How Does Pet Custody Affect Child Custody in North Carolina?

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) states that a household pet can improve mental health for children between the ages of one and four. Other studies suggest that pet ownership at a young age can give children a “brain boost.” As a parent, you might understand these benefits better than anyone else. Perhaps you’re concerned that your divorce or breakup could separate your child from their beloved pet. This raises an interesting question: How does pet custody affect child custody in North Carolina? To explore this relationship, you might want to discuss your unique circumstances with an attorney.

Family court judges in North Carolina are supposed to consider a wide array of factors when determining the best interests of your children. These include obvious factors, such as evidence of child abuse, and more subtle factors, such as the presence of a beloved family dog. That said, family courts also recognize the fact that each family is unique. While there are universal rules when it comes to child custody, judges are also free to use their own discretion and consider unique factors on a case-by-case basis.

Pets are as unique as children. Each one brings something different to the family. In order to determine what kind of role your pet might play in your child custody case, you first need to consider the personality of not only your child, but also that of your pet.

To use an obvious example, a dog that has a history of attacking your child would likely play a very important role in the child custody case. When assessing the situation, a family court judge might want to serve the child’s best interests by putting as much distance between them and the dog as possible. In this situation, the parent who gains ownership or “custody” of the dog might face negative child custody outcomes. Specifically, a judge might determine that it’s not safe for the child to sleep over at the dog owner’s house.

Of course, a dog could play a completely different role in your child’s life. Perhaps your dog is quite literally your child’s best friend. Maybe the dog has offered emotional support to your child as they struggle with the psychological effects of divorce. In this situation, a judge might do everything in their power to keep the dog and the child together. As a result, the parent who gains ownership of the dog might have a major advantage during the child custody battle.

A dog might play an even more central role in your child’s life if it serves a legitimate purpose as a “working animal” in the family. For example, your child might have special needs. Perhaps they rely on the dog to get around town because they’re visually impaired. In this situation, the dog and the child would be effectively inseparable in the eyes of the family court.

You should know that child custody generally comes first during a divorce. Under the “PEACE” acronym, “parenting” comes first. This includes child custody schedules. The letter in the acronym is “E,” which represents equitable distribution. This is North Carolina’s property division doctrine.

Because of the order in which these two concepts are handled by courts, child custody might actually affect pet custody (and not the other way around). For example, a judge might determine that it is in the best interests of a child to stay with their family dog. As a result, the judge might predict which parent is most likely to gain ownership of the dog and then give child custody to that parent.

A judge could even order that the parent who gains primary custody should also walk away with the dog, even if they would not gain possession of the animal under normal circumstances.

During a divorce, various issues can affect each other in surprising ways. Child custody could affect property division, property division might affect child support, and alimony could affect child custody. This complex web of relationships often seems like a confusing mess, and it may be difficult to determine which issue to prioritize over another. The intersection of pet custody and child custody is a clear example of this, and you might need help from a family law attorney in North Carolina to make sense of it all. Consider expanding on this conversation with Arnold & Smith, PLLC.