Your pet is not a boat, a vacation home, or a dining room table. However, under the law in most states, pets are treated as personal property when splitting assets during a legal separation or a dissolution of marriage. This can create difficult legal conundrums and unorthodox solutions in divorce proceedings when both sides have an emotional attachment to the pet (or pets) in question.
On February 24, 2026, the Colorado House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would give courts the power to consider a pet’s well-being both during Colorado divorce cases and as part of the property disposition. House Bill 26-1131, sponsored by Colorado lawmaker Alex Valdez, passed on a 6-5 vote. While stopping well short of assigning personhood to pets, the proposed Colorado law would allow judges to consider which family member it would be in the best interest of the pet animal to stay with. This would include issuing temporary protection orders (TPOs) to ensure the pet's well-being, if necessary.
As the close vote indicates, House Bill 26-1131 is not embraced by the entire Colorado General Assembly. Critics, including the Colorado State Bar, cite a heavy price tag, the need to focus on child custody cases in divorce proceedings, and additional strain on the already overburdened Colorado Courts as reasons the bill should not succeed. Supporters insist that pet custody should carry more importance than who gets the wedding china.
There’s Got To Be a Better Option Than Cutting Rover in Half
Divorce can be a brutal part of family law. More often than not, the soon-to-be-former spouses are parting on acrimonious terms. In addition to the expected issues with determining custody of any children, it can make the division of marital property and personal property even more difficult and contentious. It gets no easier when it comes time to figure out where family dogs, cats, and other pets will end up.
While states such as Illinois, Alaska, and California have passed laws similar to Colorado’s HB26-1131, pets are still considered personal property, or “chattel,” for purposes of equitable distribution. Since many people consider their pets part of the family, assigning a value based on market replacement cost can feel inadequate and somewhat callous. For proponents, it also falls short of best ensuring the pet animal’s health and happiness.
If passed into law, HB26-1131 would instruct judges to consider several factors to protect a pet’s well-being when determining both temporary and permanent placement of family pets in separation and divorce proceedings. It would provide guidelines for determining pet custody based on factors such as the amount of time each member of the couple spent with the pet, who handled veterinary visits, and who adopted it.
You Can Have Whiskers and Spot on July 4th and Memorial Day, but I Get Them for Thanksgiving
Being able to work out a custody agreement for a beloved family pet is likely the most preferable option in a divorce, but it’s not always possible. A spouse moving far away might make it impossible to have a feasible joint custody plan, as would exposing a domestic violence victim to their abuser. While HB26-1131 would allow the courts to order shared custody if possible, it would otherwise attempt to ensure that the pet was placed with the best caregiver. It would also forbid either litigant from injuring, taking, or threatening the pet, which could be enforced through a TPO or contempt charges. If signed into law, it would go into effect in August 2026.
While acknowledging that figuring out which spouse gets custody of a shared pet is a thorny, ongoing issue, detractors insist the proposed Colorado law is not the best solution. It’s estimated that implementation would add over 2,500 hour-long court sessions for pet custody determination, adjustment, and noncompliance hearings per year, along with close to $800,000 in costs. Given that Colorado courts are struggling to keep up with the current caseload, opponents of HB26-1131 suggest that the influx of pet custody hearings would have dire consequences.
Navigating the travails of a divorce can become exponentially more difficult when custody of a beloved family pet or pets is also at stake. Whether HB26-1131 will pass and what effect it would have if it does is unknown, but it would acknowledge that a dog or a cat has greater needs than a high-end espresso maker.
Related Resources
- Pet Custody in Divorce and Separation: Who Gets Fido? (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
- Court Appears Dubious of Bid To Consider Pets as Legal Dependents Under IRS Tax Code (FindLaw’s Legally Weird)
- What New Laws Every Pet Owner Should Know in 2026 (FindLaw’s Law and Daily Life)
