Third Party Pet Ownership & Divorce

[ama13]

Five months ago, my neighbor gave me two of her cats because she felt that they would be better cared for. She is now going through a divorce. Her estranged husband is making things as difficult for her as possible. He is claiming ownership of one of the cats that was adopted from a shelter by my neighbor while they were still living together (the second cat was rescued after they were separated and he, therefore, has no legal claim to it). He had no interest in the cat while they were still living together, and does not even like animals. Her name is on the adoption papers and all of the vet bills.

Her attorney advised her to have me state that the cat has been in my sole care & custody since March and that she relinquished all of her rights to it. I am concerned that the husband will claim that she had no right to give the cat to me and that I will be forced to hand over the cat even though he doesn't actually want the cat, but is just being vindictive. My neighbor fully believes that if he is given custody, he will just dump the cat in a shelter, if not have it put to sleep altogether.

Any help is much appreciated!

[tbyte]

He is just making waves. Vindictive or not, how many hours of his attorney's time at $200 per hour do you think he is going to invest in retrieving this cat?
Don't do anything until he serves you with court papers demanding the cat back. Until then, ignore the situation.