Planning for your pets in your estate plan is an excellent way to ensure that your beloved pet will receive proper care and attention after you pass on. The problem, of course, is that you will not be there to ensure that your wishes are carried out. That is why it is critical to create a comprehensive estate plan that correctly addresses pet planning so that there are no loopholes or unforeseen situations that could make your plans for your pet go awry. Here are five tragic mistakes people often make when leaving an inheritance to their pets.
- Setting Aside More Than the Pet Could Ever Need
Stories about celebrities who leave their entire fortune to their pet are not unheard of. Leaving millions of dollars, houses, and cars to your pet is not only unreasonable—it is also more likely to be contested in court by family members who might feel neglected. To avoid this pitfall, create a budget for your pet’s care and leave a reasonable sum of money to ensure that your pet receives the same quality of life that they enjoy now.
- Providing Vague or Unenforceable Instructions
Too many pets do not receive the care their owners intend because their owners were not specific enough in their instructions or did not use a properly prepared estate planning tool (such as a pet trust) to make the instructions legally binding. Luckily, a pet trust can clarify your instructions and make them legally valid and enforceable.
If you leave money to a caretaker without a pet trust in place, hoping that it will be used for the pet’s care, nothing stops the caretaker from living very well on the pet’s money. But when you use a pet trust to designate how much the caretaker will receive and how much should be allocated for the pet’s care, you provide a legal structure to protect your furry family member. You can be as specific about your wishes as you would like, from how much should be spent on food, veterinary care, and grooming to how much your pet’s caretaker should receive for their dedication to your pet. You can even include detailed care instructions, such as how often the dog should be walked. However, it may be better to outline these types of details in a separate letter of instruction outside of the trust so that they can be changed as frequently as needed as your pet’s needs and preferences often evolve throughout their lifetime.
- Failing to Keep Information Updated
Assume that hypothetical client Bill sets up a pet trust for his dog Sadie, but she passes away while Bill is still alive. What happens then? If Bill gets a new dog named Gypsy but does not update his trust to account for this, Gypsy could easily wind up in a shelter or worse because she is not specifically named in the trust. This can be easily avoided by working with an experienced estate planning attorney to create a pet trust or an estate plan that anticipates future pet ownership. It is important to review your estate plan regularly with an estate planning attorney to ensure that it continues to work for your entire family, including your furry family members.
- Not Having a Contingency Plan
You may have designated a trusted friend or loved one as a caretaker in your pet trust, but what happens if that person is unable or unwilling to assume that role when the time comes? If you have not named backup caretakers, your pet might end up at a local shelter without a home. Working with an experienced estate planning attorney means that you will always have a plan B in place for your pet, and nothing will fall through the cracks.
- Not Engaging a Professional to Help
Too many people make the mistake of trying to set up a pet trust themselves, assuming that a form downloaded from a do-it-yourself legal website will automatically work in their circumstances. Only an experienced estate planning attorney should help you create a legally enforceable estate plan for your pet to help ensure that everything works exactly the way you want and is legally valid under your state’s laws.
When attempting to leave an inheritance to your pet, the good news is that with professional help, all of these mistakes are preventable. Talk with us today about your options for planning for your beloved pet. This can include setting up a new pet trust, adding a pet trust to your current estate plan, or implementing specific provisions or tools to plan for your pet’s future. We are here to help.