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Divorcing With A Pet? 3 Potential Issues You'll Need To Address

19 February 2016 by Kenneth Pierce

Getting a divorce is an emotionally devastating time of someone's life. This is especially true when children are involved. Despite what many believe, canine companions are also part of the family. As such, pet custody often comes into play in divorces when both spouses want to keep the pet. Here are a few issues that you may encounter along the way:

1. Ownership

More than likely, you and your spouse will both want custody of your pet. However, like with human children, most parents don't want to accept having to share custody right off the bat. Therefore, ownership needs to be determined – in other words, whose pet is it really? For example, if the pet was owned by one spouse before getting married or separate money was used to purchase and care for the pet, then ownership may be pretty clear.

However, when ownership is not clear, you will have to show that you are the primary caregiver of the pet. You can use eyewitness accounts, photographs, receipts, etc. The more records that you have that prove you primarily took care of the pet, the easier it's going to be to successfully establish that you are the owner of the pet.

2. Visitation

Once it has been determined who the owner of the pet is, a visitation arrangement will need to be drafted. It needs to be an agreement that is beneficial to everyone involved, including yourself, your soon-to-be ex-spouse and your pet. If an agreement cannot be reached amicably and together, it may be a wise decision to consider going to meditation where a neutral third-party can help make the most appropriate decision.

Similar to that of human children, remember that when developing a visitation arrangement that you need to keep the comfort and security of your pet in mind. Take into consideration any established routines that your pet may have, such as the primary veterinarian, daily walks, outings to the dog park, etc. If you or your partner plan to move, it may be a wise decision to allow the pet to stay with the spouse that is staying put in an area that the pet is familiar with.

3. Support

One of the last things that will need to be discussed is support payments. Similar to child support payments, payments can also be ordered by the court to be made by the spouse who is not the primary caregiver and custodian of the pet. These types of payments can help ensure that your pet continues to receive the care and treatment that it is accustomed to and does not miss out on any necessary medical care.

If you need help navigating the divorce process and the custody of your pet, don't hesitate to get in touch with a local family law and divorce lawyer or visit websites like http://WWW.TML-LAW.com.

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