody laws that essentially treat pets like children. In other words, the court looks into which spouse is likely to take good care of the pet and assigns them custody.
If both parties insist, courts can lay out a visitation schedule in the same way they do for children. For instance, one spouse could keep the pet during the week while the other takes care of it on the weekend. And if the ex-spouses live close to each other, they could even do alternating evenings.
Law in North Carolina
Unfortunately, pet custody laws still aren’t common practice in the US. Most states don’t have them, and North Carolina is no exception. In fact, the courts in North Carolina consider pets property, much like a car or a piece of furniture.
As a result, there is no visitation schedule of any kind, nor are the pet’s needs really taken into account. The judge only examines the proof of ownership to determine who should keep the pet. Usually, that’s the person whose name is on the adoption or purchase contracts, vet records, and other licenses.
Once they reach a decision, the courts in North Carolina won’t discuss the pet issue further. However, that doesn’t mean you have no chance of seeing your beloved pet again because your name isn’t on its adoption papers.
In fact, you and your spouse can reach a different agreement or set up a visitation schedule with your lawyers’ help. That’s entirely up to the parties involved, and the court will not intervene or try to stop you.
Should You Set Up a Pet Custody Schedule?
When both you and your spouse are attached to your furry family member, you’ll likely do everything you can to see them again. In such a case, a visitation schedule may seem like a great idea.
But depending on your relationship with your ex-spouse, sometimes it might be better to have a clean break. If you don’t have children and only share a pet, it’s advisable to determine who will take care of it and go your separate ways. That may be painful, but you’ll likely be glad to have made such a decision. Plus, your pet won’t have to change its surroundings every few days.
If you do have children and share custody with your spouse, things might be a bit different. After all, you’ll still be involved with your ex to a degree. In that case, you could opt for shared pet custody and send the pet to visit the spouse along with your children. This arrangement may benefit your children, too — pets will provide them stability and comfort as they adjust to the new circumstances.
