Q: Does my ex boyfriend have legal rights over our dog?
My ex and I got a dog while we were dating. I paid for most of its care while we were together. After breaking up, I kept the dog and continued to pay for all of its care for an entire year. Due to financial reasons, I recently had to give the dog back to the rescue site that we initially got her from. I did not inform my ex due to the nature of our breakup. Now he is trying to make me pay him for the loss of property. If he assumed no financial responsibility for the dog, did he have ownership rights?
A: A pet is considered personal property under the law, no different than jointly owning a suitcase or other object. If you both contributed to the purchase price, and intended by agreement (oral or otherwise, or by mutual understanding) that the dog was to be the joint property of both of you, then yes, he can claim joint ownership and a share of the FMV that he owned in the dog. If he claims equal ownership, he may claim equal fair market value for the dog, reduced by your right to claim to be reimbursed his fair share of the costs for maintaining the dog (50% of all food, veterinary, medicine, flea treatment, leash/collar expenses, etc.) which you advanced for him because he never contributed to them. What did he pay for the dog, half? That's his claim, minus your claim for 50% of all you expended over and above what he expended. Based on your description, it is you that has a claim against him, for half of all the expenses over the years you paid for the dog.
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