You love your pet. In fact, you’ve taken your dog to many different dog shows and events. It has won awards, and you’re proud that you’ve been able to take care of it so well.
You have an estate plan in place now, but you haven’t yet added your pet to it. You trust that your family would take over your pet’s care, but should you? Is it really a guarantee that they would care for your pet if you suddenly passed away or could no longer take care of it yourself?
You might want to consider a pet trust
You may want to consider putting together a pet trust. A pet trust is beneficial, because it gives you the opportunity to assign a caregiver for your pet. That guardian would be appointed at the time when you could no longer care for your pet so that you would be guaranteed that your pet would be treated appropriately.
A pet trust is also beneficial because it allows you to leave assets to your pet and its guardian. For example, you can leave a certain amount of money behind for your pet’s care or provide assets, like your pet’s toys, trophies and other items to the guardian.
If you are planning to leave your pet to someone else upon death or illness, then it’s kind to leave behind information about how you want your pet to be cared for. If you have pet insurance, you may even want to pay it in advance so that it’s always available for your pet’s care.
Your attorney can help you work out the details so that you can feel confident that your pet (and beloved family member) will always be cared for.