The institution of marriage has arguably changed in recent times. Married couples are taking the recourse of divorce rather than staying in a complicated relationship. Though we have well-formulated laws governing every aspect of the separation process, sometimes it can get dirty when parties divide jointly owned property like bank accounts, houses, and other valuable assets. Child custody is another challenging battle that couples face at the end of a marriage. Similarly, deciding who gets to keep the family pet is not easy as family members often form strong bonds with their pets.  

How Florida Law Classifies Pets

Under Florida State law, there is no concept of pet custody, timesharing, or visitation rules, as with a child. Ironically, most states, including Florida, do not support pet custody. There is no concept of “best interests of the pet” like there is with a child. Pets are regarded as personal property under Florida law. In the case of Bennett v Bennett, 1990, when the couple in a contentious divorce was unable to come to an agreement regarding their dog, the trial court ruled in favor of the husband who got the custody, leaving the wife with visitation rights. Soon after, the parties filed motions to modify the arrangement. The matter became worse once the case went to the appellate court. With the rise in child custody matters in the appellate court, the appellate judge disregarded the case as a custody case and stated that pets are considered property. Unfortunately for many families in dispute, division of marital property rules are applied in pet-sharing cases.

Division of Property Under Florida Law

Regardless of how close a family is to their pet, the concept of “fair” and not “equal” is used to determine the value and usage of the property. This concept is applied to pets. The court may consider factors like who spent the most time or effort taking care of the pet, the financial condition of the parties, and ownership of the pet before the marriage. It’s too bad that judges appointed for the trial regarding pet sharing may not understand the importance and emotional attachment of the couple with the pet. Thus, one party gets to keep the pet, like in a non-living asset owned jointly by the couple under the marriage. If either one of the spouses owned the pet before the marriage, that spouse gets the right to ownership.

Approximately 68% of American households have at least one pet. Unfortunately, Florida law does not consider pets like family, which is heart-wrenching for many families undergoing separation. There is an urgent need to change the system as more and more families get divorced and argue over the custody of pets. Ideally, this should be based on the fact that when one considers a pet like family, there should be a provision in the law to accommodate that. However, Florida law states that only one of the divorcing spouses will get the pet, and the other is prohibited from visiting the pet entirely. There are no considerate guidelines regarding the splitting of pets in a divorce case. The judges treat the case according to their understanding of separating personal property. It seems unfair that pets are treated as personal property when they are part of the family.

The Law is Lagging Behind the Reality

There is a strong Animal Protection Law in Florida, but apparently, there is no law supporting the familial status in a divorce matter. Pets have taken a prominent place in the hearts of the people. Some pets have a therapeutic role and serve as emotional support pets. Many families in Florida are experiencing the turmoil of giving up ownership of pets because of a court order. Sadly, many children of divorced parents have also suffered through separation from their beloved pets. The little partners in crime who slept and played together are often seen crying over their forced separation. Florida law needs to catch up and recognize the value of pets in the lives of divorcing families. Similar solutions to child custody like timesharing or visitation should be enshrined in law to address the current situation with family pets.