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Fighting over Fido: Pets in Divorce

By Albert Momjian and Meredith Brennan
May 01, 2003

Your spouse, your children and your beloved pets have lived together as a family for the last 10 years, but one of you has now filed for divorce. Who gets the kids? Who gets the wedding china? Who gets Fido? Obviously, every court in the country treats the custody of children differently than personal property. So where do pets fit in? Should companion animals be treated akin to children and custody/visitation determined by looking at the pets' best interest, or are companion animals no more than personal property to be distributed like pots and pans on divorce?

While animals are generally considered property for legal purposes, in the context of divorce, some courts have concluded that the unique character of companion animals sets them apart from “personal property,” entitling them to consideration of their best interests in determining with whom the animal should live.

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