Estate Planning For Pets
The judge overseeing the probate of the hotelier Leona Helmsley’s will has ruled that, contrary to her wishes, the billions of dollars that will flow into the charitable trust she created do not have to be spent solely for the care and welfare of dogs.
Experts in trusts and estates had warned that Mrs. Helmsley’s order that her fortune be spent promoting canine well-being may not have been legally binding. The two-page “mission statement” that contained her instructions also gave the trustees discretion in spending the money, and it was never incorporated into her will or the trust documents.
A spokesman for the trustees, said they planned to begin making grants from the trust next month in such areas as health care, medical research, human services, education and various other areas.
Over the years, bequests made for the purposes of furthering animal welfare generally have a hard time surviving the probate process.
However, in California pets are no longer treated like any other piece of property. California probate law provides that a trust for the care of a designated domestic or pet animal may be performed by the trustee for the life of the animal.
With the adoption of this code, setting up a trust to care for pets became a recognized estate planning technique. This law enables pets to become the beneficiaries of your will or trust.
Pet trusts are typically of two types: a testamentary trust which is designed to provide care after your death, and living trusts which provides care when you still living but no longer able to care for your animal. Living trusts can be useful if you are incapacitated or living in an assisted-living facility.
You actually have a number of options in planning for your pet. The first is to contact a pet retirement home and fully fund your pet’s care while you are still living.
Another plan would be to skip the trust altogether and donate your estate to a local animal care sanctuary with the stipulation that your pet receive care for the remainder of its life.
I have drafted plans that limit the size of the bequest to something on the order of a few thousand dollars per year for each year of the pet’s remaining lifespan.
If you have multiple pets, one way to address the challenge of keeping them together and cared for in the manner of your choosing is to include real estate as part of the trust. The designated caretaker lives rent-free as long as he or she cares for the animals.
Remember, pet care is expensive. A pet trust will give your relatives or other caretaker the means to provide for your animals in a manner consistent with your wishes. To fund such desires, some people have designated their pets as the beneficiaries of substantial life insurance policies.
James D. Perry
