What Happens to the Family Pet during a Divorce?

When relationships break down, decisions about property and finances are difficult enough. But what happens when the asset in question is the family dog, or the cat who has slept on the children’s beds for years? For many families, this is not a minor issue. It is deeply emotional.

From Pre-Nups to “Pet-Nups”

Most people have heard of pre-nuptial agreements. These are designed to set out how assets will be treated in the event of divorce.

Now, a growing development is to include provisions for pets or in some cases to have a separate agreement dealing specifically with pets. These agreements are often referred to informally as “pet-nups”.

In England and Wales, pets are classified as “chattels” under property law. That means they are treated in the same legal category as furniture, jewellery, or vehicles. The Family Court does not apply a welfare test to pets in the way it does for children.

Instead, if there is no agreement in place, the court will usually look at:

• Who purchased the pet

• Whose name appears on registration documents or microchip records

• Who has been responsible for paying veterinary bills and ongoing costs

• Who can evidence primary care

In most cases, the court will avoid making detailed “custody-style” arrangements. The pet will usually be awarded to one party as part of the overall financial settlement. This can come as a surprise to separating couples who understandably see their pet as part of the family.

Why Planning Matters From Pre-Nups to “Pet-Nups ”

Pre-nuptial agreements are now given significant weight by the courts following the Supreme Court decision in Radmacher v Granatino [2010], provided certain safeguards are met. These include:

• Full financial disclosure

• Independent legal advice

• No undue pressure

• Terms that are fair

As mentioned, couples are increasingly choosing to extend these pre-nups to include provisions for pets or in some cases to have a separate pet agreement. These informal “pet-nups” can set out:

• Where the pet will live

• Whether there will be shared arrangements

• Who will pay day-to-day costs

• How veterinary and insurance expenses will be managed

Clarity at an early stage can lower conflict and help protect what matters most, including the wellbeing of the pet itself.

How We Help

We are a team of five experienced lawyers working as divorce consultants rather than traditional solicitors. Our role is to help individuals navigate the legal maze, avoid costly missteps, and wherever possible lower the temperature of disputes.

We focus on practical, commercially sensible outcomes that preserve dignity and minimise unnecessary expense. If you or someone you know would benefit from a conversation, we offer an initial consultation at no charge. Thank you for being part of this community. Together, we’re making divorce less daunting, one solution at a time.

Cohabiting, divorcing or contemplating divorce?

According to a survey by Canada Life 51% of UK adults have not written a will and are not in the process of writing one, with 13% having no intention to write a will in the future.

If you are cohabiting, divorcing, or contemplating divorce you should make a will or, if you already have a will, you should update it. Otherwise, your estate may end up in unintended hands.

With so many people living together and not getting married, the importance of making and keeping wills up to date has become increasingly more important. For example, if you cohabit and die without making a will then, instead of your estate (and even your share of any house you have bought together), ending up with your partner as you might have intended, it could pass to some relative under the rules of intestacy, leaving a former long-term partner having to find a new home!

And, even if you have a will, when you get married or enter a civil partnership, an existing will automatically becomes revoked. Therefore, if an individual does not subsequently make another will before they die, their estate could be treated as if they don’t have a will and again that the ‘rules of intestacy’ will apply.

As before, these rules may not reflect their wishes and could mean that their loved ones aren’t provided for in the way they would like.

If you marry or have a civil partnership and then divorce or are contemplating divorce, making a new will means that your estate will be dealt with in the way that you want, including that your children and that any new spouse or partner will be provided for. A new will can help prevent potential claims against your estate under the Inheritance Act or by an ex-spouse who might make a financial claim.

We are a team of 5 experienced lawyers but, what makes us different to a firm of solicitors, is that we are acting as divorce consultants. We help people navigate the legal maze and stop them making expensive mistakes. We use our experience of the divorce process to find solutions to lower the temperature and save money.

If the above resonates or you know someone who may benefit from speaking to us, please do contact me. We don’t charge for an initial consultation.

Prenuptial agreements

With more people than ever getting married later in life (some for the second or third time), there are often situations where existing assets need to be protected from the possibility of a future divorce – particularly where there is ‘inequality’ in the parties’ respective financial positions.

For example, a divorcee ‘bringing assets or money from their previous divorce settlement into a new marriage; a person who before marrying has managed to buy a property of their own (with or without help from family); or someone who has inherited or due to inherit a significant amount of money.

With some 42% of marriages ending in divorce the question is ‘is it fair for a divorcee to claim a share of assets or money that were built up by their husband or wife before they got together’?

The answer is that in law they may be entitled to share in pre-acquired assets so, to protect those assets, one answer is for the parties to consider entering into a prenuptial agreement. Such an agreement will set out the financial arrangements that will apply in the event of the parties divorcing.

As long as certain requirements are met, the divorce courts now take such agreements into account. The overriding requirement is the agreement must be fair. Also; there must be full disclosure by the parties of their world-wide assets and liabilities; each party must have obtained their own independent legal advice; and the agreement must be entered into a reasonable time before the marriage (to avoid the pressure of being asked to sign the day before the marriage takes place).

A prenuptial agreement can be simple or complicated. For example, it would be reasonable to assume that the settlement in a childless marriage of less than 5 years would be less than that for a 10 year marriage with 2 children, or even a 20 year marriage. Accordingly, prenuptial agreements can be long and with complicated provision for differing scenarios.

We are a team of 5 experienced lawyers but, what makes us different to a firm of solicitors, is that we are acting as divorce consultants. We help people navigate the legal maze and stop them making expensive mistakes. We use our experience of the divorce process to find solutions, lower the temperature and stop people wasting their money.

If you know of someone who may benefit from speaking to us, please tell them to contact me. We do not charge for an initial consultation.

Let’s cohabit and not get married?

Cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK with almost 4 million couples cohabiting in 2021.

However, this is a huge problem as most people mistakenly believe that cohabitation (which some refer to as a common law marriage), gives the same rights as a married couple. This is wrong.

Cohabitation gives no general legal status

If the cohabiting couple break up, they must rely on the general law to resolve disputes: for example, if not named on the title deeds of their home, such disputes can be difficult and expensive and often result in an unsatisfactory outcome.

A cohabitation agreement setting out what is to happen in the event of a relationship breakdown is a good way of protecting the parties and should always be considered. Such an agreement should include what is to happen to joint property, mortgages & loans, savings and investments etc if the cohabiting relationship ends.

Although it is possible to write your own cohabitation agreement there are pitfalls that need to be avoided so it is sensible to enlist qualified help and to keep the agreement under review in the event of a material change in circumstances.

At Divorce Solutions we help people navigate the legal maze and stop them making expensive mistakes