Karl Lagerfeld’s Cat: The Reality of Pet Inheritance

The late Karl Lagerfeld, the German designer behind Chanel, passed away on February 19th. Over the past few years the childless artist has claimed that he expected to leave at least a portion of his massive estate to his beloved feline, Choupette, “among others.” Society seems to enamored of rich pets, including a miniature poodle named Toby who allegedly inherited $40 million from a Gilded Age heiress in 1931, beating out the 2,300 people who claimed to be her heirs after her death.

Many people see leaving millions to a pet as an eccentricity for the uber wealthy, but the truth is that even the average person can see to their animal’s well-being in their estate plan. Pets are not asset holders; under the law they are assets themselves. Dogs and cats cannot inherit directly, they cannot sign transfers, and they cannot hold bank accounts. Trusts must be made for their benefit and care. Jon Conder, a partner at wealth manager Macfarlanes in London, says “Trust law allows for a trust for purpose where the trust’s purpose is looking after animals. It’s not just a hope — it’s legally binding.”

A fixed trust has a specific purpose laid out, which in this case would be for the animal’s health and management. A discretionary trust would leave the decisions to the designated trustee. If a pet is left an inheritance in a will and no trust has been established, it is the executor’s responsibility to set one up and appoint a trustee to manage the funds. If the pet happens to have offspring or “heirs” themselves, it can be specified within the trust document.

See Madison Darbyshire, Karl Lagerfeld’s Cat: The Reality of Pet Inheritance, Financial Times, February 21, 2019.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.