WHO GETS TO KEEP THE PETS ON DIVORCE

4th August 2020

WHO GETS THE PETS ON DIVORCE

When a marriage comes to an end it is necessary to untangle the financial ties and divide the marital assets.

Arrangements for the future care of the children needs to be agreed.

If you are unable to agree either of the above then there are set legal principles that will apply to reach a fair resolution through discussion or by court order.

But, what happens when you cannot decide who will be the primary carer of your pets and whether your ex should continue to see them and if so, how often and for how long?

Could you imagine life without your furry little friends?

If you have more than one furry little friend could you imagine splitting them up? Pets are more like children to us. However, they have no voice - they cannot tell us what they want or who they would prefer to live with.

Would you be happy seeing your ex regularly after your divorce, especially if your don't have children together, on a regular basis for them to maintain contact with the pet(s)?

How do you suppose your new partner will feel about your ex still being on the scene regularly?

I have witnessed, on far too many occasions, separating couples spending thousands of pounds on legal feels over custody of the dog or cat.

Disputes over pets can be far more emotive and traumatising than disputes over children. Pets are not like a car, or picture, or other tangible assets. You cannot just go out and buy a new one to replace the one your ex retained in the divorce.

Your ex may not have been close to your pet or pets, but they may seek custody of them in order to later trade-off on the fact that you desperately want to keep the pet or pets. You may be thinking 'my partner would never do that if we split up...' but people change in divorce and never for the better. It can be a dog eat dog world when people split up.

Celebrities who have argued over custody of their pets include:- Maria Carey, Ant McPartlin, Liam Gallagher and Taylor Swift.

It wasn't because they had loads of money to do so, it was because they genuinely loved their pets and couldn't bare to be parted from them.

In a recent survey, 1 in 3 couples who owned pets said they preferred their pets to their partners - whether they would admit that to their partner who knows!

As the law stands, pets are treated as if they were like any other object such as a car, table, or state of the art TV.

The court has no power to grant access/contact to the other person once it has decided who will keep the pet.

If you found yourself unable to agree who gets to keep the pets and the matter went to court you would have an opportunity, as would your ex, to put your case to the court about why you would be the best placed person to look after the pet.

Evidence in support would be things like an invoice to show you bought the dog, whose name the pet was registered in with any club or on a contract with a rescue centre, whose name is on the micro-chip if your pet is micro-chipped, whose name is recorded at the vet's or on the insurance policy, etc.

Who currently has care of the pet may also be taken into consideration, as well as how suitable they are to continue to care for the pet.

The court does NOT have a duty to consider the WELFARE of the pet or pets.

If you want to avoid the cost and risk of being separated permanently from your pets then I recommend a PET NUP - a written agreement entered into at any time, setting out who the pet shall reside with and any visitation rights should the worst happen in the future.

If I can help you draw up your PET NUP, please just email me on sarah@lifeschapters.co.uk

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