A Massachusetts divorce often requires numerous sacrifices and compromises. People have to give up some of their property and change their daily lives. Often, their relationships other than their marriage may change as well.
For some people, the relationship they have with their family pet may be a source of support throughout a struggling marriage and during a divorce. They may worry about losing access to their pet because of the divorce.
Do family law judges in Massachusetts help people establish shared pet custody arrangements so that both spouses can spend time with an animal?
Shared custody isn’t always practical
No matter how much people may love a shared pet, having the animal move back and forth between houses may not be the best solution. In some scenarios, age and health challenges might make frequent moves difficult for the animal and the humans who love it.
Other times, the natural inclinations of a pet make relocations traumatic. Cats generally do not tolerate moving back and forth between spaces regularly. It can take them several weeks to become acclimated to a home. While dogs can potentially stay in two homes with two owners based on an agreed schedule, cats usually don’t tolerate such arrangements well.
Judges don’t divide pet custody
A Massachusetts family law judge can go to great lengths in their attempt to create custody arrangements that work well for the children in a family with divorcing parents. They learn about the children’s needs and relationships as well as the schedules and lifestyles of the parents.
It would place an onerous burden on the courts if judges had to do that for every household with pets as well. A judge does not hear shared custody cases for companion animals. Instead, they treat the pet as a piece of personal property.
In most cases, a family law judge decides to allocate pet ownership to one spouse or the other. It is sometimes possible for spouses to negotiate their own arrangements for pet custody or visitation. Those with children sometimes have the family dog travel back and forth between households like the children do. Such arrangements can work out for everyone in the family but are not likely to come from formal divorce litigation.
Understanding how Massachusetts family courts handle pets can help people establish appropriate expectations as they move forward with a divorce. Shared pet custody is not a realistic goal in most contentious divorces.