In this week's video, special counsel Craig Turvey discusses the Family Law Act draft amendments relating to pets and family law that are before Parliament.
Video transcript
My name is Craig Turvey and I'm a special counsel in the Cooper Grace Ward family law team. And today I'd like to talk to you about pets and family law. Now, if you're an avid watcher of our videos, which you should be, you will know that in family law world, pets are treated no differently in a property settlement than a piece of furniture. So, judges won't make orders about pets.
What happens to the pet after separation?
If one parent withholds a pet after separation, a judge isn't going to make orders dealing with any of that, which is very disappointing for a lot of clients. Now, for you people and anyone separating potentially in the future, there is possibly some good news. There's some draft amendments that are before Parliament in terms of the Family Law Act and one of the things they're looking at changing is pet ownership. So, the Parliament has recognised that pets are important and I think not just to parents, but mainly to children in separated families. Often they'll live primarily with one parent. It would make sense that that parent should probably have the pet with them. So, it's still a draft bill, and while I don't envisage there will probably and hopefully be a point in the future where judges will be making parenting arrangements or live with and spend with time arrangements for pets, they probably will be in the future able to make ownership orders. And they can take into account things such as which parent primarily cared for the pet during the relationship, whether there were any acts of domestic violence committed between the parties or involving the animal, or if there's children, whether they lived primarily with one parent or the other.
If you have any question about pets or family law property settlements, please don't hesitate to contact me or one of the other family lawyers at Cooper Grace Ward.
In this week's video, special counsel Craig Turvey discusses the Family Law Act draft amendments relating to pets and family law that are before Parliament.
Cooper Grace Ward is a leading Australian law firm based in Brisbane.
This publication is for information only and is not legal advice. You should obtain advice that is specific to your circumstances and not rely on this publication as legal advice. If there are any issues you would like us to advise you on arising from this publication, please contact Cooper Grace Ward Lawyers.
