Encouraging and Helping Your Clients to Provide for Pets in Estate Plans

Your clients want the very best for their pets. They want to know that you as an estate planner can help them provide for the dog, cat, horse, or bird who is much more than simply property to them.

Thought lately about providing for pets in your clients' estate plans? Not likely. The subject seldom receives in-depth news coverage or even cocktail party discussion. But it deserves your attention. Because the bonds between people and their pets are usually so great - remember all the pet owners during Hurricane Katrina who risked their lives because they would not leave their pets behind? - giving some attention to this issue can provide peace of mind--for you and your clients.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) encourages estate planning professionals and laypeople to carefully consider the ramifications of failing to adequately provide for companion animals in the event that the owners die before their pets. Equally important is moving forward with necessary actions ensuring their companions' safety, care, and smooth transition to new homes.

All too often people assume that they will survive their beloved pets or that friends, relatives, or neighbors--who once verbally promised to care for these pets in the event of death or disability--are still able or interested in adding new animals to their households. This is not always the case; sometimes their current circumstances prevent them from fulfilling that promise. Meanwhile, employees of local animal shelters--those on the front lines of our country's pet overpopulation crisis--frequently see the unintended consequences of people's failure to appropriately provide for their pets in their wills or ascertain that friends, relatives, or neighbors truly want new companion animals in their households.

Even people who have conscientiously provided for their pets in their wills may have neglected to consider a trust and/or powers of attorney affecting their companion animals that would commence in cases of severe disability, when a will would not be read. Similarly, people who want to ensure that they take their role as caregiver seriously may not know where to turn for advice on planning for their pets in estate documents.

The value of pets to older people or those experiencing health issues

It may often be in a pet owners' best interest to keep companion animals in their company if they are elderly, incapacitated, ill and/or dying - and likely suffering the accompanying emotional consequences.   These problems, of course, can be compounded for seniors who may have outlived loved ones, may live alone or far away for family members, or could have too much time on their hands, causing substantial anxiety.

Interacting with animal friends, who provide unconditional love, helps to lower blood pressure, increase exercise and circulation, as well as boost mental acuity and the opportunities for social interaction.  Pets also provide something else on which to focus in order to alleviate people's worries about their own conditions and to reduce stress, depression, and loneliness.  A number of studies cited by the Delta Society, whose mission is to improve human health through service and therapy animals, show the beneficial physiological and psychological effects that companion animals can have on people facing health issues.

Some older people who do not have pets because they worry they will not survive these friends, but would like to have a companion animal, may actually benefit from acquiring a pet.   If these potential pet owners know that there are specific legal and financial vehicles to provide securely for pets in estate plans, then they might feel more comfortable acquiring the pets who could improve their lives - and then they could adopt from an animal shelter, helping to reduce the pet overpopulation crisis in America.  Many times, older animals with shorter expected lifespans arrive in shelters with less chance of adoption than puppies and kittens, despite the fact they may be socialized and housetrained as a result of living in another home.  These mature animals might be ideal candidates for some people whose lives could be greatly enhanced with the help of a new animal companion.

Free HSUS kit for professionals and laypeople

To help with this issue, The HSUS's Office of Major and Planned Gifts now offers a free kit, "Providing for Your Pet's Future Without You," complete with a six-page fact sheet, wallet alert cards, emergency decals for windows and doors, and caregiver information forms. The fact sheet is available online at www.hsus.org/petsinwills.   The material is suitable for not only estate planning professionals, but also their clients.

Taking both practical and estate planning steps for a win-win-win situation benefits pet owners, who may receive greater peace of mind knowing their pets will be cared for as they intended; the animals themselves, who will be much more likely to experience a smooth transition to a new home; as well as family, friends and other survivors who may or may not want the responsibility of caring for the pets in question, but who will certainly appreciate knowing that provisions have been made.

The issue facing your pet-owning clients

Because pets usually have shorter life spans than their human caregivers, your clients may have planned for their animal friends' passing. But what if your clients become ill or incapacitated or die first?

As responsible pet owners, your clients provide their pets with food and water, shelter, veterinary care, and love. To ensure this quality of care continues should something unexpected happen to them, it's critical that they plan ahead.

What can clients do now to prepare for the unexpected?

In the confusion that accompanies a person's unexpected illness, accident, or death, pets may be overlooked. In some cases, pets are discovered in the person's home days after the tragedy. To prevent this from happening to your clients' pets, they should take these simple precautions:

Find at least two responsible friends or relatives who agree to serve as temporary emergency pet caregivers. Provide emergency caregivers with keys to the home, feeding and care instructions, the name and phone number for the pets' veterinarian, and information about the permanent care provisions made for the pet.

Make sure neighbors, friends, and relatives know how many pets are owned and the names and contact numbers of the individuals who have agreed to serve as emergency caregivers.         

Carry a wallet alert card that lists the names and phone numbers of emergency pet caregivers.

Post removable "in case of emergency" notices on their doors or windows specifying how many and what types of pets are in the home. These notices will alert emergency response personnel during a fire or other home emergency. Avoid using stickers. Because these are often left behind by former residents, firefighters may assume the stickers are outdated, or worse, risk their lives trying to find a pet no longer in the house.

On the inside of front and back doors, affix removable notices listing emergency contact names and phone numbers.

The HSUS's kit provides all of these materials, which makes following the above steps quite simple. Because pets need care daily and will need immediate attention should your clients die or become incapacitated, the importance of the aforementioned steps cannot be overemphasized.

After you've overseen the creation of wills, trusts, or both, your clients should leave copies with the people they've chosen to be executors of their estates, as well as the pets' designated caregivers, so the caregivers can look after the pets immediately. (The executor and caregiver may or may not be the same person.)  Make sure the caregivers also have copies of the pets' veterinary records and information about their behavior traits and dietary preferences.

Pet trust legislation

In recent years, specific pet trust legislation has been enacted in the District of Columbia and 35 states (including Maryland, but not including Virginia, at this time). The laws permit a person to create a trust for the care of designated domestic or pet animals and specify that a pet owner's intent to provide for his or her animal can now be protected by the courts.

What is a reasonable sum to leave?

The answer to this question can vary widely, depending on the age, health, estimated lifespan and number of pets involved.  The funds needed to care for a young horse will certainly be much greater than those needed for an aged parakeet. 

It also depends on how much care the owner wishes the animals to receive.  If the animals get cancer, diabetes, hip dysplasia, or some other ailment, what kind of treatment do pet owners want to provide and do they want to provide it indefinitely or for a limited period of time?  Also, the pet owner may want to look into cremation and burial prices.

Pets can be expensive even when there are no emergencies.  Pet food, grooming, routine veterinary care, vaccines, basic medications (like heartworm and flea preventatives), boarding and kennel fees, sitters, and teeth cleaning can add up to hundreds of dollars per animal per year.  Horses, of course, mean additional, unique expenses.

Whereas leaving too much money in the trust can cause problems with heirs or potential heirs, leaving too little could compromise the care of the animal.  The trust also should stipulate the frequency and amounts of payments, as well as whether amounts should be adjusted for inflation.  Finally, pet owners also may want to consider paying a fee to caretakers and/or trustees for their time and effort.

For more information

To order a free copy of the kit, please call The HSUS at 202-452-1100 or send an e-mail to petsinwillsrp@hsus.org.   Our fact sheet is also available on the Internet at www.hsus.org/petsinwills.  Please contact The HSUS as soon as possible to help your clients provide in the best manner possible for those non-human family members for whom they care so much. 

A different, prior version of this article originally appeared in Probate & Property, Vol. 18, No. 6, November/December 2004, a publication of the American Bar Association Section of Real Property, Probate & Trust Law.