Pets stuck in limbo when couples divorce

It’s clear the relationship isn’t worth salvaging. A breakup is imminent, and it’s time to divvy up assets. But a question lingers: Who gets the pets?

While pets have historically been treated as property in the eyes of the law, that’s starting to change.

Earlier this year, a new law went into effect in Alaska requiring courts to take an animal’s well-being into consideration in the event of a divorce. It also allows judges to assign joint custody of pets. A Rhode Island lawmaker introduced a similar bill in February.

It’s rare for couples who adopt a pet together to plan for their furry friend’s future if the relationship goes south.

“I have seen one couple include pets in a prenuptial agreement in my 26 years of practice,” said Anita Ventrelli, a senior partner at Chicago-based family law firm Schiller, DuCanto & Fleck.

Tricia Goostree of St. Charles, Ill.-based law firm Goostree Law Group, said she has never had a couple raise it as part of prenuptial negotiations, in part because it’s rare that couples adopt a pet together before marriage.

Usually, she said, one party brings the pet into the relationship, so the pet is considered that person’s nonmarital property.

“In our practice, typically one party retains the pet,” Goostree said. “In certain circumstances, people establish a schedule to visit with their pets or even provide for how the pet will be cared for financially following a divorce.”

But what if you never make it to the altar?

When her then-boyfriend bought her a Yorkiepoo about 1 1/2 years ago, Kristen Gargiulo remembers thinking at the time that it was too soon.

“I thought it was a little premature, but it’s hard to tell a serious boyfriend that getting a dog is premature,” the Arlington, Va., resident said. “A couple months later, he moved in, so obviously we were serious enough for him to move in, and then a couple months after him moving in, we got engaged.”

But even the best laid plans can go awry.

Gargiulo and her fiance wound up breaking up in mid-2016, and she’s been taking care of the dog, Kodi, since. She said her ex-boyfriend has moved out of state, and now she’s debating whether to keep the dog or give it to his parents, who have offered to take Kodi in.

“I don’t think I can ever see him (her ex-boyfriend) ever again, so sharing the dog would be too hard for me,” she said. “I feel conflicted because of my job, because of the financial responsibility, because of having an ex’s dog in the house for the next 12 years versus giving the dog to his parents. …You make financial sacrifices, social sacrifices, and throughout this thing, it became I’m doing this because I really care about this dog (rather) than (it’s) a chore.”

So, what should nonmarried couples who are thinking about adopting a pet together do beforehand?

Carr said that even though it may be unpleasant to think about, make sure there’s a plan in place, so the dog is taken care of, just in case the romance doesn’t work out in the long run.

“If you’re going to get a dog together, only put one person’s name on the paperwork,” she said. “That just makes it very clear, cut and dry if you’re to break up who has ownership.”

But even with safeguards in place, don’t discount the power of emotion.

“It could be that one person wants it initially and the other person falls in love and can’t let go,” she said.