Legal Question in Family Law in New York
Has this gone to the dogs?
Gee I like the title. Anyway my question is this. 3 years ago my wife and I got 2 dogs. We both fell in love with them. Now after 9 1/2 years of marriage, I walked out on her because we fell out of love and there is no returning to her. There are other reasons why too, such as he stealing from me, getting her son back into rehab because of his drug problem, and many more. I have talked with several lawyers and none of them seem to give me a stright answer. Therefore, I'm coming here. I left the state of NY with the 2 dogs before and return after a month because of my back injury. Currently right now the 2 dogs are with her. Of course she is threating me with things and therefore will not allow me to see the dogs. I would like to know (if punishable by law) if I took the 2 dogs and left the state of NY. What recourse does she have to try and get the 2 dogs back from me? Thank you so much for your time and assistances on this matter.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Has this gone to the dogs?
Good day:
In typical lawyer double talk here is part of your question answered. While it is new in New York many states have custody fights for animals and specifically dogs. My office has handled sucessfully some of these cases. As for criminal charges, I presume a claim could be made for theft as the dogs have value, but to prove ownership would be disficult for her to do based on the facts presented. If It was I would hire an attorney who handles this type of case and not risk some local police agency or district attorney filing criminal charges.
Good Luck
BRAD S. MARGOLIS,ESQ.
CNYLAWOFFICE.COM
Handling cases though out NY.