**Ensuring Your Pet’s Future: How Pet Trusts Guarantee a Good Life After You’re Gone**
Most dog moms and cat dads accept the hard truth that they will likely outlive their beloved animals. But what happens when pets outlive their humans? Nearly 82 million Americans own a pet, according to the American Pet Products Association, and nearly all U.S. pet owners—97%—say their pets are part of the family, according to a 2023 Pew Research Center survey. Legally, all those good girls and good boys are considered property—the same as a car or a toaster. Therefore, ensuring that beloved animals are comfortably cared for via an estate plan is important.
**The Evolution of Pet Trusts**
“Pet trusts are now on the list to think about,” says Ashley Dobbs, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law, who has led CLEs for the American Bar Association on animal law. “Awareness has grown.” Historically, under common law, courts would not allow pets to inherit money or property even if it was specified in a will. For instance, when tobacco heiress Doris Duke died in 1993, she left $100,000 in an “honorary trust” for the care of her pets. Those types of trusts were considered unenforceable by the courts and put the trustee in full control of the animals’ fate. But the Uniform Probate Code shifted in 1990 to validate pet trusts, and all 50 states and the District of Columbia now have provisions allowing them, according to the ASPCA. Now, “a pet trust certainly feels less outside the box,” Dobbs says.
**Pampered Pets and Legal Battles**
Trusts for companion animals came into the general public’s consciousness through contentious cases involving the animals of the superrich. Although laws have changed since the Doris Duke case, problems still arise. When New York real estate magnate Leona Helmsley died in 2007, she left $12 million of her multibillion-dollar estate to her white Maltese named Trouble via a pet trust. But Helmsley’s human heirs protested, leading to a legal battle over the inheritance. However, several years later, a surrogate court judge in Westchester County ruled in favor of Lenore Abels, who created a trust for her two cats, Polk-a-dot and Ginny, worth $4.7 million, ensuring their care according to her specific wishes.
**The Importance of Establishing a Pet Trust**
Although pet trusts are no longer considered only quirky bequests of the ultra-wealthy, many pet parents forego the legal documents and ask family or friends to serve as backup care for their animals. Informal agreements can be disastrous for the animals, attorneys say. Pet trusts avoid having the animal being dropped at a shelter or abandoned, but cost can run “in the thousands of dollars,” says Fiona Farrell, an attorney who specializes in animal law. Not only do lawyers need to educate their clients on these sophisticated instruments, many need training on how to create them. Pet owners must first specify which animals are included and make sure those pets can be identified with photos, microchips, or DNA. Then, determine the appropriate person or people as executor and the caretaker along with successors. Sometimes the same person can be both, but some attorneys suggest two people, one who handles the finances and another who handles the animal’s care. This oversight can help prevent fraud and ensure the pet’s well-being.
**Legal Considerations and Next Steps**
Pet trusts have some similarities to other dependent trusts, however, every state has slightly different rules. “Some states say any vertebrate can have a trust, so a pet octopus would not be covered,” says Delcianna Winders, a vice chair of the ABA Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section’s Animal Law Committee. As they set up the trust, attorneys should walk clients through a series of questions then go through all the details of the many considerations involved. Pet owners should detail who makes decisions about the animal’s treatment and euthanizing, as well as instructions for burial or cremation. Designate a remainder beneficiary, such as an animal welfare group, if the funds in the pet trust aren’t exhausted in the animal’s lifetime. Often, a trust terminates when the last animal covered by the trust dies. This process can be emotional for clients, but it is crucial to ensure their pets are cared for after they are gone.
In conclusion, pet trusts provide a legal framework to ensure that our beloved animals are taken care of even after we are no longer able to do so. By establishing a pet trust, pet owners can have peace of mind knowing that their furry friends will be cared for according to their wishes. As the awareness of pet trusts grows, it is essential for pet parents to consider this option to guarantee a good life for their pets in the future.
