Who Gets The Horse?
As a realtor who specialized in Equestrian properties it was soon apparent that horses, or rather one spouses passion for them, provided me a with lucrative career. I’m Susan Allen this is OpenRange and I’ll explain after the break. Divorce was the number one reason I ended up with so many equestrian estate properties to list years ago in Portland’s WillametteValley, mecca of high end horse estates. It went pretty much like this, Guy Falls in love with Girl who loves horses, they buy a beautiful equestrian property and ride off into the sunset....one or two times. In reality the husband resents the endless list of farm chores, and the fact his wife is more devoted to her equine companions then hubby and gone every weekend at shows. While the proceeds of the property sale are split in divorce, animals are considered personal property of their owners in every state, thus a judge typically views a valuable horse or even the family dog the same as an automobile, art work or furniture. In many states if owners can’t come to an agreement over who gets custody of the horses they are ordered sold and proceeds split, every horse owner’s worst fear but don’t go breaking off your engagement, several judges have recently taken a more novel approach when handling animal custody cases and Judge Graydon S. McKee II in Maryland granted shared custody of a dog named lucky, who is “lucky” enough to spend six months a year with each owner. Since one in every two marriages ends in a divorce, words to the wise make sure your future spouse is really as into your horses as they say they are.