What happens to pets in a divorce?

WHAT HAPPENS TO PETS IN A DIVORCE?

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Pets are beloved to their owners. When you go through a divorce, there must be a consideration of where your pets will go after the divorce is final. In many cases, splitting couples choose to give up their dog or cat to a shelter so it can find a new home. In fact, divorce is one of the main reasons why dogs are brought to a shelter. Divorcing couples do this because the stress of the divorce proceeding can make it difficult to adequately care for their pets and they believe putting them up for adoption is in their best interests. However, it has been shown that it is actually better for the pet to keep them in their familiar surroundings with their established routines. And if you have children, it might be best for them to keep their pets close to them. Obviously, the court will honor any agreement between the parties as where the pet goes.

As of January 1, 2018, a new Illinois law was passed that treats pets more like children and allows couples more options to come to a compromise when it comes to what happens to pets in a divorce. Prior to this new law, pets like dogs and cats were viewed as property in the eyes of the courts. This means that they would be divided up along with the other material assets of the couple and awarded to one party. The other party had no legal recourse to challenge the custody or ask the judge for visitation rights. Under the new law, judges can grant sole or joint ownership of the pet and both parties in the divorce have the right to ask for sole or joint ownership. Illinois judges are now expected to consider which party does most of the caretaking for the pet, as well as the general best interests of the pet when making a custody decision. This law only covers pets that were acquired during the marriage; service animals or pets acquired by one party before the marriage are not covered under this law.

Under the new Illinois law, divorcing couples can request joint custody for their pets and judges can decide on joint custody without a request if they feel this is in the best interest of the pet. Joint pet custody arrangements can work for some couples, especially if their pet is resilient and easy going enough to handle splitting time between two different houses. However, this arrangement will not work well for pets that need more stability in their routines and surroundings. In these cases, it is better to designate one party as the primary caretaker and allow the other party to act as a pet sitter to spend time with the pet. This way you can provide your pet with stable surroundings and allow you and your ex to keep your relationship with your pet.

Judges consider the following factors in making decisions about where pets go:

Was the animal a gift to one party? If so, the recipient of the gift usually keeps it.
What are the parties’ living arrangements? If one party lives in the suburbs with a yard and one lives in a city apartment, a dog’s interests may best be served by living where the dog can have freedom of movement.
Which one of you works longer hours or spends more time away from home?
Are the children attached to the pets and if so, is it best to keep the pets where the children spend the majority of their time?
Which one of you has historically taken care of the pet and which one of you is the pet most attached to?
If you have multiple pets, does it make sense to split the animals so that both spouses end up with one of the pets?

I recently had a case where I successfully negotiated an agreement that the parties’ two dogs would live part-time in each parent’s home as dictated by the parenting schedule. So when the children spent time at Dad’s house, the dogs went there and afterwards, they were transported with the children back to Mom’s house. Last I heard, this was still working out for them! I had another case where I negotiated an agreement for a couple with three dogs. We worked out a comprehensive agreement where they each had “visitation” rights, vacation time, and responsibility for shared medical bills. There was even a provision that required them to agree if the pet received surgery or needed to be put down.

Pets are an important part of your family and, as an animal lover myself, I am always happy to negotiate these issues and if unable to do so, fight for the rights of you and your pet!