KEY POINTS:
As marriages splinter in acrimony and tears, fights have traditionally centred around money, children or even who gets the cutlery.
But, increasingly, such squabbling is being replaced by legal battles over who gets custody of the pets.
More time is now spent fighting over custody of cats and
dogs than over furniture or the hi-fi, according to new research.
A survey of the UK's top 100 family lawyers reveals that judges are recognising the importance of pets in break-ups. Warring couples were awarded joint custody in more than a third of cases last year, compared with under a quarter the year before.
This trend has come to Britain from the US, where custody of pets has been a key issue in splits between celebrities. These include Drew Barrymore, who fought with ex-husband Tom Green over their dog, Flossie. Women still win massively over men in such battles - winning sole custody in 59 per cent of cases compared with 4 per cent of men.
Andrea McLaren, head of the London matrimonial practice for Grant Thornton, the financial consultancy that carried out the research, said: "While many have never heard of custody battles over pets, or may ridicule those who fight over them, in many cases the pet is considered to be part of the family."
England is seen now as the best country for women to get divorced, because of a shift in attitude among judges, which in turn has led to record payouts for wives.
Matrimonial lawyers are now almost exclusively advising female clients to break up there to get the best possible settlement.
The latest high-profile break-up is between property tycoon Jim Moore and former wife, Kim. The couple are fighting over a £135 million ($364 million) fortune and have spent £1.5 million on lawyers. Last week judges dismissed a bid by Mr Moore to stop his former wife from bringing the case from Spain to London.
Other big-money cases include the split between Middlesbrough soccer star Ray Parlour and his wife who, the court ruled, was entitled to a one-third share of his future earnings to reflect her early role in promoting his talents.
Last year, the House of Lords ruled that financier's wife Melissa Miller was entitled to £5 million - a quarter of her husband's fortune - in compensation for a failed marriage lasting under three years, and despite the fact she had a career of her own.
These payouts have led to changes in who petitions for divorce. Men are now taking the lead in a bid to avoid the shift in the balance in the divorce courts in favour of wives. Last year, husbands took the lead in 14 per cent of cases, compared with only 1 per cent in 2005.
Grant Thornton said it expected to see a rise in "jurisdiction shopping" - the worldwide hunt for the best deal.
- INDEPENDENT