Getting a divorce is stressful enough, but having to worry about your fur family as well is unbearable for most. A law effective January 1, , allows Illinois courts to allocate the sole or joint ownership of and responsibility for a companion animal of the parties.
In determining how to allocate ownership and responsibility of a companion animal, the court can consider the well-being of the companion animal. Prior to the new law, courts were not explicitly granted authority to consider the well-being of animals when determining who gets them, and thus, animals were allocated as if they were ordinary personal property re: chairs, bedroom furniture, etc.
The Illinois legislature acted to solve this problem. Now if a judge determines that a companion pet is marital property , he or she can allocate responsibility and possession of the pet on a permanent basis. This means that the judge has the discretion to grant ownership and responsibility to either party or jointly, and in doing so the court is to explicitly consider the well-being of the pet.
The statute also permits the court the authority to allocate temporary responsibility and possession of the pet during the divorce proceeding if it first finds that the animal is jointly owned by the parties. Thus, the Court would not have the authority to allocate temporary ownership and responsibility but may allocate permanent ownership and responsibility of a marital animal at the conclusion of the case.
So, what can you do to better your chances of getting sole ownership and responsibility of your furry family? If the pet was bought during the marriage, tell your attorney your goal of maintaining ownership and responsibility for the pet and give the lawyer an inventory of your responsibilities for the pet.
