Pets are such important parts of many families. And while they are not human or children, they can hold huge parts of our hearts. Additionally, pets cannot clearly articulate their needs or desires to just anyone— although you may be quite an expert at understanding your pet’s language! That’s why providing for their care in your estate plan is so important. Read on to learn more about estate planning for pets.
Today we are discussing estate planning for pets. And particularly looking at how the use of Trusts can specifically provide for your pet.
Provisions for Your Pet
Many pet owners have deep concerns about what will happen to their pet if they die during the lifetime of the pet.
It’s important to understand that while your pet may feel closer to you than any person in your life, the state of Georgia does not view your pet as a person, beneficiary, or heir. This means that if you were to die without an estate plan in place, the state will distribute your estate to any of your living heirs. This could be your spouse, children, parents, siblings, or even long-lost cousins many times removed. But it cannot be a pet. Even if you would want every penny of your estate to be used for the care of your pet, if you don’t state that clearly in your estate plan, that won’t happen.
This is why careful estate planning for pets is always important. You have worked hard for the assets you have. They should be used in the manner that you wish after you’re gone.
There are different ways to provide for your pets through estate planning. The most basic way is to name a caretaker for your pet within your will. This means you clearly name who gets the pet, and then if you wanted to also provide a monetary gift to that person for their care, you could do so.
But perhaps you want to be much more specific about your pet, their care, their caretaker, and where your pet lives. This requires extensive planning. Creating a robust estate plan, especially one that provides for the very specific care of a pet or pets, almost always includes the use of a Trust.
Trusts for Pets
The beautiful thing about a Trust is that you can create trusts for the benefit of certain people or pets within your larger Trust.
A Trust is a wonderful way to specifically provide for the care of your pet. Like we said above, a pet is not a human and cannot be a beneficiary under your estate plan. However, with the use of a trust you can set aside funds for the care of your pet, name a caretaker for them, put specific requirements in place for their care, and outline a structure for how those requirements are met.
For instance, say you want your pet to live the rest of its life in your home with a caretaker moving in to care for the pet. Your Trust can specify all of this and outline provisions that will allow the Trust to pay for all expenses for this person or people. It can also allow for multiple people to care for the pets.
The most important piece of this is to name a Trustee you trust to ensure your wishes are carried out.
Use of Contracts
Many people ask if a contract with the caregiver, signed in advance, is enough. Truthfully, it’s not. Granted a contract could be executed in addition to the trust. This would potentially iron out the full details of this person’s care, payment expectations, and more. But a contract cannot be the exclusive estate planning tool. A contract alone is not sufficient. If you’re going through the trouble of putting a contract into place, you probably need a trust too.
What Do You Need
At the end of the day, what you need depends on the financial viability of your estate and what you feel is best for your pet.
Obviously, the least disruptive option is for a pet to stay in the home they are accustomed to. But your estate may not have the finances to pay the mortgage and caretaker’s fees. Thus making this a non-option for you. Creating a trust for your pet that you can’t actually fund could do more harm than good.
In that case, naming your pet within your will or trust as a specific gift to a person that loves your pet is also less traumatic than sending them to a shelter to be readopted. Making sure they go to a good, safe home is a loving way to care for your pet even after you’re gone.
No matter what your situation is, we are here to help you create an estate plan that lovingly cares for your pet after you’re gone. We know you love them and we want you to have peace of mind about what will happen to them.
Call us at (404) 736-6066 or visit our website to schedule a consultation.
