Gifts and Matrimonial Property Settlement

Gifts are often exchanged between spouses during the relationship. Gifts such as jewellery, luxury goods, electronics and so forth will often be considered personal possessions of a party in the property pool. It is important to note that gifts are usually not expected to be returned or repaid, unlike loans.

What about Pets?
For many families, pets are integral members of the family. Increasingly, families are coming before the court with the custody of their pet being a live issue.

The Melbourne Magistrates Court has recently heard the dispute between a couple who both claimed to be the rightful owner of the dog after their relationship ended in 2019. A year into their relationship, the Husband purchased a Pomeranian puppy for $4,000.

Following the separation of the couples, both parties dispute over the possession of the puppy. The Court rejected the Husband’s claim preferring the Wife’s evidence that the puppy was purchased for her as a gift and should remain hers.
The Wife has provided text messages between the couples leading up to the purchase of the puppy as evidence to show that the Husband was initially reluctant to be a puppy owner. The Wife has also provided a receipt from the breeder, documents provided to the council, pedigree and microchip registration documents listing her as the owner.

The Husband claimed that the had legal ownership of the puppy because he paid for the puppy. The Court has rejected his argument stating that the weight of evidence particularly of the Wife and corroborated by the content of the contemporaneous text messages such as ‘buy me a dog lol’ and ‘bday gift please’, satisfied the Court that, as a matter of fact and law, the Husband purchased the dog with the intention of gifting it to the Wife.

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Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice and Straits Lawyers will not be legally responsible for any actions you take based on this article.