Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Estate Planning for Your Pet

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

When dealing with estate planning, many people focus on the people and physical assets that they will be leaving behind when they die, but many of them do not take their pets into consideration. It has been found that a pet can suffer from sever anxiety when their owner dies. It is important that there will be someone around that knows your pet’s diet and medications, and that can keep them in their usual daily routines. In addition to having high anxiety, many pets wind up in shelters or on the streets after their owners pass away. To keep this from happening to your pet, make sure you include your beloved animal in your estate plan!

The simplest way to ensure the safety of your pet after your death is to find a friend or family member who is willing to take care of them, and to have an attorney draft a will leaving them to that person. You could also give the right to the executor of your will to choose amongst a number of people when the time comes. Another important thing to remember is that it will greatly help the person who is willing to take care of your pets if you leave them a certain sum of money to help with the cost of doing so. Creating a trust for your pet is also an option. Many states now have “pet trust statutes,” which allows you to set up a trust along with name a trustee and caretaker for your pet (s). Although there are two different types of pet trusts, many pet owners choose to use a traditional trust, which gives you more power and control over the terms of the trust.


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