Ensuring a Pet’s Care Continues After You Pass

After learning that one of her friend’s cats was taken to a shelter following the friend’s death, Anne-Marie Schiro, age 76, decided to create a pet trust to ensure her cats do not meet the same fate.  According to the trust terms, if the three cats, Lou Lou, Mimi, and Johnny, outlive Ms. Schiro or her 104 year old mother, Anna Schiro, the cats will live the remainder of their days at a retirement community. The trust also sets aside funds for the cats’ care.

An individual who creates a pet trust begins by designating a “guardian” to carry out the individual’s wishes concerning the care of the pet. The trust includes instructions for the pet’s care and sets aside funds and/or property to pay for that care. However, not all states allow pet trusts. Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Vermont, and West Virginia do not allow pet trusts.

While individuals who live in states that do not allow pet trusts may provide for their pets in a will, the state may alter a pet’s inheritance if a separate agreement is not in place (see the famous case of Leona Helmsley and her dog Trouble).  A pet protection agreement can clarify the caretaker’s responsibilities and the source of funds to be used for the pet’s care.

See Alyson Martin and Nushin Rashidian, The Pet Problem, The New York Times, Feb 3, 2012.

Special thanks to Donna M. Turley (Attorney, Boston, MA) for bringing this article to my attention. 

For more information on planning for your pets, see Gerry W. Beyer & Barry Seltzer, Fat Cats & Lucky Dogs – How to Leave (Some of) Your Estate to Your Pets (2010).