What's the value of a pet prenup agreement? This married couple has thoughts

Until dog do us part.

In Atlanta, Geoie Krull is the best dog dad his two 13-year-old pups could bark for. They take care of each other, Krull said, and the dogs are tuned in to his emotions.

"They're both angels, and Peyton − she's like an empath," Krull, 43, said of his German Shepherd-Labrador Retriever mix. "If we're having a bad day or we feel down, this dog will literally come over and just nuzzle with you because she could sense you're having an off day."

But Peyton and Pixie, a Chihuahua-Italian mix, have belonged to Krull's wife, Kellie Coker, for much longer than the couple have known each other. Coker got the dogs almost a decade ago, and they've been by her side through a lot as well. Then in 2020 she met Krull and the two were married in November 2023.

Divorce has been on the rise in the U.S. for decades and in recent years, around 40% of first marriages ended in divorce according to attorneys. The rate is even higher for second and third marriages, law firms say. As more Americans are getting married older, when personal finances and property may be more of a concern, rates of prenuptial agreements are on the rise, according to lawyers who work with couples across the country.

As prenuptials − known as prenups − become more normal, many people are opting to put their pets in the agreements, since our furry companions are technically property.

That is why Peyton and Pixie have their own clause in the couple's prenuptial agreement. In the unlikely case they divorce, the pups will go with their mom, since she owned them for several years before marrying Krull.

"It makes so much sense to be able to create your own, because everyone's life is so different," Coker, 39, said.

What is a pet prenup?

Many couples sign a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot because if a couple doesn't, and they end up getting divorced, the automatic divorce rules in their state will kick in, saying all assets must be split fifty-fifty.

That widespread rule has been the norm for decades, because a few generations ago people got married at much earlier ages, and acquired the vast majority of their assets − like a home and furniture − together. But these days, individuals come into a marriage already having many personal belongings of their own, said Julia Rodgers, CEO of HelloPrenup, an online service that helps couples in more than 30 states write their prenuptials.

"People are getting married later and if people are getting married later, they likely have acquired more stuff," Rodgers said. "And so they're thinking more logically about all of their finances."

Among HelloPrenup's clients, two-thirds say they have a pet at the time they're writing their prenup, Rodgers said. Of those, one-third include the pet in the agreement, according to data from the company.

Besides ownership and custody, pet prenups can also help a couple agree who will make medical decisions for the animal, and pay for vet bills, food, insurance and daily expenses.

Investments, debt and child custody are other big things a couple can agree on how to split in a prenup. More recently, pet clauses have become more common, Rodgers said, in large part because prenups are becoming more common.

"We don't think of pets as property, but people do realize when they're getting married their pet is actually considered property under the law in most states," Rodgers said.

Prenup felt right after going through one divorce

Coker had one marriage that ended. She said she never thought about getting a prenup the first time she tied the knot, but having gone through that divorce, a prenup just made sense for her second marriage, she told USA TODAY.

"I didn't realize until I went through that first situation the state that you're in already has in place a way to handle all of your assets without you having any say," Coker said. "The more I looked into it and read about it, the less it made sense not to have one."

Being in the Air Force, Krull said he's also seen many of his fellow service members gets divorces, sometimes multiple. In the event any married couple gets divorced, he said, a prenup just helps avoid "things getting spun out of place."

How do couples agree on pet custody?

Like in the case of Krull and Coker, if one person acquired the pets before the marriage, the animals almost always go with that person in the event of a divorce, Rodgers said.

In cases where the pet was acquired during the marriage, she said she's seeing more couples split custody. Even among HelloPrenup clients who had a pet before the time of their marriage, 17% agree to split custody in the event of a divorce, according to Rodgers.

"People these days consider their pets to be family, and if you're going to bring a pet into a relationship, you should be planning for what's going to happen to that pet," Rodgers said.

Rodgers said in divorce cases where there are children and a pet, the pet almost always follows the children in the custody agreement, to ensure the kids have access to the animal.

There was just Peyton and Pixie for a decade. Then came Binx.

Krull and Coker became blessed with a third fur baby in late May, when a stray kitten showed up in their backyard trash can, and Coker found her trying to eat a greasy paper towel.

The couple named the cat Binx, after the feline from the movie Hocus Pocus.

Because Binx was acquired during their marriage, Krull and Coker will have to get a postnuptial agreement if they want to plan for who would get the cat in the event of a divorce.

Laughing over a video interview, Coker said that because their prenup technically says "animals," she thinks Binx would fall under that category and therefore go home with her if the couple splits.

"But don't get it twisted − we're not getting divorced," Krull said, laughing. "I very much found my soul mate. One thing that just enhances it is that we have that peace of mind with the prenup."