English
EspañolV wants to get her pet back from A (discusses replevin action and RO)
THIS IS A VERSION SPECIFIC TO NY STATE – SEE BELOW FOR A MORE GENERIC VERSION:
Generally, one way to get custody of a pet may be through an order of protection. In many states, the law specifically gives the judge authority to award custody of a pet to the victim. However, NY law doesn’t specifically provide for this but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible to request. As you can see on our website, one of the things that a judge can order in an order of protection is: “authorize the person leaving the home, whether it is you or the abuser, to retrieve his/her undisputed personal belongings from the home with a police escort.” Do you think that your partner will “dispute” (fight) the fact that the pet is yours? If so, it’s not clear if the judge would order this in an order but you may be able to bring any ownership paperwork or other proof that the pet is yours to court for the judge to see in order to try to convince the judge to grant you custody of the pet. You can read more about orders of protection on our website.
If the parties are married, a divorce judge could decide who would get the pet as part of the division of marital property if the pet was acquired during the marriage. If the pet was owned by one party from before the marriage, it could be awarded to that person as their own separate property.
If the parties are not married, it may be possible to file in civil court for the return of the pet under a concept known as “replevin.” You can read more about the replevin laws in NY on this website. Basically, replevin is a term used to describe suing for the return of property, which is known as “chattel.” Pets generally fall into the “chattel” category. I was hoping to tell you that this can be done in small claims court, which is an easier court for someone to navigate on their own without a lawyer, but the NY Courts website has a small claims court booklet that clearly states that a person can only sue for money damages, not for the return of property (see page 1 of the booklet where it gives the example about a laptop). If you want to start a replevin action, you would likely want the help of a lawyer. You can find legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer page.
THIS IS THE MORE GENERIC VERSION - PLEASE ADD INFO BASED ON WHAT YOU FIND IN THE RELEVANT STATE:
Generally, one way to get custody of a pet may be through an order of protection. In many states, the law specifically gives the judge authority to award custody of a pet to the victim. [LOOK UP “WHAT PROTECTIONS CAN I GET IN A PROTECTION ORDER?” IN HER STATE’S RO PAGE AND QUOTE THE SECTION THAT SAYS A JUDGE CAN GRANT CUSTODY OF A PET IF THERE IS ONE. IF NOT, SEE IF IT SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT ‘RETURN OF PROPERTY’ THAT YOU CAN TELL HER AND LINK HER TO. CHANGE THIS ACCORDINGLY.] Do you think that your partner will “dispute” (fight) the fact that the pet is yours? You may be able to bring any ownership paperwork or other proof that the pet is yours to court for the judge to see in order to try to convince the judge to grant you custody of the pet. You can read more about orders of protection on our website.[HYPERLINK]
If the parties are married, a divorce judge could decide who would get the pet as part of the division of marital property if the pet was acquired during the marriage. If the pet was owned by one party from before the marriage, it could be awarded to that person as their own separate property.
If the parties are not married, it may be possible to file in civil court for the return of the pet under a concept known as “replevin.” You can read more about the replevin laws in [STATE] on [THIS LINK IS FOR NY – GOOGLE REPLEVIN LAWS IN HER STATE AND SEE IF YOU FIND SOMETHING THAT EXPLAINS IT THAT YOU CAN LINK HER TO.] Basically, replevin is a term used to describe suing for the return of property, which is known as “chattel.” Pets generally fall into the “chattel” category. [READ ABOUT SMALL CLAIMS COURT IN HER STATE AND IF A PERSON CAN SUE FOR THE RETURN OF PROPERTY – USUALLY, THEY CAN’T. CHANGE THIS ACCORDINGLY BASED ON WHAT YOU FIND: I was hoping to tell you that this can be done in small claims court, which is an easier court for someone to navigate on their own without a lawyer, but the [STATE COURTS] website says [FILL IN IF IT SAYS YOU CAN ONLY SUE FOR MONEY, ETC.] If you want to start a replevin action, you would likely want the help of a lawyer. You can find legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer page. [HYPERLINK]
