Estate Planning For Pets
Our pets are almost like children for most of us. So, when creating an estate plan, I always ask if my client has a pet and if yes, then whether the client has thought about what will happen with their pet or pets if something unexpected were to happen. Almost without exception, the answer is “I hadn’t really thought of that!” And when we do talk about it, the answers vary wildly. Sometimes I get a response like “Well, someone in our family will take the dog – I don’t really care who.” Other times the client is adamant that the pet be cared for in a certain way and by a certain person. I have had clients with a young child insist that the family dog and the child are a package deal – the guardian designated for the child must also agree to have the dog live in the household because the dog is very important to the child.
In some instances, a client will want to create a “pet trust”, whereby a special trust is created to hold money […]