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Articles Tagged with pet’s best interest

Lawmakers Say Judges Should Consider Pets When Finalizing A Divorce

Published on: January 31, 2017 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What can I do to gain custody of my child in North Carolina?”

We’ve discussed pets and divorce previously and the issue is almost always handled the same way no matter where you are. Though we might consider our pets part of the family, the fact is that the law does not. In fact, in a divorce, courts across the country have long operated under the assumption that pets are no different than any other piece of property. Rather than subjecting the division of the pets to the same kind of best interest test that children enjoy, pets get allocated between the parties like a couch or some old dishes.

Pets as property?

Published on: December 29, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “How will the judge divide our property?”

A recent divorce case in Canada dealt with the thorny issue of what to do with a pet after a divorce. The couple in question had three dogs and the wife had asked that she be given custody of all the pets, but requested that the judge grant visitation for 1.5 hours each week to her ex-husband. Though this might seem like a fair compromise, the judge presiding over the case took the opportunity to clearly lay out why he believes courts have no business intervening in such matters.