Many married couples view their pets as members of their family unit. Some intentionally child-free couples adopt dogs or cats to grow their families instead of having children. Plenty of couples who share children also have household pets.
Companion animals can easily become a point of contention in a California divorce. State law treats them like community property. However, judges have to consider spousal circumstances when deciding what happens with a pet. They should try to act in the best interests of the animal in the same way they try to prioritize the children in any traditional custody dispute. For families who have children and pets, the animals can potentially have an important influence on custody arrangements.
Parents may keep the pets with their kids
In scenarios where both parents have housing arrangements that allow them to keep the animals, they might pursue a shared custody scenario for the pet as well as the children. Frequently, the pet may travel back and forth between households with the children.
Such arrangements are usually more functional with dogs as opposed to cats. Dogs quickly acclimate to new living circumstances and can handle regular travel between households. Cats tend to struggle with changes in housing and also dislike motor vehicle travel. When the household pet is a dog, having the exchange of pet custody aligned with the exchange of child custody can be a simple solution.
Pet custody could influence child custody
Pets are often very important to the children in the family. They can give the children a sense of responsibility because they clean up after the pet or feed them. The animal can also be a source of loving companionship during a difficult time in life.
Particularly when the pet in question cannot travel between homes, custody of the pet could potentially influence custody of the children. Parents may recognize that it is beneficial for their children to spend as much time as possible with the pet. The parent who keeps the animal might also be the parent who assumes a majority of the overall parenting time.
There are many different ways for divorcing spouses who share both children and pets to handle their circumstances. Understanding California law and considering creative solutions can be smart for those with custody concerns as they prepare for divorce. Shared pet custody can potentially go hand in hand with shared child custody.