In our previous article, “What Happens to Your Pets When You Die?,” we talked about what to take into consideration when you’re planning for your pet’s care, in the event of your incapacity or your death. This week, we’re going to give you the steps to take in creating a pet trust to provide for your companion animal, or animals, if you cannot be there for them.

A WILL IS NOT ENOUGH

You might think that merely including a letter laying out the specifics of your pet’s care with your will is sufficient to provide care for your companion animals. However, you need to remember that the directions in your will won’t take effect until the estate is administered.

In the meantime, what happens to your pet? If there’s no provision for their immediate care, you may as well have just made an informal agreement, which is not enforceable.

If you have pets, our guess is that you love them as your friends and treat them as a part of your family, but we’re also guessing that you have not provided any written or, better yet, legally documented instructions about what should happen to them, if you become incapacitated or when you die. If you have done that already, then read this article with an eye to ensuring you’ve checked all the right boxes for the beings you love. If you haven’t, read on because it’s time to take action, and we can make it easy for you to do the right thing by the pets you love.

Let’s start by looking at what happens if you become incapacitated or when you die, if you’ve done nothing to ensure the well-being and care of your pets. It may be that if you do nothing, one or more of your friends and family will step forward to take care of your pets. But, will the person who steps forward be the person you would choose? And, will they be able to easily afford to care for your pet, in the way you do?

It’s sad but true that many pets end up in shelters after their owner dies or becomes incapacitated. In fact, the Humane Society estimates that between 100,000 to 500,000 pets are placed in shelters each year for exactly this reason, and a large number of these animals are ultimately euthanized.

The law considers pets to be nothing more than personal property, just like cars, furniture, and electronic devices. So unless you take the proper steps to include your pet in your estate plan, your beloved companion could end up in a shelter or worse following your death or incapacity.

In light of this cold reality, here we’ll detail how you can use estate planning to ensure your pets receive the best possible care when you’re no longer able to care for them yourself. Consult with our Personal Family Lawyer® to put the proper legal documents in place to provide for your furry friend’s future care.