Who Gets The Pet Dog In The Divorce! In a separation, there are generally two things that can be the subject of dispute. Property and children. But what happens to the family dog or cat? Strictly speaking, the Court does not have the power to make orders for pets (live with/spend time with) as they do with children. The animals are considered “property”. You have a house, a car, and Pluto the dog. Putting a value on these pieces of property is easy in relation to the house and the car, but what is Pluto worth? The Court has power to place the car in the possession of one party, and theoretically therefore has the power to give Pluto to one side or the other. Emotional value in items such as pictures of the children can be cause of much dispute, and pet owners can become so attached to animals that the thought of losing Pluto to the other side is beyond comprehension. So, what happens? Agreements are normally reached outside the Court, and when children are involved, there have been many instances where the pet follows the child when living with mum or dad. There are studies that show that children with pets cope significantly better with the situation, than if they are forced to leave a pet behind. Interestingly, the USA are becoming closer to adopting our “best interests test” (which we have for children), for pets in family disputes. For now in Australia, Pluto is a piece of property. Although there is Animal Welfare Legislation to consider, Pluto can be a very important part of an asset pool.
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 00:27:22 +0000
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