Pet Trusts: Instructions to Include in a Pet Trust
By Kevin Von Tungeln
If the purpose of drawing up a pet trust is to provide specific instructions for the care and well-being of your pet in the event of your death or disability, it is important to consider the various categories you will need to address within that trust. In a statutory pet trust, the owner is given free reign to leave exact instructions for the beneficiary or caregiver, and these instructions can include anything from the type of food to feed the animal to the number of hours each day he or she should be allowed to play outdoors.
Some common considerations many owners include in their pet trusts are: food/diet, medical and veterinarian care, grooming, socialization of the animal, toys, and cage time (or the lack thereof). It is at the discretion of the pet owner to what extent details regarding these categories are included. For example, does the animal require a high-protein diet in general, or a certain brand of high-protein food?
For many owners, keeping consistency in the pet’’s routine is important, especially after the traumatizing event of losing his or her owner’’s constant care and presence. For this reason, owners use pet trusts to specify particular grooming facilities, veterinarians, and opportunities for socialization to keep the animal’’s experiences as familiar as possible. Anyone who has spent a great deal of time with a pet understands the effect that consistency has on the animal’’s demeanor and well-being, and will agree that it should be upheld as much as possible in the event of the owner’’s disability or death.
Other factors for consideration when drawing up a pet trust would be the way in which the financial compensations are handled. For example, a statutory trust can state specific provisions regarding when the beneficiary is to be paid, how the beneficiary is to be paid, and the delay and/or refusal of compensation if the beneficiary does not follow the instructions you have laid out in the pet trust.
If you would like to draw up a California pet trust and are unsure about the details that can be included in such a trust, you should contact a qualified California pet trust attorney to discuss your options and estate planning solutions. An attorney who has a proven track record of success in drawing up legally enforceable trusts in California will charge the same fees as an attorney who has little to no experience in this branch of estate planning law. It is important that you place your pet’’s future to the hands of an attorney who understands the specific pet trust statutes within California, and can counsel you accordingly.
About The Author
Kevin Von Tungeln is the Managing Partner of EstatePlanningSpecialists.com and Thompson Von Tungeln, P.C.Kevin practices exclusively in the areas of estate planning, probate, wills, conservatorships and trust administration. Visit http://EstatePlanningSpecialists.com or call (661) 945-5868 to learn more.