Pet Custody (Massachusetts)
S.1206/H.1817
Protects the best interests of a companion animal when a couple is splitting up by providing a framework for judges to use in determining care and custody of the animal.
Status
The Animal Legal Defense Fund supports this bill.
Sponsors: Senator Mike Moore (D-Second Worcester) and Representative Meghan Kilcoyne (D-12th Worcester)
Introduction Date: Introduced in the 2025-26 legislative session
An Act Standardizing Consideration of Pets in Divorce and Separation
(S.1206/H.1817) provides a framework for judges to use in determining the care and custody of a pet when a couple is splitting up, while ensuring enough flexibility for a judge to use their discretion in evaluating the best interests of the animal in each individual circumstance.
Typically, in divorce or separation proceedings, the judge will assign ownership of a companion animal to the party who initially paid for the animal’s adoption or purchase. This is a narrow evaluation that can put the animal’s well-being at risk and particularly penalize victims of domestic violence, whose abusers often control finances and paperwork.
Why is this legislation important?
While recent Massachusetts case law allows courts to enforce informal “pet custody” agreements between non-married partners, it does not capture animals caught up when married couples are divorcing or separating. Some judges, in divorce and separation proceedings, may already choose to consider the interests of an animal in determining pet custody. However, providing a standardized legal framework for the process can facilitate mindful and expedited determinations using a consistent set of factors.
Pet custody laws help protect the best interest of the family companion animal, protect survivors of domestic violence (many of whom refuse to leave an abuser out of fear for a beloved companion animal), and protect the emotional attachment between the animal and their human family members, including any children involved.
More and more jurisdictions are adopting laws to guide courts through factors to consider in awarding shared or sole pet custody; these often include the best interest of the animal and any history of animal abuse or human violence. In recent years, eight states — Alaska, California, Illinois, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, Delaware, and Rhode Island — and Washington D.C. have enacted pet custody legislation.
For more information about animal protection legislation in Massachusetts and opportunities to take action for animals, visit aldf.org/ma.
