Summary: For many people, the animals in their lives occupy an extremely important place in their hearts. With that in mind, the law now gives pet owners more options than ever to ensure that, if they become incapacitated or pass away, then their animals will receive the quality of care they’d want, and receive it from a caregiver they know that they can trust. If you have animals in your life whose care you want to plan, the law gives you many options to help you achieve this important estate planning goal.
If you have kept up with celebrity news
over the years, you may have heard the stories. Famous hotel magnate Leona
Helmsley left her dog, Trouble, $12 million in her estate plan… Muriel Siebert,
the first woman to hold a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, left her
Chihuahua $100,000… Fashion designed Alexander McQueen left behind $81,000 for
his three dogs…
While these stories may make for
interesting celebrity gossip, don’t let them mislead you. You do NOT need to be
a multi-millionaire to need to include your furry family members in your estate
plan. If you have an animal (or animals) whose care after your death you want
to ensure, then you potentially have a need for pet-related estate planning.
The more unique your situation is, the
greater your need for a plan. Let’s say you have five great loves in your life:
your three kids and a pair of cats. Your cats are inseparably bonded to each
other emotionally. Your kids include a daughter in Paris, a daughter in
Singapore and a son who lives in the U.S. but travels all the time for work. In
cases like this, planning serves two essential needs: it allows you to identify
the right person – a person who provide a steady and stable home for the cats,
and who will provide that care for BOTH of the cats, together.
Additionally, the more uncommon your
animal, the more important it is to plan. If you have horses, for example,
planning is highly important. Sure, a lot of people love horses, but chances
are, most of your friends and family lack the resources or the knowledge to
provide a proper home for a horse. On the other hand, let’s say you have a
beloved pet python. Again, planning is exceedingly important, because odds are
high that most of your loved ones will lack the knowledge and/or the desire to
serve as a proper caregiver for a snake.
Even relatively easy-to-care-for animals
(like cats and dogs) may not be so easy if your fur-baby has food allergies or
other chronic medical conditions. Whether you’re planning for dogs, cats, fish
or an iguana, the law has more options than ever to customize your planning.
Today, all 50 states’ laws legally recognize the validity of pet trusts. With a
pet trust, you can have the peace of mind that comes with control. Your pet
trust will allow you to select the proper caregiver and then name that
caregiver by appointing them as the trustee of your pet’s trust. You can also
fund assets into your pet’s trust to ensure that your four-legged (or
two-legged or zero-legged) friends get the quality of care that you’d want them
to have for the rest of their natural lives.
In addition to providing for the right
home for your pets, and the proper financial support, your estate plan can also
help offer guidance on the care of your pets. It can answer questions like:
What happens if my preferred caregiver ceases being able to provide care for my
pets? If my pet becomes gravely ill, how should the decision regarding
euthanasia be approached? Like estate planning provisions for yourself, estate
planning provisions for your pet can be customized in a wide array of ways to
meet the needs of you and your fur-babies.
This article is published by the Legacy Assurance Plan and is intended for general informational purposes only. Some information may not apply to your situation. It does not, nor is it intended, to constitute legal advice. You should consult with an attorney regarding any specific questions about probate, living probate or other estate planning matters. Legacy Assurance Plan is an estate planning services-company and is not a lawyer or law firm and is not engaged in the practice of law. For more information about this and other estate planning matters visit our website at www.legacyassuranceplan.com.
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