Love Your Pet? Plan for the Future
Posted: Friday, January 08, 2010
by Evane Abbassi
Legendary Wills and Trusts
The night before her hysterectomy, Betty's biggest concern was "What is going to happen to my cats if I die?" While she lied on her hospital bed, these were the thoughts that hit her. Sassy, her eight year old Siamese was at her sister's house, who gladly agreed to do so while Betty underwent surgery and recovered.
Not everyone is so fortunate to have a sister, relative or friend who will voluntarily take care of a pet when they aren't able. Nevertheless, there is a legal document that gives you the power to provide for all your pet's needs, in case you become incapacitated or unavailable to do so. This legal document is a "Pet Trust".
You can name the person who will take care of your pet in a pet trust. You can specify the type of medical care that you want for your pet, the name of the veterinarian that will provide that care and the critical decisions that you would normally have to make should your pet go into a comma or vegetative state. You can leave direction on how often your pet should be groomed, what its diet will be, how special needs will be met and how often other people will be allowed to socialize with the pet. You can also provide for your pet's final arrangements when it's passing, should it be buried or cremated. Will there be a memorial, commemorative cermeony or special service? In brief, in a pet trust you can arrange for everything and anything that you want for your pet in your absence or temporary unavailability.
There are several things you must take into consideration when creating your pet trust. First, and foremost, determine who could be the most suitable person to handle your pet's care. This should not cause an issue. That person will be the one relative or friend that has already shown a caring and loving concern regarding your animal and that has held the best relationship with it. Make sure though, that that person agrees to his or her designation, that it wont' represent an exaggerate cost and that he or she has the means to do a good job in providing for your pet's second home and welfare. Also, you might want to consult with an attorney regarding the different types of pet trust that you can form, the person that would oversee the trust operations and the best ways to fund your pet's care expenses.
Regardless of these and any other considerations, the fact is that if you want to make sure that your pet does not lack anything that you now provide for it, a pet trust is the way to go.
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Evane Abbassi, author and founder of Legendary Wills and Trusts 12-in-1 software, has a Juris Doctoral Degree and holds an LLM degree in tax and estate planning. A degree that 6% of all lawyers hold. She is a Trustee for some of the wealthiest families in the US. Learn more about her Estate Planning software at http://www.LegendaryWillsandTrusts.com .
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Thanks for the info. I've always said, "the only bad dog I'll ever have is the one that out lives me."
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