A Pain In The Asset: Dividing Pet Medical Expenses In A Divorce
by Ryan McKeen
For better or for worse continues to go to the dogs.
Dog’s are expensive. Especially, sick dogs.
Any dog owner understands that pet medical bills can be no small expense.
Under Connecticut law, pets are personal property. There is little legal difference between a dog and a car.
Recently, a Connecticut Superior Court in the case of Geiger v. Geiger was confronted with the issue of post divorce pet medical bills.
The court ordered that the husband and the wife are to equally divide the costs of medical treatment for dogs.
The court treated the dogs as if they were marital debt. Think about that the next time you think of buying a pet. Pets are not just personal property. They’re marital debt.
Pets = A pain in the asset.
February 28th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
It seems a stretch to call future pet costs marital. Isn’t that support for, as you say, property?
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