Planning for Your Pets in Your Will: Authored by: Phyllis DeGioia ;Date Published: 5/23/2004 11:35:00 AM. Copyright 2004 - 2005 by the Veterinary Information Network, Inc. All rights reserved
Who'll feed Fido when you can't?: Your will should designate a caretaker for your furry friends if you're suddenly out of the picture: March 9, 2003; By Elizabeth McCall ;
ALL MY CHILDREN WEAR FUR COATS
Author Peggy Hoyt, Estate Planning Lawyer
with Pet Estate Planning Expertise
All My Children Wear Fur Coats"is about leaving a legacy for your pet and is a pet estate planning book. The Hall Mark of True Love is planning for your pet's future without you and for your future without your pet.
Book Overview
How to leave a legacy for your pet. Animal companions… your pets… "your children." Whatever you call them, they are dearly loved family members. Our pets come to us from rescue shelters, from pet stores, from breeders, and from friends and family. Our pets come in all shapes and sizes — from horses to hamsters, from ferrets to felines — they inhabit our hearts with their own unique personalities. They share day-to-day struggles, adventures, special moments and play times with us. We share our homes, our beds and our hearts with our pets.
We worry about our pets, too, just like our children, when they are not with us. They leave us with a legacy of happy memories after they’re gone. Our pets love us unconditionally, help reduce stress and even enhance longevity. For all these reasons and so many more, you should explore all the alternatives for planning for your pet’s future without you and for your future without your pet. This book is for anyone who has ever loved a pet and wondered what he or she would do if their pet were no longer with them or what their pet would do if they were no longer there.
Copyright 2004 - 2005 by the Veterinary Information Network, Inc. All rights reserved
It’s a sobering thought, but do you know who will take care of your pets if you should die? Many people assume that family members will keep their pets, but shelter volunteers see numerous pets surrendered because of the owner’s death. If plans aren’t carefully made, your pets may not be where you’d hoped. Whether your death turns out to be unexpected or not, planning for your pets' care can give you peace of mind. No matter what we think of our pets, legally they are property, and unless specific arrangements are made, they will be treated like property after your death.
Several sources can assist you in ensuring the results you want. Sadly, it’s not as simple as stating in a will "I want my dogs to be taken care of," or "the cats should go to my niece, Katie." What if Katie doesn’t want them, or is undergoing unseen financial misfortune when the time for transfer arrives?
Several states have pet trust laws in place, including Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Wisconsin, and Utah. The laws are not the same in each state. In states without such laws, a trust becomes an honorary system. Without a pet trust, your only option is to designate a caretaker.
A book by Lisa Rogak, titled PerPETual Care: Who Will Look After Your Pets If You’re Not Around?, (published by Litterature) outlines some steps you can take, and mentions why certain approaches may not work but others will. Rogak states, "The law will regard the clause in your will where you bequeath money or property to your pets after death as the equivalent of leaving your car to your washing machine." She discusses how to avoid challenges from relatives who don’t love pets, and explains how to make a workable, legal plan for your pets in the event of your death or disability. It’s not as straightforward as it sounds.
A new company called PetGuardian estimates that 500,000 pets are euthanized at shelters and veterinary offices each year because their owners have died. PetGuardian offers pet trust plans. In conjunction with the Best Friends Animal Society, which operates the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, it has created the Best Friends Backup Service in which Best Friends will find a "backup caregiver" to ensure that pets are placed in good homes if the designated caregivers are unable to accept the pet. PetGuardian Pet Trust Plans have been created with the help of legal experts, estate planners, and animal care professionals. Veterinary Partner doesn't endorse PetGuardian, but we feel that you should be aware of its services.
Another option to using a service like PetGuardian is to talk to your attorney. While having an attorney create a trust is more expensive than a service like PetGuardian, the attorney will set up a trust to take care of all your assets, not just pets. These trusts are aimed at reducing probate tax (the so-called "death tax"), but language regarding your pet would simply be included. There would be no additional fee for including pets as you pay for the service as a whole. It's really an issue of telling your attorney what your exact wishes are regarding your pets; this is especially true in states that have pet trust laws in place.
Not all veterinary colleges provide legacy/bequest services, but many do. In a legacy service, your pet will be adopted by a veterinary student, who will care for it for the rest of its life. Ask your veterinarian for names and addresses of veterinary colleges, and check into this fantastic program.
Gina Spadafori, whose Pet Connection column appears in Veterinary Partner, is well aware of these issues. She explains how she has prepared for her pets. Two of the dogs will be returned to breeders, the pocket pets will go back to the rescue groups they came from, the parrot will go to his avian veterinarian (a good friend of Gina’s), and her remaining dogs go to friends who have agreed to keep them. "With each pet will go a sum of money," says Gina.
Being prepared for the worst, or at least the inevitable, can ease some of the concern at that time when everyone is upset and no one is sure what to do. Outlining exactly what you want to happen makes a big difference.
Because pets usually have shorter life spans than their human caregivers, you may have planned for your animal friend's passing. But what if you are the one who becomes ill or incapacitated, or who dies first? As a responsible pet owner, you provide your pet with food and water, shelter, veterinary care, and love. To ensure that your beloved pet will continue to receive this care should something unexpected happen to you, it's critical to plan ahead.
Learn what steps you can take to plan and provide for your pet's future without you by following the links below or contact The HSUS at petsinwills@hsus.org
NOTE: The following information is intended to provide a general overview and to stimulate your thinking about providing for your pet in the event of your incapacity or death. It is not intended to provide legal advice and is definitely not a substitute for consulting a local attorney of your choosing who is familiar both with the laws of your state and with your personal circumstances and needs, and those of your pets.
Who'll feed Fido when you can't?
Your will should designate a caretaker for your furry friends if you're suddenly out of the picture.
By Elizabeth McCall
March 9, 2003
USA Weekend.com
If you died unexpectedly, what would happen to your beloved four-legged companion? The American Veterinary Medical Association says more than 58 million households have at least one animal companion, and many pets are abandoned or euthanized after their owner dies, because no one planned for their ongoing welfare. Planning is not just for singles or seniors: The dog and cat owned by John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, killed in a 1999 plane crash, for example, weren't provided for in a will. (His family took the pets.)
So what can you do to plan?
"If you're going to sit down and figure out who is going to get your house after you die, think about your animals at the same time," says Charlotte Alexander, who, along with husband David Congalton, co-wrote "When Your Pet Outlives You: Protecting Animal Companions After You Die" (NewSage Press, $12.95). Making financial arrangements for a pet in your will isn't always easy; non-pet-loving relatives have successfully challenged bequests. "Historically, the courts have not looked positively at large gifts left to animals," Congalton says.
And pet trusts, which provide money and name a pet caretaker, are legal in only 17 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.
Help is out there: The Humane Society of the United States, for example, has set up foster care guidelines for military personnel called to active duty. But pet owners should identify several potential caregivers, Lisa Rogak writes in her book, "PerPETual Care: Who Will Look After Your Pets If You're Not Around?" (Litterature, $15). Rogak, who owns a dozen cats and publishes a pet greeting card line, says relatives and friends aren't necessarily the best insurance against your pet ending up homeless -- or worse. Congalton agrees: Ask, "Is somebody going to take care of them the way you would want? [It's] the logical extension of the human-animal bond -- that last step."
Preparing a pet alert card
Do this today! It provides immediate instructions in the event death or hospitalization prevents you from returning home to your pets. (Source: When Your Pet Outlives You)
1. Create a profile
List/describe household pets.
List contact info of emergency care providers.
Keep card in wallet/purse.
2. Set up a pet ID file
Create a file for each pet that includes a photo, vaccination and medical records, and current medication.
Include contact info of veterinarian, pet sitters, neighbors and/or a boarding kennel.
Are any pets in cages or crates? If so, why? Are there special instructions?
Does pet have a microchip?
List meal instructions.
List socialization needs (e.g., cats that grew up together and should stay that way).
Make info easy for others to access. Put a note on the fridge telling where file can be found.
3. Name emergency caretaker(s)
Make sure each caretaker has a house key and knows where pet files are located.
