What Happens to Your Pets in a Military Divorce?

If you are going through a military divorce, it can be a complicated process both emotionally and practically.  There are many issues that will be decided during your divorce proceedings including how your assets will be divided, who gets to keep the house, and what happens with your child custody arrangements.

  

For members of the military, this entire process can be far more complicated because one spouse may want to move out of state in order to go back home.  Additionally, if one person is deployed the entire proceedings may need to be stayed until they get stateside.  With the variety of issues that can take place, we recommend working with an attorney that is experienced at working with military members and their families. 

Many people ask us what will happen to their pets in a military divorce.  Pets are members of the family but are not treated by the courts like children.  This means that the judge is under no obligation to consider how to divide “custody”.  Instead, a pet is typically treated as an asset would be. In other words, your pet could be treated like a car or the house.  During trial, the judge can make a binding ruling over who will keep your pet and what will happen to them. 

This is a risk because the judge will also be deciding what happens to all of your assets, your debts, your home and your children.  This is a lot to review and make a decision on, so there is no guarantee that they will spend the amount of time it will take to fully understand the relationship you have with your pet and why it is so important to you that you maintain that relationship.  

It is our job to prove the bond that you have with your pet and that you have been their primary caregiver.  We can help to demonstrate this by proving who took them to the vet and the groomers, who spent the most time with them, purchased them, etc.  The more information you can give us, the better as it will help us to build your case. After hearing the facts, the judge will decide who gets to keep your family pet. 

When handing a military divorce, with or without pets, we recommend that you try to mediate whenever possible.  This is non-binding negotiation with both parties and their attorneys.  You can be in separate rooms, and the negotiations can go back and forth while assets are divided, custody is determined, and the pets are discussed. The reason we recommend trying mediation is that you have more control over what happens that when you go to court.  You may not get exactly what you want, but you have the opportunity to compromise.  For example, we may be able to arrange a pet sharing schedule or your ex may agree to give up your pet if they get something else in exchange.  

To learn more or to get help, give us a call. 

Speak With a Child Support Attorney if You Have Been Laid Off

If you have lost your job, a child support attorney can help you to negotiate changes to your custody arrangements or child support.  When couples get divorced a judge makes a determination about where the kids will live, visitation schedules, and child support payments.  The goal is to create a plan that can last for as long as possible.  It is unreasonable, however, to assume that what is set when a child is five will still work when they are fifteen.  Life changes and when it does, adjustments need to be made. 

If you were working full time when the judge made their decision, this would have played a large role in determining the custody schedule and how much money you would either pay or receive on a monthly basis.  Losing that job could change everything.  For example, if both parents are working and one is laid off, that parent may want to provide child care now instead of paying for daycare.  This could impact the amount of days each parent has with the child since it is better for a child to be with a parent than in daycare. 

When the days that a child is with each parent are adjusted, the financial considerations must also be adjusted.  This means that if you gain days as a result of losing your job, the amount of money you would pay in child support would go down or the amount you receive could go up.  Simultaneously, there needs to be an adjustment made for how much money is exchanged because your income would have gone down.  As a child support attorney, we can help to make this happen by petitioning the court. 

As a divorced couple, neither one of you can make a change without the consent of the other or without going to court.  In many cases, ex-spouses do not agree so being able to negotiate is not a possibility.  In this case, we can try and mediate on your behalf.  This is a non-binding way to negotiate and take the emotion out of it at the same time.  Since they or their attorney, would be speaking with us the conversations should be more cordial and productive.  The goal of mediation is to attempt to settle outside of court where both sides have more control, and there is less cost involved. 

If they don't agree to any changes, we can schedule a court date and represent you before the judge.  We will build a case for how your job situation changing has impacted your schedule and your financial situation. The other side will likely argue against changing anything or reducing child support so it is important to provide us with as much detail as possible so that we can present a solid case that the judge will have a hard time disagreeing with.  

Remember, if your situation has changed you have the right to ask for your custody situation to change, as well.  To get help, call a child support attorney today.