TREAT PETS LIKE PEOPLE? – The new law in California brings changes for the owners of divorced pets, because in the future, pets will be considered as children, that is, custody decisions will be made.
Under this law, the judge will have the right to decide to whom to assign the pet, and factors such as who keeps them, feeds them, takes them to the vet, walks and the like will be taken into account.
In most countries of the world, pets are considered movables, is they have the status of property. The division of pets during divorce is not regulated by the Family Law, but the rules of property law apply and the existence of property rights over a pet depends on whether the pet was acquired before marriage or during marriage.
If the pet was acquired before the conclusion of the marriage, it is considered as a separate property of the spouse and is not subject to division during the divorce litigation. Otherwise, that is, if it was acquired during the marriage, then it can be a separate or joint property of the spouse, depending on whether it was acquired for a fee or not. Special property is in cases when the spouse acquired a pet during the marriage, but without compensation (say a gift).
In court practice, moving pets is usually avoided, and it is always best for the spouses to agree on their own. If there is no agreement, then the judge decides, but decides as if it were property.
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