QLD Should I Re-home Pet Before Property Settlement?

[Jay Cee]

Wife and I are split 5 months. We have cross PO orders. No contact at all between us. She took the cats and left two dogs that are joint property.

I have been told by the landlord to only have one dog. I cannot contact her to offer it, or say take it.

I must look at re-homing it otherwise I may become homeless. Protection order says I can't contact or get anyone else to. What would happen if I re-homed the dog before the property settlement?

What if I just dropped it off at her friends house?

 

[AllForHer]

Is it in your tenancy contract that you can only have one pet?

 

[Rod]

What if you asked the ex's family if they will take the dog? You are not requesting them to contact the ex.

 

[sammy01]

Go to the cops. Tell them that you don't want to breach the PO and can they call the ex on your behalf and offer her the dog.

Tough gig being a cop. Go in, be nice. They might call here especially if you explain that the dog is gonna make you homeless and you're just trying to do the right thing.

 

[Jay Cee]

I don't feel I can do any more than I have already done. The offer was made.

What is the consequence in the settlement? Dog is joint property but I cannot care for it. I will re-home to the best possible home but it will become an issue in the settlement.

What will it cost me?

 

[SamanthaJay]

A dog is not like the usual joint property. It's a living breathing animal that has needs. She has not made any provisions for the animal herself, you've made reasonable attempts to contact her about the dog and realistically, what is the dog worth in monetary terms? If it's like the majority of adult dogs that become homeless, it would be lucky to be rehomed for a fee payable to an animal shelter and more likely than not, it would be euthanased.

Keep your letter from the agent telling you that you're only to keep one dog, keep the records of when and where you've tried to contact her and keep the records of your attempts to rehome the dog. I don't think there is anything more you can do and if she tries to use it as an issue to upset settlement negotiations, then more fool her and I can't see it getting her anywhere.

 

[AllForHer]

Personally, I don't agree with re-homing animals for rental purposes.

But legally, I don't see that re-homing the dog will jeopardise your property settlement by much, if at all.

In family law, dogs are considered property, the same as jewellery or furniture, so they are assigned a monetary value and that value gets added to the shared asset pool.

If you re-home the dog before property settlement, your ex would have to apply to have the value of the dog included in the shared asset pool as an add-back, but she probably won't succeed, and frankly, doing so is probably going to cost her more than the dog is worth. On top of that, all it means is that the value of the dog gets re-added to the shared asset pool. It doesn't necessarily mean you have to pay your ex the value of the dog, by any means.

So, if you have to re-home the dog, do so. It's not like the Court is going to consider it an act to obstruct property settlement or manipulate it to your favour. The value of the dog might be, what, $500? Not exactly make or break, here, is it?

 

[SamanthaJay]

I understand they are considered property as such although it's not like a piece of furniture or the usual piece of property. Interesting though, I've never thought of having the animals valued as well. We had 2 steers that I didn't even think to add to the shared asset pool. I tried to have the commercial freezer full of beef that I had just packed and stocked the week before I left added, but no one wanted to know about it!

If he doesn't re-home the dog (due to his landlord asking him to only having one dog), what else could he do? Do you mean find another rental that would allow him to have both dogs?

 

[AllForHer]

Well, his other options aren't really legal questions, at this stage, they're more questions of personal opinion. Personally, I wouldn't sign a lease that didn't allow me to keep both of my dogs, I'd just look elsewhere for a rental, but again, that's just personal opinion.

I love my dogs and, like you, I find the concept of them being property a bit repugnant, but that's just how it works in family law - even though they're living, breathing creatures with needs and relationships that we, as humans, value, for the purposes of a property settlement, they're legally just an asset in the shared property pool.