If you have pets, consider including them in your estate plan. In doing so, your documents can address:
- Who will take your pets if you die or become incompetent?
- Who will find them a good home?
- How will the costs of your pets be handled?
Regarding who will take your pets or who will find them a good home, options include:
- Your estate documents can give your pets outright to someone you know, ideally a responsible, trustworthy person. You can designate alternate choices to take your pets. If you wish, funds can be given to the caregiver for each pet. You may wish to provide detailed care and feeding instructions; or
- For California residents, you can use a trust to provide for your pets. This provides a flexible method for managing the funds to care for your pets. Funds remaining in the trust can be distributed in the manner directed by you. With a pet trust, you should nominate a trustworthy and suitable caretaker (and alternates) or instruct the trustee regarding the trustee’s responsibility for finding a suitable home for your pets. The pet trust can pay for all expenses related to the proper care of your pets; or
- When you have no suitable person to take your pets, you can leave your pets to an organization. A number of California animal protection organizations have programs that provide permanent care or guarantee placement of companion animals when their owners die or become incompetent. Here are some examples:
- San Francisco Society of Prevention of Cruelty of Animals-Sido Service
- Animal Rescue Foundation-Guardian Program
- Berkeley East Bay Humane Society
- California Cat Center, Inc-Lifecare Program
- East Bay SPCA-Pet Survivor Placement Program
- Friends of Cats, Inc-Lifetime Care
- Helen Woodward Animal Center
- Hopalong Animal Rescue Pet SurvivorHumane Society of Marin County
- National Cat Protection Society-Retirement
- North County Humane Society-Friends of Life
- Pet Pride (Los Angeles)
- Pets in Life-Guardian Program
- SPCA of Monterey-Guardian Angel Future Care Program
- Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)-Guardian Program
- Valley Animal Center-No Kill Shelter (Fresno)
Your durable general power of attorney, will, and living trust can include provisions as to who will be responsible for implementing your pet plan.
Your documents can also provide that a sum of money be given to each person (or organization) who takes each pet.
In the end, your estate documents can reflect your wishes as to who will take your pets, how they will be carried for, and what financial assistance is to be provided.
Copyright James J. Phillips January 2017