Equitable Distribution of Pets during Divorce Mediation in NJ

This morning on the Today Show on NBC, I saw an interesting story regarding divorcing couples and the equitable distribution of their pets as assets. Now anyone (myself included) who has ever owned a pet can tell you they are less “assets” and more like members of the family but the law does not necessarily see it this way so normal child support and custody issues do not apply.

Normally, the pet would be considered an asset in the State of New Jersey and during divorce mediation, be “divided” as part of the marital assets during equitable distribution. But for this gentleman, that was not good enough. Apparently the ex-wife got the dog as part of equitable distribution of the marital assets and was now preventing him from seeing his best friend which he claims he paid for, purchased, brought to the vet and nurtured during their marriage.

The ex-husband felt so strongly that his dog was not an asset but a member of the family that he has hired an attorney and has gone to court to gain “custody” of his beloved pooch or at a minimum, be awarded joint custody and have visitation rights. The good news for animal lovers is that in this case, it appears as if he will have his wish granted as a judge has ruled that the pet is not to be treated as an asset for equitable distribution but rather as a member of the family in which child custody and visitation rights apply.

Now if only people would fight this much for their human offspring.