After the seminal case of the Marriage of Enders, in 750 ILCS 503(n), Illinois law established the allocation of pet responsibility in divorces. Here are a few of the factors that a court may consider: Who owns the companion animal; Who pays for the companion animal’s needs; Who takes care of the companion animal’s daily needs; Who walks/plays with the …
Estate planning is about protecting what’s important to you. Although much of the traditional estate planning conversation focus on surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, many pet parents wonder about what could happen to their “furry children” after their death or if they become incapacitated and unable to care for the pets. Read on if you’ve ever thought, “What will happen to …
This weekend I discovered that the National Agriculture Law Center has a helpful state-by-state analysis of animal cruelty laws in the United States. Even though there are several federal statutes that regulate this issue, animal cruelty statutes vary significantly from state-to-state. It is interesting to pull up the statutes in various states and run a comparison. Though the National Agriculture …
As I have previously noted in this blog, I am on the New York State Bar Association’s (“NYSBA”) Committee on Animals and the Law (“CAL”). On this Committee, I assist with the annual Student Writing Competition. For all you law students out there, the deadline for the Fourth Annual Student Writing Competition is June 30, 2011. The first place winner …