Implementing Pet Trusts: Ensuring Care for Your Animals After You're Gone

Can You Establish a Trust for Your Pet?

Pets are like family members, and it is recommended that you consider what will happen to them when you’re no longer around to take care of them. Incorporating a trust for them in your estate plan is an effective way to put your mind at ease.

You’ll have peace knowing that the pet’s needs will be taken care of if you become incapacitated or after your demise.

Estate planning lawyers in California explain that a trust is a legal document that holds money and assets for the beneficiaries. It’s a viable option for preparing for your pet’s care because you can’t leave cash, property, or life insurance money directly to an animal. Consult skilled legal experts for legal insights on how pet trusts work and how to set up one.

How Can I Establish a Pet Trust?

Establishing a trust entails designating a grantor, trustee, and beneficiaries. As the trust’s creator, you’re the grantor who will fund it and provide instructions on its management and execution. Experienced Elk Grove trust attorneys can help you draft the document and guide you in the correct trust terms to make it enforceable.

Appoint a caretaker and trustee: Choose a caretaker who will take over the care of your pet. Look for someone who loves your pet and is willing to take on the responsibility. It’s also advisable to choose a financially responsible trustee to oversee the financial aspects of the trust.
Provide detailed care instructions: Specify your wishes regarding the pet’s diet, exercise, medical needs, and social interactions.
Fund the trust: Ensure you fund the trust sufficiently to cover the pet’s expected living expenses and medical costs. The amount varies depending on the type of pet and can be significant if your pet is a thoroughbred horse.
Specify the distribution of the remaining funds: You must also decide what will happen to the funds after your pet’s death. They can be donated to a charity, allocated to another fund, or returned to the estate.

You can appoint yourself person as the trustee of the pet trust and hold the role throughout your lifetime. Since the trust’s purpose is to care for your pet after your demise, ensure you appoint a successor trustee who will implement the instructions in the trust and make payments to the people taking care of your pet.

Your pet is the trust’s beneficiary, but you need someone to act on its behalf to implement the instructions and ensure the funds are used for their intended purpose.

Types of Pet Trusts

You have three primary options for planning for your pet’s care after your demise through a trust. Trust lawyers in Elk Grove can help you evaluate the one that best serves your wishes concerning your pet from among the following:

Traditional trust: It allows you to appoint a caregiver, name a trustee, and give instructions for the pet’s care. You can fund the trust with life insurance and name the trustee as the beneficiary. A portion of the life insurance policy can go to the pet trust and the remainder to other beneficiaries, such as your children.
Statutory pet trust: You can provide simple instructions in your Will, indicating how much money you have set aside in the trust for your pet’s care. The probate court
will designate someone to manage the trust. The downside of this type of trust is that you can’t leave detailed instructions for the pet’s care.
Pet protection agreement: A pet protection agreement is a do-it-yourself trust you can create with the help of skilled estate planning lawyers in Elk Grove. It enables you to spell out specific instructions for your pet’s care. You and the pet guardian must sign it to make it legally binding.

What are Some Factors to Consider When Using Life Insurance for Your Pet Trust?

If you choose to use life insurance to fund your pet trust, let your trust lawyers in Elk Grove help you decide the type of policy that makes the most sense based on your age and your pet’s age:

Term life insurance: You can specify the number of years your term insurance will cover you for, such as 10, 20, or 30. If you’re likely to outlive your pet and want coverage if you die prematurely, consider a term life policy.
Permanent life insurance: If your pet is likely to outlive you, consider obtaining a permanent life insurance policy that covers your entire life span. However, the option is more expensive than term insurance.

What Are the Benefits of Establishing a Pet Trust?

A pet trust is a legally binding entity and many pet owners prefer it over other planning strategies because it has the following potential benefits:

You can appoint a trustee and name a caretaker to be responsible for your pet’s care
You can give detailed instructions to your pet caregiver, including food, toys, medical care, emergency treatment, regular check-ups, end-of-life care, and sleeping arrangements
A pet trust is legally enforceable
You can design your pet trust to meet your pet’s individual needs
It becomes effective upon your demise or when you can no longer care for the pet. The pet’s caregiver doesn’t need to wait for probate to get funding
A pet trust can be hard to challenge during probate
You can update the trust over time depending on your pet’s changing needs

A Skilled Trust Lawyer Providing Legal Counsel on Pet Trusts

Establishing a pet trust can be an effective way to plan for the care of your pet after your demise. You can create different types of pet trusts depending on your pet’s needs and preferences. Skilled trust lawyers in Elk Grove can help you evaluate your options.

Cava & Faulkner hosts dedicated trust lawyers who can help you with your estate planning needs. We can guide you in creating a comprehensive estate plan that incorporates your property, children, and pets. Our team can provide legal counsel if you have concerns about establishing a pet trust. Call us at 916-813-7565 to schedule a FREE case assessment.