Dog ownership

[Mylifestartstoday]

This may seem silly to some, but I wanted advice on who legally owns pets in a divorce?
We have 3 dogs. My STBX left the marital home last June, and I’ve been looking after them. They are chipped in my name but insurance for them is in his name.
Our teenage children don’t want to see their dad, they are 15 and 17, so he is now wanting the dogs because he knows if he gets the dogs the girls will see him to see them.
Is this something he can do? The dogs are what have helped get us through his affair, him leaving etc. my eldest would not be able to cope without her dog

Police won't get involved but having the chip in your name is good.... Get your own insurance..

Tell him to take you to court.
Take out insurance in your name.

My Ex tried to do this (he didn’t even want the dogs), went to court and he was told to stop being so ridiculous and petty.
If it helps family courts won’t force your (near) adult children to see him.
I’m not a solicitor but I believe that they will only bother if primary school age or special needs.

If you have three could you keep two and give him one?

Sorry just had a flash of memory!

Make a diary, list all contact attempts by him for kids and dogs also how often he wanted to see dogs alone.
Probably won’t be as many as he thinks.

Keep your dogs. He's lived without them for almost a year. He can get his own if he's that bothered.
I think it's good the chips are in your name. Get your own insurance sorted and make sure they are registered to you at the vets.

He’s not mentioned the dogs and who owns them before. When I was trying to be civil I allowed him to take the dogs for a walk every Sunday, so he maybe did that from October to December last year. He doesn’t pay for anything for them. I pay vet bills and food. The insurance comes out of our joint account still.
He’s using them to try and make the teenagers see him

Tell the insurance company that you’ve separated and ask them to put policy in your name.

I’m sure you won’t be the first.
Can you close the joint account?

Btw, a walk once a week doesn’t mean rights to ownership. Otherwise, dog walkers would have rights to loads!

Do the teenagers even talk to him? How invested are the teens in the dogs?

The teens don’t speak to him. They’ve blocked him on their phones because they would message him and he would ignore, and then he would send a good night message. They said they’d rather not have any messages if he’s choosing to ignore at other times.
The girls love the dogs...the dogs have kept us going. I know that sounds stupid, but they’ve helped us get through this. They would be devastated if he took them

Who paid for them? Dogs are property (as horrible as that sounds) so it's like deciding who bought the TV and therefore owns it. If you're not married and he purchased them, they're his (and likewise you if you paid for them). If you're married and splitting up, and the dogs were bought during your marriage, they're marital assets.

Some more info here: www.bluecross.org.uk/pet-advice/how-deal-breakup-pet-owner

We are (still) married, so they were bought jointly.
My solicitor has just phoned me about something so I’ve asked her. She just laughed and told me not to worry. He’s not mentioned ownership in 10 months, a judge wouldn’t be interested, and they’re chipped in my name. I’m currently changing the insurance over to my name.

Like I said, they're considered marital assets insofar as they were bought while you were married, and the fact that they're chipped in your name doesn't mean you own them, much like having a car registered to your name doesn't mean that you own the car. He will have evidence of having paid for their insurance for as long as you've had them presumably, so changing the insurance to your name won't make them any more "yours".

Your solicitor shouldn't really have laughed and given you the impression that there isn't an issue because she can't know that for sure at this stage. The dogs will be split up (not literally hopefully) with the rest of your marital assets when your divorce gets to that stage. I don't know anything about your dogs but they can be valuable item.

Are they KC registered? If so, whose name is on the paperwork?

Make sure he can't enter your garden and take them op.

The insurance payments are coming out of a joint account.
They are cross breeds so not KC registered.
He hasn’t mentioned the dogs since June last year. He only wants them because he thinks if he has them, the girls will follow. I’ll fight him all the way.
I’ll wait and see what he does. I’ve had threats over lots of things, hopefully this is another empty one