Have You Included Your Pet in Your Will?

Have you stopped to think what would happen if your pet outlives you? This is one of the many questions we are probably not ready to answer. We hope we can inspire you to think and take action.

When thinking about your pet's future in case of a tragedy, you can have verbal agreements with friends and family, however, as we know, verbal agreements are not the ones that always get fulfilled. If you really want to make sure your wishes will be followed, you need to treat this as a serious legal matter. There are many ways how you can set this up: You can create a will, a trust or any other estate planning document. The main difference between the will and the trust is that the trust will be effective immediately and can be used not only if you die but also if you become disabled or incapacitated. A will will, on the other hand, will only take place only upon your death.

Regardless of what you choose, the first thing you need to do is select that special caregiver or caregivers who you can trust and know will love your pet as you love him or her. When choosing the caregiver(s) make sure these are people who are familiar and understand the responsibility of taking care of a pet. Preferably think of people who are pet owners themselves. As a rule of thumb and as a cautious move, you should have alternative caregivers in case the first ones become unable or unwilling. Keep in mind that the new owner will have full discretion over your pet's care, so make sure you are selecting a person that is really fit take on this responsibility.

Now that you have your caregivers selected, you need to put a price for the caring of your best friend. The best way to do this is by granting broad discretion to your executor in making decisions about the pet and in spending estate funds on the pet's behalf. By doing it this way, you know that the executor will use the money the best way possible so your pet is comfortable.

If you don't have anybody who you can trust your pet with, there are some organizations that specialize in long term care of pets when the owners die. These organizations will try to find a new home for your pet or take care of him/her until he/she dies. This last option, however, should be the last alternative you should consider.

We know nobody will love our pets as we do, so make sure you do something before it is too late. If you don't do anything, your pet will be taken to the dog shelter and from there the future is extremely uncertain. Do not procrastinate, take action. When setting up your financial goals, retirement dreams, etc; don't forget to set aside some money for that ultimate best friend.