LOS ANGELES — California courts could be going to the dogs — and maybe cats, too — under a new law granting judges authority to settle disagreements over who keeps the family pet in divorce cases the same way they handle child-custody disputes. Until now, Fido and Kitty have been considered family property, a status giving them little more standing in a divorce than a family’s big-screen TV. He’s like a family member,” said family law attorney Megan Green of Los Angeles, who has seen her share of divorce cases where couples battled relentlessly over the pet. If a family had two pets, a judge would sometimes suggest splitting them up. Assemblyman Bill Quirk, a Hayward Democrat who introduced the law, said it’s time family pets got the status they deserve — family members.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer September 29, 2018 03:22 UTC