Estate Planning: Pet Trusts
Many people are concerned about what will happen to their birds, dogs, cats and horses when the are no longer around to care for them. New Jersey is one of a few states that recognize Trust Instruments for the care of companion animals. These trusts can be funded through a Last Will and Testament, and administered by a designated Trustee of the client’s choice. This provides clients with the peace of mind of knowing that their beloved companion animals are happy and in caring hands, long after they are gone.
Lawyers for pet trusts ensure that these trusts are given the same due diligence expected from trusts set up for families. Animal law attorneys can frequently handle these cases, as well as pet custody lawyers and animal rights lawyers. Our firm is experienced with pet trusts and can help you to establish one for your animal companion that is legally ironclad and not subject to any outside influence after your death or should you become disabled. New Jersey is one of the 27 states that allows pet owners to set up trusts. Legislation is pending in other states that will allow them to set up pet trusts as well.
Designated caregivers are usually set out in a pet trust, as well as a separate trustee to administer the trust. A certain amount of money is then made available to a company or designated caregiver for food and anything else that your pet may require. Pet trusts, although they are frequently portrayed as otherwise by the media, are a very compassionate and responsible way to ensure that your animal companion is well taken care of after your death. More than 500,000 pets a year are put down after the death of their owners. Owners frequently assume that friends or family will take care of their pets, when this is just simply not the case.
Pet trusts can become more of a necessity if you are dealing with an animal companion with a larger than average lifespan, such as a horse. Boarding fees, veterinarian bills, and other incidentals are usually provided for in such a trust, set up by animal law attorneys.
Conditions can be placed on the trust which only allow larger sums of money to be withdrawn from the trust to be paid directly to veterinarians or other professionals that may require a larger outlay of cash for their services. A monthly stipend of cash is usually given to ensure that the care and feeding of the pet is attended to on an ongoing basis.
The duration of the trust is typically the lifetime of the pet. You can also set out critical illness decisions for your pet, such as at what point you want the trust to stop spending money on procedures. It is also important to both pay a small salary to the caregiver if you are using an individual caregiver, and make sure that they know that the bulk of the trust is to be donated to your favorite charity in the event of the death of the animal.
Animal rights lawyers and not estate lawyers are generally better at pet trusts because they understand the underlying issues. Pet trusts are a newer practice area for estate lawyers and they may not be afforded the attention that they require if not handled by animal law attorneys. Pet trusts may also need more finesse than a typical trust; if the amount left in it is too large, it may be contested by the family members. An animal law attorney can help you sort out what that amount is.