All My Children Wear Fur CoatsÐ How to Leave a Legacy For Your Pet
Haveyou ever wondered what would happen to your pet if something happened to you? Perhaps you are like many people who assume friends or family will step in totake care of your beloved pets, much like they would care for an orphanedchild. The sad truth is, if affirmative steps are not taken to ensure anenforceable plan for your pets, many have an uncertain future. There are numeroushorror stories of pets that have been abandoned, run-away, killed by cars orplaced in animal shelters where they were later euthanized. As responsible petowners we must consider the long-term care needs of our Òchildren who wear furcoatsÓ in the event of our disability or death.
Surveysreport there are more than 140 million dogs and cats sharing our hearts, ourhomes and even our beds. These figures do not include the millions of horses,birds, reptiles and other pets we call Òkids.Ó We treat them like ourchildren, sometimes better. We worry about them when they are not with us andwonder whether they will be properly cared for when we are gone. They love usunconditionally, help reduce stress and even increase our longevity. They doso much for us, yet few of us have done anything to ensure the long-term careof our pets in the event we are unable to provide for them personally. In manystates, simply making a will or a trust that includes our pets may not besufficient. Many states do not recognize provisions that attempt to providefor our pets. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate all of the possibleoptions when planning for your pets.
Manystates do not allow pets to be the beneficiary of a trust or will, yet studiesindicate that a fair number of people do want to include their pets in theirestate plan. As a result, each year additional states adopt legislationpermitting pets to receive testamentary gifts (at death) from their owner. Historically, gifts to pets have failed for two reasons: 1. The gift violatesthe rule against perpetuities that requires a trust to have a finite lifemeasured in human terms; and 2. The gift is deemed only an honorary trust andnot enforceable. When planning for pets these issues must be considered. Other important issues include the identification of a caregiver for the pet;the compensation for the caregiver; whether the caregiver will also administerthe trust assets; long-term care issues related to illness or death of the pet;and the ultimate beneficiary of the assets, just to name a few.
Itis also important to consider how to handle the untimely death of a belovedpet. There are a number of ways to memorialize the life of a departed petincluding memorial services; special burial or cremation options; livingmemorials; songs, poems or scrapbooks; and charitable contributions. Inaddition, knowing and understanding the stages of grief and ways to recoveremotionally from the loss of a pet are important considerations.
Aone-of-a-kind book, All My Children Wear Fur Coats Ð How to Leave a LegacyFor Your Pet addresses all of theissues related to estate planning for your pet and ways to memorialize and copewith the loss of a pet. For more information or to order a copy, visit