Boulder Estate Planning Legal Blog
When creating an estate plan, it’s easy to focus on what will happen to your assets upon your death. For example, you need to decide on who gets what.
However, there’s something you may be overlooking: your pets.
Many people are unfamiliar with the fact that they have the opportunity to create a pet trust. While many people believe that providing for their pets in a will is good enough, this is not always the case.
Here are some of the many benefits of using a pet trust:
- It’s much more capable of withstanding legal challenges than a will
- You can outline care instructions in the trust, such as what type of food to purchase, special medical needs, and much more
- A pet trust goes into place as soon as you pass on, whereas this is not always the case with a will (which can take many weeks or months to execute)
- You can make note that periodic inspections should be carried out, ensuring that the caregiver is doing what is required by the trust
- A pet trust can also go into effect in the event of an incapacity, which should give you peace of mind
- You can retain control in regard to the timing of payments
These are just a few of the many benefits associated with a pet trust. As you go through the estate planning process, you don’t want to overlook what would happen to your pet in the event that you die first. If you do this, there is no way of knowing where your pet will end up or what will happen to it. And that’s not a risk you should be willing to take.
Just the same as any type of trust, there are things that you should and shouldn’t do. For this reason, you should take the time to learn more about your legal rights as they pertain to creating a pet trust. The information you pick up will help you make informed decisions regarding this part of your estate plan.
What plans have you made for who will care for your pets?
