Pet Trusts

Pet owners do not think of their pets as something they own. They think of them as companions, family members, even children. Pets are living, breathing creatures. However, in Ohio, pets are considered personal property. Legally, individuals cannot leave money to personal property. This means that if an individual leaves money specifically to their pet in their will, that particular bequest will be invalid. The money will go to another beneficiary, as will the pet. Alternatively, the individual could leave the pet to a beneficiary in their will, with a sum of money to care for the pet. But the will is not legally binding. The beneficiary may or may not be a pet person, which means they may give the pet away and keep the money.

However, a pet trust is a legal way to get around this problem. With a pet trust, the individual creating the trust, called the trust grantor, names a person as trustee to hold a sum of money or property on behalf of the pet. The trust grantor also names someone to be the pet’s caregiver. This can be the same person who holds the money or it can be someone else. Often, it is recommended to have the trustee and caregiver be separate people to ensure the pet will be properly cared for.

A pet trust can act as a container to ensure an individual’s pet is cared for the way the individual would have cared for it. The trust holds money that is used to provide for the pet. This money is used to provide medical care, food, pet supplies, and other needs the pet may have, including special medications or diets.

The trust’s terms can stipulate specific things the pet’s original owner wants the caregiver to do for their pet. For example, the trust terms may require twice yearly veterinary visits, a special brand and flavor of food or treats, a specific type of pet supply such as a particular litterbox and litter for a cat, or provide instructions on how to give the pet a medication it needs. The caregiver gets money from the trust to provide the things the pet needs, and the trustee ensures that the money is being used for its intended purpose. Often, the caregiver will receive regular disbursements of money from the trust to cover the costs of the pet’s care.

The money or property placed in the trust is intended to pay for the pet’s needs for the rest of the pet’s life. Individuals will want to consider what that care may include. Food, treats, pet supplies such as toys, litterboxes, or leashes, veterinary care, and grooming are a few expenses associated with caring for a pet. There may be additional expenses that are incurred infrequently or that the original pet owner does not incur but the new caregiver does, such as a pet sitter when they travel.

Consider the current cost of care for the pet per year. Ideally, the funding in the trust will be enough to care for the pet for the rest of its life. If funds are limited, the individual may want to consult with a lawyer to determine how much money or property to put in the trust. If the individual provides more funding than is ultimately required, the excess funds can be distributed to a beneficiary after the pet has died.

Some pet owners have multiple pets. These may be multiples of the same pet, such as having several cats or dogs. Some people may have different pets, such as a cat, dog, and a horse. Regardless of the types of pets, pet owners can typically create one trust to provide for multiple pets. When there are multiple pets, instead of the trust dissolving when one pet dies, it will be set up to dissolve when the last of the pets being provided for dies. The individual is able to leave separate instructions for each pet within the same trust.

Pet trusts can be expensive to set up, but there may be instances where an individual believes that separate trusts for each pet is better. If this is the case, Rhodium Law is happy to discuss your reasoning and help you find the right option for your pets’ needs.

When setting up a pet trust, funding the trust is required to establish the trust fully. The problem with this for many pet owners is determining how much money, or the value of the property, to place in the trust. They want to include enough to ensure their pet is cared for for the rest of its life, but they are also concerned about putting in too much money or property that may not be used if the pet lives a shorter life than expected or requires less care.

Most pet trusts are set up so that when the pet dies, or the last pet in the case of multiple pets, any remaining money or property in the trust goes to a beneficiary named by the trust grantor. Generally, it is recommended to name someone as beneficiary who is not the trustee or the pet’s caregiver. This ensures that the trustee and the caregiver do not have an incentive to restrict care for the pet in order to receive more money after the pet dies. However, it is the trust grantor’s choice to name whomever they wish as beneficiary.

There are other options for pet owners if they feel that a pet trust may not be appropriate for their pet’s needs. One option is to use an existing trust and include a term in the trust that stipulates a certain amount of money in that trust is set aside to use for the named pet’s care. The pet can then be left to a beneficiary in the pet owner’s will and the pet’s care will be provided for by the trust.

Another option is a pet protection agreement. A pet protection agreement may be a good option for pet owners who are not leaving a lot of money for the pet, whether because they do not have a lot of money or because the pet is old or sick enough that they do not expect it to live very long. With a pet protection agreement, once the pet’s owner and the designated guardian sign it, the guardian is legally bound to care for the pet upon the owner’s death or other trigger in the agreement. These agreements do not require that any money is left for the pet’s care, and the guardian is not relieved of caring for the pet once any money left has been used.