What Happens to My Pet if I Die?

By Patricia Louise Nelson of Bend, OR

 Unless we provide for our pets in our estate plan, they are treated like any other tangible personal property, like a lamp or chair.  Because we love our pets and want to take care of them, let’s include provisions for them in our estate plans!

 One option is to find a person who will adopt your pet and provide a loving home for it for its lifetime. This is the ideal situation. A second option is to leave your pet and some cash to care for it to a person. The difficulty with this option is that sometimes the money runs out before the pet dies. In that case, what happens if the pet has medical needs and the money is gone? Another difficulty is that that money may not be used for the pet. It may have been used for other purposes.

 Due to this uncertainty, if you want to provide money with your pet, I recommend that you give one person the pet and a different person the money for the pet. In this situation, you give your pet to someone you trust to take good care of it.  You then give some money for the pet’s care to a different person.  Be thoughtful about who you name in these different capacities, because these two people will need to work together for the benefit of your pet. For example, the person with the pet may need to visit the veterinarian and provide the invoice to the person with the money.  Are these two people that you feel confident can work together in this regard? 

 Finally, to avoid a conflict of interest in the person who is holding the money for the pet, I suggest that you instruct that person to give any extra money left after your pet dies to a local animal shelter like BrightSide Animal Center.  That way, the person who is holding the money does not feel the need to “protect” the money so that he or she gets more after the pet dies.

 Come see us to talk about pet trusts!

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