Pets and Divorce in Seattle – Who Gets the Dog?

Who gets the dog in a divorce case?

Here Washington State, dogs – or cats, for that matter – are considered property items. That means your dog or cat can be a community asset or it can be a separate property asset. Now, a community property asset means that the dog was acquired during the course of the marriage.

A separate property asset means that the dog was your dog before you got married. Obviously, you can’t divide up your dog in half in a divorce case. So, somebody is going to have to get the dog and somebody is going to have to not get the dog. In some cases, a client would end up getting the dog because he or she spent more time raising and caring for it than the ex spouse did.

Why is this worth mentioning? Simply because if you love your dog or your cat, you want to make sure you get your dog or your cat if you’re getting a divorce. These sorts of issues commonly dealt with in our Seattle law office.

Pick up the phone and give us a call at (206) 633-2015.