DEALING WITH CUSTODY BATTLES...OVER FIDO, SPOT AND MITTENS

On behalf of Gentry, William C.

Ask anyone with a pet in Marietta whether Spot, Mittens and Fido are
merely physical property or whether they are bona fide members of the
family and the response may be nearly universal -- family members.
More and more people in Georgia and across the country are looking at
their pets as family members, making divorce and custody more
complicated. Since Georgia still considers pets to be property subject
to equitable division, many divorcing couples are turning to their
lawyers to craft pet custody agreements.
The number of pet custody cases has increased considerably since 2001,
but there are often few rules and regulations on which a family court
judge can rely when making his or her pet custody decisions. There has
been an increase, however, in shared custody among the divorcing
parties. While working out a pet custody agreement may be difficult,
it is often easier than bringing it before a judge.
Much like child custody agreements, some ex-spouses will come up with
very detailed and extensive agreements. Pet parents will have to
decide who will have the dog or cat on what days of the weeks, on
vacations or during the holidays. Do the owners want to have separate
toys, beds, leashes or food bowls or do they want to trade them off
every time they trade of the pets? Will they use the same type of
food? Are there rules on how many treats each parent can give? And,
what would happen if the pet outlives one of the parents?
While some divorcing couples think they will just be able to deal with
pet custody issues on their own, it is often wiser to use a family law
attorney to craft a complete custody agreement. Using lawyers may make
it easier to ensure that even the most unlikely of situations is
covered, preventing future conflict over the pets.

For more information on these matters, please call our office at 305
548 5020, option 1.

Twitter: www.twitter.com/yoelmolina_mo
Faceback page: www.facebook.com/lawofficeofyoelmolina
Linkedin profile: http://tinyurl.com/linkedinpagemo
Blog: http://tinyurl.com/molawblog

"Turn to us when you need help"