On January 1, 2019, California unleashed a new law that gives a certain amount of rights to pets – pets are no longer considered property but family. According to California Family Code Section 2605:
(a) The court, at the request of a party to proceedings for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, may enter an order, prior to the final determination of ownership of a pet animal, to require a party to care for the pet animal. The existence of an order providing for the care of a pet animal during the course of proceedings for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties shall not have any impact on the court’s final determination of ownership of the pet animal.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, including, but not limited to, Section 2550, the court, at the request of a party to proceedings for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation of the parties, may assign sole or joint ownership of a pet animal taking into consideration the care of the pet animal.
“Pet animal” refers to any animal that has been kept as a household pet and that is part of the community property. In the latter sense, that means the pet was adopted during the time of marriage as opposed to one spouse already being the pet’s guardian prior to the marriage. Just like other “property,” any property obtained prior to marriage is separate while any property acquired during the marriage is community property with a few exceptions.
Under this law, you can petition the court for custody of a pet. This usually occurs when the ex-spouses or ex-partners cannot agree with who should care for the pet(s).