Divorced people have no legal right to a right of access with a dog bought before the marriage. This emerges from a now published judgment of the Higher Regional Court Stuttgart. According to case law, domestic animals are household items, the higher regional court clarified. This rejected the complaint of a woman who had requested the dog's release from her former husband.
The Labardor bitch had been purchased before the wedding. After the separation in 2016, the woman demanded the release. A first-instance agreement with the Labrador bitch failed. Again, the woman demanded to give her the dog. The Family Court Sigmaringen rejected the request of the woman.
The Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart confirmed this decision. The wife could not prove that the dog was her property. In the sales contract the name of the man stood. Even if the woman claims to have taken care of the dog like a child, he is not her possession.
Basically, pets are in the jurisdiction of household items. These can be left to a spouse only if they were purchased together, it was said. Items that belong to only one spouse do not have to be handed over.
Even if the woman had been a proven co-owner, it would be in this case against the animal welfare, the dog to hand over to the woman, so the Higher Regional Court. Three years after the separation, it would not be beneficial to take the dog to another environment.
Since the separation, the dog has lived with the ex-husband in the former common house of the couple, which has a large garden. A legal right to deal with the dog does not exist, the court ruled.