As you probably know, Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth are ending their short marriage. Despite the break up of their relationship, they seem to have easily made important decision about some marital assets, namely their pets. The law in California where they are divorcing and here in Illinois is the same when it comes to pets: They are property.
As property, pets are subject to division like any other asset, but in Miley and Liam’s case, they did not battle things out in court for pet custody. They came to a rather fast agreement. This is not typical. Even more unusual, the couple’s decision is that Miley will retain custody of all the pets they own.
Typical arguments
It is far more common for couples to battle over pet custody just as they would over children. Many divorce cases turn bitter over decisions regarding pets. Couples usually both have strong emotional ties to pets and therefore both spouses want to keep them. For Miley and Liam, it seems Liam is willing to avoid a fight over custody.
Ownership
Part of the reason why Liam does not seem to want to argue this out in court is that Miley adopted most of their pets on her own. This would, under the law, mean she retains ownership. So, even if Liam did want to fight for custody, he would probably lose. Ownership and the concepts of marital and separate property are very important when a court decides how to divide assets in a divorce.
There is no doubt that this will be an adjustment period for the pets, Miley and Liam. Liam may receive some visitation rights, but that seems to be up to Miley to decide. If you have pets and are going through a divorce, you may not have the simple resolution that this couple did, depending on the circumstances of your divorce and the relationship each of you has with your pets.
