Do you have a pet you want to ensure has a good home and are well taken care of following your passing? Be aware that such provision allowances vary from state to state. While many pet parents view their pets as they would their own children, provisions for pets fall into a completely different category. Pet owners value the idea to provide care and comfort similar to children, but laws dictate that they be treated as possessions in some states.

Based on the residence of the pet owner, there are three options they can exercise regarding their pet’s care following their passing:

1. Establish a Pet Trust: out of all the states, forty of them offer this statute. Pet trusts are established primarily for when the owner of the pet passes away, but they can also be effective should the pet owner not be able to take care of their pet anymore. A trustee must be named, and there must be a fund established to use toward the care of the pet. The trustee will act as sole caregiver of the pet, otherwise referred to as the trust property.
2. Create a will: in the remaining states that have not created a statute for pet trusts, pet owners must leave their pet to a caregiver, the pet’s belongings, as well as the funds necessary to care for their pet, to a beneficiary named in their will. The will must state that the beneficiary is responsible for taking care of the pet for the remainder of the pet’s life. Specifications regarding the care-taking fund must also be made with regards to the caregiver giving up the pet prior to its death; otherwise they will still have access to that fund. In order to prevent that from happening, establish a beneficiary you can trust well in advance.
3. Find an Organization: when the other two options are not exercisable, finding an organization to help you place your pet following your passing is the best way to go. Funds for this process must be included in your will with the organization being specified. Confer with your estate planning attorney regarding the best way to handle this option to ensure your pet goes to a good home.

Pet planning is a very important ingredient in the estate planning process, and should be handled with care. Pet parents sometimes make the mistake of leaving their pets out of their plans not realizing the ramifications involved.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

There is no question that our pets often become a major part of our family unit. Because of this, pet planning has become a critical part of the estate planning process. When you think forward to the future, it is important to make sure that your pet is also considered during that process.

While we would all like to think that our family and friends would step up to take care of our pets after we die, you don’t want to leave anything to chance. If you happen to pass away before your pet, setting up a trust to take care of the financial aspects of caring for your little dog, cat or other pet is crucial. In fact, there has been litigation and conflict in families simply because of arguments over who will take care of the pets and what finances will be used.

A great example of how pet trusts can be set up was when the infamous Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her beloved dog, Trouble. The award was later reduced down to $2 million. However, Trouble was taken care of under the provisions of an estate planning trust so that there was no question as to how the dog would be cared for. While most people won’t have millions of dollars to leave to their pet, it makes sense to establish a pet trust that will be administered by a trusted family member or friend.

The unfortunate part of passing away and leaving a pet without the trust is that not everyone loves your pet like you do. Some people would simply take the pet to the animal shelter in the hopes that it would find another home. Many pets are euthanized each year because their owners have become incapacitated or have passed away without leaving a trust in place to take care of them. For this reason, it makes sense to do some pet planning with a qualified attorney who can help you set up a trust that will meet these needs.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Karel Fortyn was 52 when he died of a stroke in early May. He was a life-long lover of reptiles, and he’d built a business around them: Fortyn was the owner of the Seaway Serpentarium in Ontario, Canada. The Serpentarium, operated out of Fortyn’s home, boasted a collection of more than 200 snakes and other reptiles – many of them rare species.

Aside from his collection of reptiles, Fortyn left behind a former common-law wife and a brother, but, unfortunately, no Will. Now, his brother and his former wife are not exactly in agreement as to what should happen to the reptiles – not your ordinary custody battle!

Fortyn’s brother, Jan, is Fortyn’s next of kin and has taken responsibility for finding local facilities to take the reptiles in. “I would like that the whole collection be kept together somewhere else in my brother’s memory,” said Jan Fortyn. “It shouldn’t be split if possible.… What you can see here is his kids.”

Fortyn’s former common-law wife, Dana Kubias, wants the reptiles to go to the Indian River Reptile Zoo in Peterborough, Ontario.  The owner of the Indian River Zoo was a friend of the couple, and Dana had already started making arrangements to transfer the animals.

Hopefully, Jan and Dana will be able to resolve their disagreement quickly and amicably.

There are a few steps Fortyn  could have taken to make the aftermath of his death a little easier to deal with for his beloved reptiles, his family, and even the employees at the Serpentarium. A  Will or Living Trust would have been an excellent first step in providing guidance for who should be in charge of settling his estate and what should happen to his reptiles and his other property. If he wanted the Serpentarium to continue in operation, a business succession plan would have provided just what it sounds like – a plan for who should be in charge and how the business should continue to be operated. If he didn’t want his business to continue (and had he lived in Texas or one of the many other U.S. states that recognizes them), a pet trust could have been established to name a caretaker for Fortyn’s reptiles, to put in place guidelines for how these exotic pets were to be cared for, and to provide some means of support for the animals.

Not all of us have a house stocked with 200-plus reptiles, but each of us will leave behind an estate that needs to be settled.  Without a plan, our loved ones, like Fortyn’s can be left to deal not only with their grief, but also with conflict, uncertainty, stress and strain.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

What is your plan for taking care of your pet after you’ve passed away? If you are thinking about establishing a pet trust to ensure your pet is well cared for, there are some things you’ll need to let your pet’s guardian know. For instance:

Your Pet’s Habits and Quirks

You and your pet share a home, so you’re well aware of its feeding schedule, when it needs to go for a walk, and what its favorite toys are. You also know how to deal with your pet’s quirks, whether they include a morbid fear of thunderstorms, a compulsion to chase the mailman, or a need to eat meals with the family.

Your guardian is not as likely to be aware of your pet’s day-to-day needs, so you’ll want to include instructions about all of these details which may seem natural and obvious to you.

Your Pet’s Veterinary Needs

Do you take your dog or cat to the vet for a checkup each year, and leave it at that, or does your pet have more extensive medical needs? Are there medications that need to be dispensed or special foods that need to be served? You’ll want to give your guardian written instructions concerning your pet’s health, including your veterinarians name, number, and address; the schedule you adhere to for vet visits, and the details for any medications that need to be administered.

Your estate planning attorney can help you establish a trust that covers all of your pet’s needs, and helps to ensure that if and when your pet trust needs to be implemented, your pet’s transition to its new home is as smooth as possible for all involved.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

Sometimes, our pets can seem so much like our children that it’s hard to remember they’re not actually people. And when it comes to estate planning, it’s easy to make the mistake of treating a pet like a person by including Fido or Fluffy in your Will, and leaving property directly to him or her.

The problem with this is that, in the eyes of the law, pets are property themselves, so you can’t leave property to them.

There are two ways to provide for your pet after you’re gone.

1. Leave your pet to a friend or family member, and leave that person a sum of money or property along with a request that the money be used to care for your pet. This option is best used when you are confident that your chosen caregiver will, in fact, keep and take care of your pet. Unscrupulous caregivers have been known to abandon pets and keep the money for other uses and, with this option, there’s no way to force a caregiver to follow your wishes.

2. Establish a trust for the care of your pet after you pass away. With this choice, you name a caregiver who will be responsible for the hands-on care of your pet, you name a trustee who will be in charge of your pet’s money. You then fund the trust with sufficient money or property to meet your pet’s needs during its lifetime. You also leave written instructions for how your pet is to be taken care of. This way, the obligations of the trustee and the caregiver can be legally enforced.

Your estate planning attorney can help you determine the best way to include your pet in your estate plan.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

It’s something that might not immediately spring to mind during the estate planning process, but if you’re a pet owner, you’ll want to think about including your pet in your estate plan.

If your pet is left out of your estate plan, then it’s treated like the rest of your property. For lucky pets, this means a new life with a loving, caring family member. For the unlucky ones, though, the future can be bleak – often pets wind up without a home when their owners die.

So, how can you make sure your furry friend finds a good home after you’re gone? You have a few options.

• You can simply ask a family member or friend to take care of your pet for you. And, if you’re lucky, someone will be available who will both agree, and follow through on their promise. But there are a couple of problems with this option. First, there’s no way to make sure that the person you’ve selected will actually take care of your pet once you’ve passed away. And second, pets are not cheap – it may not be fair to ask your loved one to take on the financial burden that comes along with caring for an animal.
• The next option is to ask a loved one to care for your pet, and leave this person a bequest, with the request that the money or property be used to pay for your pet’s care. Again, though, there’s no guarantee that the person you’ve chosen will actually spend the money on your pet With no way to enforce your request, there’s nothing stopping this person from sending Fido to the Humane Society and going shopping.
• If you’re truly concerned about making sure that your pet is taken care of according to your standards, and you want to leave funds for your pet’s care (and make sure that’s what those funds are actually used for), you’ll want to talk to your estate planning attorney about establishing a pet trust. This can be done as part of your Will, or as a separate document. It lets you name someone to care for your pet, formalize your instructions for your pet’s care, and leave money that must be used for your pet’s care and maintenance. The pet trust has several benefits. For instance, it lets you leave clear instructions for how your pet is to be cared for, and there are legal consequences available if those instructions aren’t followed.

No matter which option you choose, how best to secure your pet’s future is a conversation that’s worth having with your attorney during the estate planning process.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.