Many people have very close bonds to their pets and love them like children. However, the court sees pets as property, so in the event of a separation, the court will likely give ownership of the pet to the person who purchased it or brought into the relationship.
What if the couple acquired the pet together?
In that event, if the parties could not decide on an arrangement for their pet, the court would treat the pet like any other joint property which would be sold and proceeds divided equally. Although, typically parties are able to resolve this issue before it comes to this.
What about pet visitation rights?
The court likely won’t spend time dealing with pet issues, they are not viewed in the same manner as children, so it is really up to the separating couple to come up with any visiting arrangement on their own.
