“Parents with children at home often make formal care and placement arrangements should the need arise,” says Dianne McGill, president of advocacy organization Pet Peace of Mind, “but many pet owners haven’t considered [it].”
Avoiding the topic is understandable. Contemplating your own death is unpleasant. Contemplating death and money is even worse. But having the hard conversations now can help put you at ease and potentially save your four-legged companions a lot of strife.
“If [owners] haven’t addressed their pets’ needs through estate documents, they may end up at the whim of someone appointed by the court and could be surrendered to a shelter,” says William Rideg, an estate lawyer in Montana and the owner of three rescue malamutes.
If you’re ready to craft a plan, here’s where to start.
Determine who could care for your pets
The first question to consider is who you’d want caring for your pets if you were no longer around. “If something were to happen to you tomorrow, who would take your dog?” asks Kelly M. Michael, an estate-planning lawyer in New York. And this question needs to be revisited over time. “People in their 40s might say their parents will take their pet, but 10 years later, that might not be realistic.”
It’s important to discuss your expectations in detail with whomever you choose. McGill’s organization created a form called the My Pet Placement Plan that can help guide the conversation. It invites you to answer questions about your pet, such as their health history, daily routines and likes and dislikes.
Calculate the cost of your pet’s needs
“When I was a kid, pets were in the barnyard,” says Bob Lester, a self-described boomer who is president of the North American Veterinary Community and chief medical officer of WellHaven Pet Health. “Now pets are under the covers and in more restaurants, hotels and airports than ever before.”
Given this evolution, it’s no wonder that we’re spending more money than ever on providing happy, healthy, comfortable lives for our animals — the grand total this year, according to a projection from the American Pet Products Association (APPA), will be $143.6 billion.
To come up with a realistic annual budget for your animal’s lifestyle, add up your pet’s basic monthly costs such as food, treats, flea and tick prevention and dog-walking. Then calculate non-monthly expenses, such as vet checkups and shots, licensing fees and boarding. You should plan on veterinary costs increasing as your pet ages. Other expenses will probably grow, too; APPA reports that pet spending rose 11 percent between 2021 and 2022 largely because of inflation.
The total amount you come up with will be key to calculating how much to set aside for your pet’s care.
Establish a trust for your animals
As beloved as they are, pets are generally considered property under the law, making it all the more important to create an official, legal arrangement for them in the event of your death. Establishing a pet trust is typically the best way to go about this.
“The legal system is only recently catching up to the fact that animals have legal interests,” says Christopher Berry, managing attorney for the Animal Legal Defense Fund. “But to take advantage of this development, people should engage in some planning to provide care for their companion animals.”
A pet trust is a stand-alone document, but lawyers suggest including a clause about it in your last will and testament to ensure the relevant representatives are aware of it and that your estate will adequately fund it.
One big reason that a trust is necessary — as opposed to just leaving your pet to someone in your will — is that a will can take years to wind its way through probate court. In the meantime, your animal will be left in limbo. On the other hand, “trusts are effective as soon as a death certificate is ready, usually a week or two,” says Michael Ettinger, an elder law attorney in New York.
To set up a pet trust, you’ll need to fill two different roles: Your trustee will manage the funds you leave behind for your animal and distribute them as needed. The person you designate as custodian will receive those funds from the trustee and use them to house and care for your pet. It’s up to you whether you designate someone different for each role or tap the same person to handle both jobs.
Pet trusts are typically inter vivos trusts — also known as revocable trusts or living trusts. In addition to kicking in after death, this type of trust comes into play if you become seriously sick or injured. Pet trusts are generally set up like any other bank account; they’re just specifically for your animals.
“All 50 states recognize some form of a pet trust, thanks, in part, to the Uniform Trust Code, which has a provision recognizing and enforcing pet trusts,” Berry says. For more information about the specifics in your area, the ASPCA details the laws by state.
What it costs to establish a pet trust
Establishing a trust can be costly, since it involves hiring a lawyer to set it up, plus yearly fiduciary fees — the amount you pay the person who manages the trust. Those fees vary by state, but typically range between 1 and 1.5 percent of the trust’s assets.
If you can’t establish a trust, at least get your wishes in writing
Even without a trust, you can still take steps to protect your pets.
The most important thing you can do is put your wishes in writing, which you can accomplish for free, without a lawyer, using Pet Peace of Mind’s downloadable document to map out your pets’ daily routines and health history. You can designate a pet-care guardian on the document and then have it notarized to authenticate it.
Because your pets’ needs will evolve — and the guardian you’ve assigned may experience life changes — McGill suggests revisiting the document yearly to ensure the information remains current. Rideg also advises directly addressing the Pet Placement Plan in your will.
Jaime Stathis is a writer living in New York’s Hudson Valley.