Pet owners can use the legal system to set up provision for lifetime care for their animals. This may suit you if you are concerned about what would happen to your pets if you suddenly became unable to care for them or died. What kinds of options do you have and what are the costs?
Informal Lifetime Pet Care Arrangements
In an ideal world you would look to home your pet with someone that you and they already know and trust. You may have family members or friends who will willingly give a home if needed with no thought for financial recompense. But, this won't work for everyone.
Setting up an informal agreement that someone will take on this duty of care only works if they actually do it when the time comes. Caring for any animal involves a significant emotional, time and cost commitment and you may, therefore, need to look at more formal methods of estate planning.
Assigning a Power of Attorney to Manage Animal Care
Power of Attorney agreements could allow a designated individual to take on care of your pet if you cannot do so. This may simply involve giving someone the right to act on your behalf. It may also be possible to set this up to give them access to money for care costs if they need it. Again, you cannot guarantee that your wishes will be exactly followed here and choosing the right person is important.
Setting Out Pet Care Directives in Wills
If you prefer, you can include pet care wishes in your will. This could include naming a person or people who will take on your animal(s) and, if you wish, allocating funds for lifetime care. Keep in mind that this solution can only be applied if you die and not if you cannot care for your pet for other reasons (i.e. disability, illness or the need to move into a care home).
Wills can also be contested and the beneficiary might refuse to take on the responsibility despite an earlier agreement to do so. They do not necessarily have to follow your wishes or spend care money as directed. You also need to consider what will happen to your pet in the period until your estate is settled.
How Is a Pet Trust Different?
If you want more control over what ultimately happens to your pet, then a specialty trust may be a better option. This, for example, could leave money for care to a designated individual with set conditions on how they should look after the animal. Here, the beneficiary would have to meet these directives or the money would revert back to your estate.
This option can also be used to cover other situations as well as death. However, not all states will recognize pet trusts (you can find a list of those that do on the ASPCA website) so this solution may not be available to all. The costs of establishing a trust may also be a negative for some.
Paying for Adoption or Long Term Pet Care
If you don't know anyone who is willing to take on this responsibility, or would prefer not to home your pet with friends or family, then you could arrange to have them cared for elsewhere. There is some growth in pet retirement/rest homes at the moment. Here, you pay upfront or leave a bequest to the home which then commits to care for the animal for the rest of its life.
Alternatively, some humane societies and rescue groups will, for a fee, take in your pet until they can find it a new home. These solutions may appeal to some; others may worry about giving an animal institutionalized levels of care or having no control over its new adopted owners. This may also not be available for all types of pet.
What Will Pet Estate Planning Cost?
The solution you choose will dictate the charges you have to pay. Finding someone you trust who will take in your pet, adding clauses to a do it yourself will or using a free to download basic Power of Attorney for Pet Care form won't necessarily cost you anything. More robust legal solutions, and the advice that goes with them, will increase your costs.
There are no set charges here and you may need to compare legal fees to set up/amend your will and/or establish a trust. Remember that the cheapest option may not give the most robust solution; conversely, the most expensive fees are also no guarantee of success. It is important to find professionals who understand this element of estate planning.
Leaving a fee-based donation to an organization that will have your pet adopted could cost thousands of dollars (depending on your pet and its age). Retirement homes may charge an up-front enrollment fee with a set endowment to be paid for lifetime care when you die. This could run into tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, although you can often considerably cut costs by paying a lump sum in advance instead.
Some of these solutions can involve a significant financial commitment, some may come with tax implications and, as they involve the welfare of your pet, should not be entered into lightly. It may pay to talk to your lawyer and/or veterinarian to ask for advice and recommendations before choosing the most appropriate solution.
Sources:
- ASPCA.org
- The Humane Society of the United States: Providing for Your Pet's Future Without You
- The Washington Post: Estate planning for pets easier than ever with how-tos, retirement homes, legal specialists, June 21, 2011.
All sources accessed June 24, 2011.
Carol Finch - Carol Finch is the Topic Editor for Retirement Planning, Budgeting, E-Commerce & Technical/Business Writing on Suite101.
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