Our founder, Kristyn Carmichael, was recently interviews by Business Insider on the increased prevalence of pet agreements in prenups (prenuptial agreements) and divorce settlements. Read the article HERE, and see Kristyn's interview below:
What is your experience in the prenuptial or divorce field? And what have you seen with pet agreements in these fields?
"As a family law attorney, mediator, and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, we work with clients creating prenuptial agreements and going through divorces - so we see both ends of the process. Pet agreements have increased over the last decade, in both prenups and divorces. We just posted an article on this exact topics since it has been so popular - https://www.couplessolutionscenter.com/post/what-you-need-to-know-about-including-pets-in-prenuptial-agreements"
Are pets treated like children in these agreements? Or property? What are typical considerations when making these agreements?
"Pets, while considered as a family member to many, are technically property and can be allocated as such. A prenuptial (premarital) agreement could designate ownership outright i.e. Fido is husband's if the couple divorces. Others put in more pet parenting plan structures, more technically - shared property agreements. This can include:
Sharing time consistently i.e. one week on, one week off
Sharing time when traveling i.e. when spouse 1 is traveling, spouse 2 cares for the pet
Right of first refusal i.e. spouse one gets the pet, but if they no longer want the pet, spouse 2 gets first right over anyone else to the pet
Shared expenses i.e. food, vet, boarding, and grooming
Essentially, anything that is included in a parenting plan for children could be accounted for in a pet sharing agreement.
How does the court or legal process feel about pet agreements?
Its a bit of a challenge as many state courts don't have much consideration for pet agreements. For instance, for divorces in Arizona, the family law professionals have been told to leave pets out of the formal court documents and draft separate contracts for pet agreements. So a prenuptial agreement can be helpful in addressing what happens to the pet at the time of divorce, rather than having to resolve it at the time of divorce.
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