According to an article from Pet Business World based out of the UK, many couples are unaware of the legal position when it comes to pets during divorce cases, and some even expect to fight for custody of their animals if the split with their partner is hostile. The Attorney, from the story points out that pets are treated the same as other mutually-owned property such as cars, money or property in the eyes of the law – and the welfare of the animals is not given consideration when it comes to deciding which partner will retain ownership of the pet.
The other attorney mentions that, the pet may have been a family member if they did not have children. However according to the law, pets are treated no differently than any other asset that a couple may have acquired during marriage. Very much like, a mutual savings – and therefore they are split equally between the two partners.
What this means that, one half of the couple usually agrees to take responsibility of the pet following the separation. The welfare of the animal is not normally considered and if both partners want to keep the pet, they must reach an agreement with each other just like they would do with their property or other possessions.
In recent years there have been full blown custody fights over the welfare of the animal. As a result some lawyers are suggesting that couples prepare specific prenuptial agreements on their animals to avoid stress and the possibility of their pets ending up in the hands of a re-homing charity, if they end up separating.
If there are any legal questions you may have, I encourage you to, please contact my San Jose Divorce Lawyers office. My San Jose Family Lawyer offices assists many people who are going through family law related issues. We have many Affordable San Jose Divorce Lawyer solutions for many different budgets. We help many individuals through this very chaotic period in their life. Proudly serving the following cities, Fremont, Milpitas, Los Gatos, Cupertino, Mountain View, and Santa Clara.
Comments