Pet Custody Cases Increasing, Divorce Lawyers Say
They still fight like cats and dogs in divorce court. But more and more they are fighting about cats and dogs.
Custody cases involving pets are on the rise across the country.
In a 2006 survey by the 1,600-member American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, a quarter of respondents said pet custody cases had increased noticeably since 2001. The academy is due for another survey, but there is no doubt such cases have grown steadily since then, said Ken Altshuler of Portland, Maine, a divorce attorney and AAML president.
If there is a child involved in a divorce, many judges will keep the pet with the child, attorneys said.
"But what do you do when the pet is the child?" Altshuler asked.
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