Protecting Your Pet In Your Estate Plan

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PROTECTING YOUR PET IN YOUR ESTATE PLAN
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AMERICANS AND THEIR PETS
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Pet ownership has more than tripled in the past
four decades
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In 2012, Americans owned 164 million pets
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The average American household owns 1.47 dogs
and 2.11 cats
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47 percent of all households own at least one dog
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On average, over 1,000 pets are abandoned
because of the death or incapacity of their
human owner every day
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VERBAL AGREEMENTS/LETTER OF INSTRUCTION
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There are several ways you can plan for the care
of your pet should something happen to you
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A verbal agreement is the simplest
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Leaving your wishes in a Letter of Instructions
is also simple however, both have considerable
drawbacks, including
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Not legally binding
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Unavailability of the designated caregiver due to
death, incapacity or relocation
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Does not provide a funding mechanism
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GIFTING YOUR PET IN YOUR LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT
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The law considers a pet to be your property
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Property can be gifted in your Last Will and
Testament
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This option has advantages over a verbal
agreement or Letter of Instructions however, it
also falls short of fully protecting and
providing for your pet
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Allows a legal transfer of ownership
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Allows you to gift assets to be used for the
care of your pet
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Does not cover incapacity
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No guarantee that funds will be used as intended
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Designated caregiver could be unavailable
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No continued control
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CREATING A PET TRUST
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A trust requires four basic elements a trustee
to administer the trust, trust terms to guide the
trust, a beneficiary (in this case your pet), and
assets to fund the trust
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A pet trust alleviates the issues present in the
other options
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Legally binding once created, a trust is a
separate legal entity. Therefore, the terms of
the trust are legally binding and can be enforced
by a court of law if necessary.
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Flexibility a pet trust allows you to create
very broad or very specific terms, depending on
your wishes.
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Contingencies with a pet trust you have the
ability to name a trustee as well as successor
trustees. The same applies to a caregiver for
your pet if you choose not to make your caregiver
the trustee.
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Control through the trust terms you are able to
control everything from what food your pet is
given to what veterinarian he or she treats with
if you choose to exercise that much control.
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Incapacity a pet trust can take over the care
of your pet when specific events transpire apart
from your death, such as your incapacity.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT PET PLANNING IN MISSOURI
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Click to visit www.yourestatematters.com