You may have a cat or dog which you likely consider a member of your family. You may even be more concerned about what happens to your pet than what happens to your children or your spouse.
It costs money to care for your pet. There is food, veterinary bills and housing. If you have made no plans for the care of your pet when you cannot and no one else wants to provide the care, your pet may end up at the local animal shelter. If your pet is not adopted from the shelter after a certain period of time, your pet may be “put to sleep.” This is not the result that most people would want. Most pet owners want to make sure that their pet is taken care of for the rest of its natural lifetime.
But how can you provide for your pet? How can you make sure that Fifi your French poodle or Puff your cat are going to be taken care of? Well there is good news for people living in the State of Michigan. Michigan law has specific provisions allowing you to set up a pet trust for the benefit of your pet.
If you are no longer able to care for your pet because of your incapacity, you can put provisions in your estate plan that your assets could be used not only for your own care, but also for the care of your pet. You can designate the adoptive home of your pet and also give funds to your pet’s caregiver with which to care for your pet.
After you are gone, you can set aside a certain portion of your assets for the care of your pet for its lifetime. When determining the amount to set aside, you must take into consideration the total cost of care and the life expectancy of your pet. With proper planning, your pet is provided for and you are given piece of mind that your pet will not prematurely end up in the great kennel in the sky.
You also have to decide what is going to happen to the funds you set aside for your pet after your pet is gone. You may want whatever is not spent on your pet to go to the caregiver after your pet’s death. That is all well and good, but you must be particular in choosing your pet’s caregiver. If you have a thoughtless caregiver and direct that they receive the remainder of your pet’s fund after its lifetime, your pet could end up with a very short lifetime.
The pet’s caregiver and the pet fund trustee are often the same. However, the pet fund trustee does not necessarily have to be your pet’s caregiver. Sometimes it is best to separate the two functions. The person who may make a warm and loving home for your pet might not be the best money manager and vice versa.
So choose your pet’s caregiver and pet fund trustee wisely and your pet will have the opportunity to live a long, healthy and happy life.
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA JD
Published edited March 8, 2009 in The Times Herald newspaper, Port Huron, Michigan as: Pets can share in your estate