"I'll give you my dignity for the boat."

When a divorce happens, things that you and your spouse previously owned together or shared get divided. You'll have to divide the possessions that you two share, and you'll have to divide the family cars, etc.

But what about other things between you two that don't seem so easy to divide?

"That's my child, too!"

When you get a divorce, you can expect to divide everything between you and your ex-spouse. But when it comes to dividing the kids, that gets just a tad bit tricky. When you divide the possessions that you two shared, you may say, "Ok, well I like this vase more than the dining room set, so I want the vase." However, you can't very well just divide the kids. "I like Bobby better than Ashley, so I want Bobby."

When it comes to custody, the court system will take an enormous amount of information into consideration.

Here are a few of those factors:

1. What is the environment of each parent's home life?
2. Did one of the parents abuse/neglect the kids?
3. Which parent is the primary caretaker?
4. Does the child have a preference?

What all of this means is that if you're the spouse who makes less, is the one who had to move out, or was neglectful, then you more than likely won't receive custody of the children. Rather, you will be granted the short end which would be weekend visitation.

"Give me Mr. Fluffykins!"

Although the family pet isn't the first aspect of splitting things up when you think about divorce, it can be a major part of some peoples divorce.

When considering who gets the pet in a divorce, there are 4 things you should remember:

1. Know how the law views your pet. In the USA, the laws view your pet as property. Therefore, it would be like deciding who gets the house and the boat. Although this seems slightly extreme, the animal will be awarded to the property owner.
2. Put the welfare of the animal first. Some courts will view the animal as the family's child, and will therefore put the pet in the custody of who would be the best caregiver.
3. Take steps to look after your pet. Anything can go into a pre-nuptial agreement. You should put your animal in yours so that if things go sour in your marriage, your precious animal will already be taken care of. Also, if you're in the midst of a divorce, your spouse can sign a separation agreement. This is basically a paper putting it in pen about who will get/pay what.
4. Never use your pet as a bargaining chip. Think about the best interest of the pet. Although many other people will view your pet as just a pet, you may view your pet as your child. Not to mention, a pet can be very intuitive about how you're feeling. Your animal could be there for you when you're feeling depressed about the divorce.

Quiz Law. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. http://www.quizlaw.com/divorce_law/how_does_a_court_decide_which.php.

This website informs about child custody and what aspects go into deciding who gets to keep the children. It mentions a list of necessities.

WikiHow. N.p., 24 Apr. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. http://www.wikihow.com/Decide-Who-Gets-the-Pet-in-a-Divorce.

This website deals with the custody of animals. It gives tips and advice. It also has a video.