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25 TortSource 8 (2022-2023)
Pet Custody Disputes: What Happens to Fido or Fluffy When Their Humans' Relationship Goes South?

handle is hein.journals/tortso25 and id is 32 raw text is: TortSource: Winter 2023 Pet Custody Disputes: What Happens to Fido or Fluffy When Their Humans' Relationship Goes South? By Joan M. Bundy Joan Bundy has been a solo family-law private practitioner since 2009, focusing primarily on LGBTQIA+, pet-custody issues, and mediation. She has been a member of the State Bar of Arizona's Animal Law Section since law school and was chairperson of the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund chapter at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law from 2002 to 2005. She has been a member of TIPS' Animal Law Committee and its Subcommittee on Policy and Alliances since 2016. Have you ever considered what might happen to your cherished pet or pets-be they canine, feline, avian, reptilian, aquatic, or otherwise in nature-should your living situation suddenly be disrupted by a romantic-partner breakup, roommate moveout, divorce, or even death? We would all like to think that our beloved companion animal(s) will stay by our side throughout their/ our natural lives. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Pets increasingly matter to people, especially as we become less connected to extended family, hometowns, and communities (hello, COVID-19!). With almost as many women as men in the workforce nowadays and singles of all genders getting married later in life (or not at all), child-rearing is often foregone or put on hold until the family unit is more established and financially solid. Couples often will try-out parenting with a pet or two! On the other end of the spectrum, people live longer, and pets can mean the world to empty-nesters and retirees. But what happens when the stability of the household breaks down? If the parties, while still in a blissful relationship or at least on civil speaking terms, didn't think to execute a joint pet-custody agreement or mutual honorary pet trusts (yes, these are both very real things, which I highly recommend and will draft), judges have to decide ownership. In reality, black robe wearers typically are not going to spend time crafting joint-custody terms for a pet or even award it to more than one person absent an already-existing, enforceable agreement. They probably won't dive deep into things like pets' scientific bonds to each other or keeping pets with the kids when they go back and forth between co-parents' households. They may give half the pets to one party and half to the other, or all dogs to one and all cats to the other, but that's about it. Yes, it may seem cold-heartedly arbitrary at times. Still, non-human animals are legally considered personal property akin to a toaster. Although a proposed hybrid living property category is getting increasing traction, which I vigorously applaud, domesticated animals ranging from the largest bull-cow livestock to the tiniest pocket-pet hamsters are deemed to be owned (or potentially owned) by one specific person or entity, with very few exceptions (like wildlife in the public domain). Laws on animal ownership are a crazy checkerboard of HOA and administrative-agency rules and regulations; city, county, state, and national statutes; and case law. They can be terribly contradictory and vary significantly in breadth and depth. For example, a municipality's codified animal ownership definition might simply state, harboring an animal for three days or more. But what exactly does that mean? Published in TortSource: Volume 25, Number 2, 02023 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association. 8 TI PS

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