Pet Custody Agreement

What is a pet custody agreement?

A pet custody agreement is a legally binding contract that outlines the ownership, care, visitation schedule, and decision-making responsibilities for a pet when two individuals who share the pet are no longer living together.  Separation from your pet can be very emotional. Therefore, this template plays a key role in regulating and mitigating potential disputes and conflict along the road. The template outlines both parties’ rights and obligations in relation to a pet involved, including a pet’s care and health.

The parties involved in a sample pet custody agreement are two individuals, who could be a couple, family, roommates, or domestic partners. Usually those individuals live together in the same apartment or house and own a pet.

A pet custody agreement is a popular document that a person may need in either of the situations, for instance

• A married couple plans to divorce, and they have a common pet to share.
• A couple breaks up and stops living together; however, they have a cat together.
• One of the roommates plans to move out, but they have adopted a pet together, etc.

Unlike with a child custody agreement that has to be submitted and approved by the court, a pet custody agreement does not require any approval or submission to the court. It becomes immediately valid once both parties sign it. Neither federal nor state laws define any particular requirements about a pet custody agreement’s content. Therefore, the parties are quite flexible in defining future terms and conditions of care sharing over a joint pet together.

6 Easy Steps for Drafting a Pet Custody Agreement

To make a valid and enforceable legal document, you must include all essential elements to ensure the final document is complete. Below we made a summary of all key components, the inclusion of which shall help you to create a clear and solid pet custody agreement. Of course, it is better to use legal templates crafted by lawyers, but if you want to do a legal document yourself, follow the 6 steps mentioned below:

Description of the Pet

A well-drafted pet custody agreement template must include a complete description of an animal involved:

• animal’s name or nickname;
• animal’s type (e.g., dog or cat);
• animal’s breed and gender;
• details of specific medical conditions, including allergies (if applicable);
• Include the ID number of the pet’s travel document, if it is available.

Parties’ Details

Every sample pet custody agreement should define the details of the parties involved. Indicating full names and addresses is not enough for this type of legal document. Since pet custody is a sensitive matter, parties should always stay in touch to discuss an animal’s health or care issues. Therefore, it is also important to include in the text of a contract the contact email address and phone number of both parties.

Duty of Care

One of the most important decisions the parties to a pet custody agreement should make is to define who will get full custody over a pet. Either party can get full custody, or both parties can get shared custody.

In a situation where one person gets full custody, it means that a pet lives permanently with that person. In this regard, the other non-custodial pet owner should have an established visitation schedule to be able to see and play with their pet.

Split of Costs

The most important pillar of every pet custody agreement template is how the parties wish to split the costs of a pet’s care. The costs usually include grooming, feeding, supply of medication, regular veterinary checks, training, etc.

The parties may choose either of the two options below:

• One party may cover one type of expense in full, while the other party may cover in full another type of expense; or
• Both parties should be responsible for covering expenses 50/50.

Emergency care is another important thing every pet custody agreement should address. In case of emergency, the text of a contract may prescribe details of a designated veterinary clinic where the pet should be taken as well as who shall cover incurred emergency costs.

Insurance

An insurance clause is not a mandatory element for a pet custody agreement sample. Basically, either party may get insurance for a pet at any time. However, the default text of the document should state that such insurance expenses should be covered in full by a party that incurs them.

Amendment of the Agreement

If either party wants to change existing provisions of a pet custody agreement template, it is possible only upon the mutual consent of both parties. Any modification to the text of a contract becomes valid only if approved and signed by both parties. Unilateral change of the contract is not enforceable.

There is no particular limitation on when parties may seek amendments or changes. It may happen right after signing the original agreement or after some time of its execution.

How to personalize a pet custody agreement at FasterDraft?

To get a fully customized legal document, follow the instructions given below:

1. Click the “Create Document” button.
2. Answer simple questions in the form.
3. Select a template’s format—pet custody agreement PDF or Word.
4. Make a payment.
5. Download and use this template.