CLE on Estate Planning for Pet Owners

The American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law is sponsoring a 90-minute Teleconference and Live Audio Webcast entitled Ethical Issues in Estate Planning for Pet Owners on November 9, 2010. Program information is below:

The program will focus on the estate planner’s duty to discuss short and long term care for pets if the client is a pet owner (and the ethical responsibilities if the estate planner does not plan for pets.) Estate planning for pet owners is a burgeoning area of law. Documents which protect the pet’s ongoing care, for example pet trusts and the pet protection agreement TM, are relatively new and somewhat revolutionary.

Recent changes in estate law have transformed the way in which courts now deal with all animals, including domestic and companion animals. These changes bring new responsibilities and new opportunities to legal advisors who should now consider all animals in a completely different light and who should advise their clients accordingly.

These documents are such a new and cutting edge area of law that attorneys and clients are often learning at the same time.