Live 24-Seven - Spotlight On Business Kidwells Solicitors
Divorce is an incredibly stressful and emotional time for couples and families. Much thought and care is given to matters concerning any children of the family, the family home and any joint assets. One area of increasing importance is that of family pets and who gets to keep them.
Legally pets are ‘chattels’, meaning they are objects capable of ownership. In reality they are so much more than this.
Pets are a natural addition to a couple who can see them as surrogate children or as a measure of how responsibility will impact upon the relationship. Pets can also be a much loved addition to a family, especially when cared for by children. Pet Behaviourist Debbie Connelly explains that the problem is our intimate relationships with our pets, “Pets share our liv- ing space, our homes, our holidays, they’re part of how we structure our daily lives. Walking away from a pet is hard – I’ve had people say it’s as bad as walking away from your children; people feel just as strongly about losing contact.”
According to the Office for National Statistics, “the percentage of marriages ending in divorce
increases more rapidly in the first 10 years of marriage”, and the Daily Mail recently reported that the length of the average relationship is just 2 years and 9 months. Considering that dogs live between 10 to 15 years and cats can live up to 14 years, these statistics should make prospective pet owners think about the motivation for buying a pet.
Your family pet will not understand what is happening during a divorce or separation although animals are sensitive to shouting and loud noises such as doors slamming. They will therefore sense something is wrong within their environment. Stress can manifest itself in animal behaviour too and during divorce or separation pets can benefit from consideration and an effort to maintain a calm environment around them.
The most popular image of pet custody battles is the American approach where the pet is taken into court and is given to whoever it goes to out of the couple. This was open to abuse as owner’s rubbed food on their hands in an effort to cheat and this method does not confirm who can care for the pet better in the long term.
Legally, there are few precedents when looking at pet custody during divorce and separation. One factor explaining this may well be the cost of litigation. When cases involving pet custody are taken to court emphasis could well be placed on the following factors:
• Who paid for the pet? • Who cares for the pet? • Who has the strongest emotional bond? • Who pays for the insurance? • Who pays for the vet? • Who pays for the food and pet supplies? • What living arrangements is the pet used to? • Should children and their pet be separated? • In multi-pet households, should the pets be separated?
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