Dogs and Divorce

With the start of 2019 people getting divorced in California can ask the court to treat their pets like more like children than an item of property. Section 2605 of the Family Code of the State of California allows for the Court to order one of the spouses to care for the pet while the divorce is pending. At the conclusion of the divorce, the court can then award to pet to on or the other spouses or may even award the pet jointly to both spouses. This new law instructs the courts to look into which party cases for the animal much like a court would look at the best interest of a child in a custody case.

However the division of family pets can be almost as emotionally stressful as child custody. For many people, the pets are as much a part of the family as the children. So how do the courts in Georgia deal with pets? There is nothing like section 2605 on the books, yet. In a strict sense, pets are dealt with as property f the marriage and are subject to equitable division. The pets are awarded to one spouse or the other.

The laws in California are different than here in Georgia and sometimes a little too progressive, this new law could be used persuasively in courts here to make a case for the award of the pets in a divorce case here. Judges in this state have a great deal of discretion in equitably dividing the assets of a marriage. The law gives the judge certain factors to consider, however the care of a family pet during its lifetime is certainly relevant evidence. An argument can be made based on the best interest of the pet and who is more likely to take care of the animal in the future.

As for the care of the animal, routinely the courts award use of items of property, such the family home or the cars, during the pendency of the divorce case at a temporary hearing. It is also common for the court to make an order for the upkeep of the property. Applying these same legal principles, the case can be made to do the same for the family dog. Likewise, the appellate courts in this state have upheld courts that have made awards of property to both parties jointly and even required one party or the other to pay for the upkeep.

There are certain limitations on just how far the court can go in awarding the pets or dividing any property in a divorce. There are appellate opinions that give the courts instructions as what the courts are able to do and not do. There is also the chances that a judge may not be interested in an outside the box solution when it comes to pets.Family lawyers that routinely practice in specific courts know their judges well enough to know how receptive the court may be.