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Pet Trusts: What Are the Main Types of Pet Trusts?

Do you know what would happen to your pets if you were to become disabled? Will your pets be provided for after your death?

As a pet owner, you know that there is an incredible bond shared with your pet. You want to be assured that your pet will continue to receive the proper care and attention that you have always provided even when you are no longer able to take care of them yourself.

It may seem that the simplest way of providing for your pet's care in the event of your death or disability is to include provisions in your will that a designated caregiver will assume ownership of your pet. However, such provisions cannot always be legally enforced, and there may be no practical way of assuring that your specific instructions concerning your pet's care will be followed.

A more secure way of providing for your pet's care is through a pet trust, in which you designate both a caregiver to care for your pet and a trustee to ensure that your trust's funds are used for the benefit of your pet. There are two basic types of pet trusts.

"Traditional pet trusts" are effective in all states. In a traditional pet trust, as the pet's owner, you provide instruction for your designated trustee to distribute your trust's funds to your pet's caregiver as long as the caregiver takes proper care of your pet.

Traditionally, it has been difficult to legally enforce trusts in which an animal has been named beneficiary. However, in recent years, many states have enacted legislation specifically recognizing the validity and enforceability of pet trusts. Pet trusts set up in those states are called "statutory pet trusts." According to law professor Gerry W. Beyer of Texas Tech University School of Law, 37 states plus the District of Columbia now have pet trust statutes, and there is pending pet trust legislation in most of the remaining states. These statutes greatly simplify the steps needed to create a pet trust.

There are several estate planning options for the caring pet owner to consider. There is also a wide variety of factors and concerns that pet owners must examine in drafting a pet trust to provide for a pet's long-term care. If you are a pet owner who wants to establish a pet trust, or otherwise provide long-term care for your pet, a qualified estate planning attorney who has experience creating pet trusts in California will be able to help you understand your pet trust planning options and will be able to assist you in designing a pet trust that meets your needs and those of your pets.

About the Author

Kevin Von Tungeln is the Managing Partner of TVTTrustLaw.com and Thompson Von Tungeln, P.C. Kevin practices exclusively in the areas of estate planning, probate, wills, conservatorships and trust administration. Visit http:// www.TVTTrustLaw.com or call (661) 945-5868 to learn more.

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