Pets are property, sad but true.
Aug 14th, 2008 by admin
In Washington, pets are considered personal property. Even though we get really emotionally attached to them, the law doesn’t deal with deciding who should get a dog or a cat any differently than it would deal with who should get the forks, the lamps or the couches.
But, just because the court isn’t required to go into detail about who your dog will life with, that doesn’t mean that you and your spouse can’t make your own agreement. Some couples have added pet “parenting” language to their property settlement agreements. You could add a section to talk about when the dog will be with you and when the dog will be with your ex; you can also talk about how you want to split vet bills and make decisions about doggie surgery.