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Have you ever considered what will become of your faithful companion – your beloved pet – upon your death or disability? If not, now is the time. If you don’t have a plan in place that quickly and easily provides for your pet’s food, shelter and care, it is essential that you take steps to include your cherished pet in your estate plan. The specific plan which ensures quality life for your pet will depend a number of factors including state laws, your pet’s needs, your wishes and your financial resources.
Yes. However, even though you consider your pet as a companion and devoted friend, legally, your pet is ‘personal property’ and is not given the status of a person. That makes it critical to choose the right planning method. You can provide for your pet in your Last Will and Testament (“Will”) or by creating a trust.
Even though it may seem ‘easy’ to include a bequest for your pet within your Will, it may not be the best approach. Why? Because your Will is not effective in the event of your disability. Wills are only effective after your death.
Further, after you pass away, your estate must be administered (most commonly during an official probate proceeding in the applicable court) before the wishes in your Will take effect. This can be time consuming and uncertain, and since your pet needs food, water, shelter, and love every day, this may not be the best way to provide for your pet. During the administration of your estate, your pet’s care, or even ownership, can be in jeopardy. So, while you may want to include provisions in your Will for your pet, first consider other methods. Many people are now using a ‘trust’ to provide funds and direction for the care of their pets.
Unlike a Will that is subject to the probate process, a trust becomes effective immediately upon the terms outlined in your trust – usually death or disability. Your trust specifies the details concerning the care and control of your pet, and allows you to make funds available for the same. Your trust can also give specific directions about the daily care, medical attention, physical control and even burial of your pet.
A trust is an agreement between you and the person or entity which you select to serve as your trustee and which is set up to accomplish a particular purpose. We will work with you to establish a plan that will determine when and under what circumstances the trust will take effect. This includes how the trust will be funded, who will be the trustee, successor trustee, beneficiary and caretaker, and how the trustee or caretaker will manage your pet and the funds for your pet.
You want your loving pets to be fed, cared for, and to receive medical attention when they need it. You may also want to designate funds for pet insurance, or even to enforce the trust. In your trust, you can also leave real property for housing your beloved companion.
A ‘pet trust’ is really a generic term and is applied to a trust that provides for your pet. A pet cannot be a beneficiary of a traditional legal trust because one of the legal requirements for a trust is that there must be a beneficiary, and that beneficiary must be able to enforce the terms of the trust. Obviously, a pet cannot enforce a trust. So, the choice and structure of a trust must take this into account and be properly worded to accomplish your goals.
Illinois has enacted a statute that allows for enforceable pet trusts. You can designate a third party who has the power to enforce the terms of the trust and compel the caretaker or trustee to use the trust funds for your pet. Some issues that arise with these trusts include whether the amount of funds in the trust is ‘reasonable’ according to court standards, and who the designated third party to enforce the trust would be. You can designate the caretaker of your pet as the ‘beneficiary’ of the trust as well as designate an individual or corporate trustee who will be legally responsible for managing the funds and overseeing the caretaker.
Schening & Dopke Law, LLC is located in South Elgin, IL and serves clients throughout Kane, DuPage, DeKalb and Cook Counties and the surrounding areas.