Massachusetts Pets Now Included in Custody and Abuse Protection Orders

Over this past summer, the Massachusetts legislature passed a bill, which the Governor signed into law, that provides for the inclusion of pets in custody and abuse prevention orders.  See the recently issued Massachusetts Trial Court memo here.  I blogged about pets in restraining orders five years ago (No Longer Mere Chattel: The Rising Status of Pets in Family Law) when it was still a relatively new thing, and there were only a handful of states with such laws.  Since then, the total, not including the latest addition of Massachusetts, has risen to at least 22 other states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico.

For information about Massachusetts divorce and family law, see the divorce and family law page of my law firm website.