You have a pet. Fifi your French poodle or Puff your cat has become part of your family. You may have a horse or two, a bird or even a lizard. You couldn’t imagine what life would be like without your pets. But, have you ever thought about what Fifi or Puff’s life would be like without you?
Every year, there are thousands of pets that end up at local animal shelters and have to be euthanized because their owners have made no arrangements for their care after the owner’s disability or death. What would happen to Fifi and Puff if they outlive you or your ability to care for them?
You can provide for your pets in the event of your mental incapacity. You can put instructions in your general durable power of attorney that your assets could be used not only to provide care for you, but also the care of Fifi and Puff.
If you have a Michigan trust, you can include similar provisions in your trust to take effect both during your mental incapacity and after your death. After your gone, you can leave instructions for a pet trust to set aside a certain portion of your trust assets for the care of Fifi and Puff for their lifetimes.
When determining the amounts to set aside in a pet trust, you must take into consideration the total cost of care and the life expectancies of your pets. With proper planning, Fifi and Puff are provided for and you are given piece of mind that your pets will not prematurely end up in the great kennel in the sky.
When setting up a pet trust, you must choose a trustee for the trust funds. Your pets’ caregiver and the trustee of the pet trust are often the same, but does not necessarily need to be. Sometimes, it is best to separate the two functions. The person who may make a warm and loving home for your pets might not be the best money manager and vice versa.
When choosing a pet caregiver, first look to family and friends. Is there someone who is pet friendly or who previously has experience raising pets of their own. The caregiver could be one person or a series of persons. Maybe a group rotation would work. There should be backup caregivers in the event your initial caregiver becomes sick, ill or even dies before your pet.
All of the caregivers you choose should be ready, willing and able to care for Fifi and Puff and take them into their home as their own pet. This care includes regular trips to the veterinarian and even making decisions about Fifi or Puff’s end-of-life care.
When you choose someone to care for your pet, it may be a great idea to stay in contact with him or her to make sure that he or she continues to be ready, willing and able to care for your pet. Circumstances change. Your caregiver may have moved into an apartment or condominium that does not allow pets or is otherwise unable to care for them.
If the caregiver currently has a pet, you might want to make sure Fifi or Puff gets along with the caregiver’s pets. You do not want Fifi or Puff and your caregiver’s pets to fight like cats and dogs.
If you have more than one pet, do you want your pets to be cared for in the same household? Maybe Fifi and Puff have bonded and they can’t live without one another. In such instance, if Fifi and Puff have to be separated after you are gone, not only have they lost you, but they would have also lost their best friend.
Your ultimate caregivers might not be able to care for Fifi and Puff immediately after your disability or death. You can also make arrangements for a temporary home for your pets during such time or in the event of your short-term illness.
If you have no one that can be Fifi and Puff’s caregivers, there are a number of sanctuary organizations which, for a fee, will care for Fifi and Puff for their lifetimes. Links to sanctuary listings can be found on the resources page of the website of an organization called 2nd Chance for Pets at http://www.2ndchance4pets.org/resources.html.
To make it easier for your caregivers to take care of Fifi and Puff, you can provide a detailed letter of instructions. A link to a good checklist put out by 2nd Chance 4 Pets is on the same resources page of their website and is entitled Care Instruction Forms.
The instructions should include some basic information about your pet such as your pet’s name, birthdate, breed and medical history. You should also include a location list where all of Fifi and Puff’s records and pet paraphernalia are kept. You want to make sure all the veterinarian information is also listed. Has Fifi or Puff been micro-chipped or licensed? Include the identification numbers.
Does Fifi or Puff have any allergies to medications or food? For example, we had a cat once that could not eat any commercially prepared cat food without having bi-directional releases on our favorite rugs, but not on the kitchen vinyl flooring. We had to make up the cat food twice a week according to a veterinarian provided recipe.
Does your pet have any fears? How trained is your pet? To what commands does Fifi or Puff respond? Fifi could be certified, such as a therapy dog. Fifi may be trained in a language other than English. If so, list the commands to which Fifi respond, so that the caregivers know how to control her.
Fifi and Puff usually have a daily routine. When does Fifi or Puff go for a walk or go outside? Is Puff an inside cat, an outside cat or does he come and go as he pleases? Does Fifi get walked three times a day or every hour? What type of recreational activities do your pets enjoy? Does Fifi like to fetch or go swimming?
Once you have provided for Fifi or Puff’s during their lifetimes, what do you want to happen after Fifi or Puff’s demise? Fifi or Puff can be buried, cremated or may be left at the veterinarian for disposal. You could leave it up to the caregiver. You may already have a burial plot in a pet cemetery for Fifi and Puff.
Fifi and Puff are a part of your family. You may want to include them in your estate plan just like any other family member. With proper planning, you do not have to worry about what will happen to Fifi and Puff after you are no longer able to care for them.
By: Matthew M. Wallace, CPA, JD
Published edited January 4, 2015 in The Times Herald newspaper, Port Huron, Michigan as: You can arrange for your pet’s life without you