Legal Rights and Responsibilities for Pets in Divorce Agreements

«When a client comes and tells you about their marital crisis, they rarely talk about their pet. “Along with the children, the home or the mortgage, we have to find out what happens with the pet, who takes care of it, who takes care of it, what their expenses are,” explains María Pérez Galván, vice president of the Spanish Association of Family Lawyers. (AEAFA). The law on the legal regime of animals, which determined that they are beings endowed with sensitivity, came into force in January 2022, transferring to the BOE what had already been applied “by common sense” in agreements and sentences, as often happens in family law, highlights this jurist with 40 years of experience.

The rule detailed the duties of animal owners and established that in divorce agreements their fate will be decided “taking into account the interest of the family members and the well-being of the pet itself; the distribution of coexistence and care times if necessary, as well as the burdens associated with the care of the animal.

In 2010, a ruling from a court in Badajoz, signed by the person who currently presides over the Provincial Court, Luis Romualdo Hernández Díaz-Ambrona, agreed on shared custody of a dog after the separation of a couple. He would spend six months with the woman and another six months with the man. The judge recognized the “great and heartfelt affections” that dogs generate and considered them the object of rights as “sensitive and independent” beings.

After the reform of the Civil Code, the Mortgage Law and the Civil Procedure Law on the legal regime of animals, this year the Animal Welfare Law was approved, which regulated the rights of these “sentient beings” and the obligations of their owners .

In Spain, according to the explanatory memorandum of this rule, one in three households lives with at least one pet. Pérez Galván believes that in family law there were more urgent priorities, such as a law on shared custody of children or legal regulation of de facto couples, but he supports regulations that respond to greater social awareness of pets and their growing presence in homes.

In divorce agreements, he explains, not only must it be regulated who the animal will stay with and the cost of its basic maintenance, but also details such as who is going to pay for the veterinarian, the haircut… In case of disagreement, it will be the judge who has to assess all the circumstances surrounding the family that is the subject of the dispute, from who usually cares for the animal, to their interest.

In this regard, last March the Provincial Court of León made clear the importance of the parties in conflict gathering all possible information to help the courts make a decision. A woman had appealed her divorce ruling and warned that nothing had been said about the pets she had with her partner, with whom she had once created an association to rescue abandoned animals and had brought together three dogs and seven cats.

The man showed no interest in keeping the animals and the woman asked him for 500 euros per month for their care, but the Court considerably reduced her claims because the invoices she submitted, relating to food and veterinarians, did not reach that sum. Since he did not present an expert report on the approximate cost of caring for each pet, the court established that the man’s contribution should be limited to 20 euros per animal, that is, 200 euros per month. In this case, an amount was established, but in numerous rulings a solomomic decision of the distribution of expenses is chosen, from veterinary consultations to the antiparasitic collar.

In the family unit

What does seem like an unwritten rule is that when there are children, the lawyer highlights, the fate of the dog is usually the same as that of the minors. Last March, for example, the Madrid Court said no to a woman who appealed the terms of her divorce and wanted her pet to stay with her despite shared custody of her children.

“We understand that the animal belongs to the entire family unit, and its well-being depends on it being with the minors and, consequently, with each of the litigating parties in the periods that correspond to them being with their children,” the magistrates stated. “In their stays with the father, the minors will take with them the health card and their ID, as well as their respective sports equipment, school utensils and books, mobile phones, computers and their pet,” was stated in another ruling issued in La Coruña in November. from last year 2022.

Visiting schedule

The Provincial Court of Córdoba also had to resolve the particular case of two dogs for which a visitation regime had been judicially established after the divorce of the marriage: Elena – fictitious name – had kept the animals, but Erica could have them for breeding purposes. alternate week.

The first appealed alleging that the dogs were hers before the wedding and, although the divorce decree was issued before the animal law was enacted, the court was inspired by the new Civil Code to remind her of the need to attend to the interest of the members of the family and the well-being of the animal “regardless of its proprietary ownership.” In his sentence he specified details that were missing, making it clear that the two women had to share, during special periods such as Christmas, Easter and summer, the animals.

Sensitivity

Pérez Galván highlights the importance of the specialization of the family lawyer, but does not forget that it is the judge who is in charge of interpreting the circumstances of each case when applying the law. His sensitivity towards animals or his awareness comes into play there. “A young judge is likely to have pets or have them around him, so he will be more involved,” he points out.

«Until now – says this jurist – pets were the ones largely forgotten in family procedures; Now they become protagonists and there are those who do not assume it,” she concludes.