Pet ownership disputes can be as messy as child custody cases

How the legal system treats animals has changed dramatically in recent decades. They're protected by anti-cruelty laws. Their owners can bequeath fortunes to them. And their fate in a divorce, with rare exception, no longer hangs on "calling contests," in which judges gave custody to the parties who could coax Fido to their side.

For the most part, though, dogs, cats, macaws and turtles are still considered property, with few more rights than a coffee table. When ownership disputes land in court, judges have wide latitude.

Some will decide where a pet should live in the same manner they resolve custody of a child: by carefully sizing up who offers more financial security and stronger emotional ties. Other jurists consider that a waste of scarce resources and time and base their decision on other factors, such as who originally acquired the animal.

via Pet ownership disputes can be as messy as child custody cases - latimes.com.