Scratchings-and-Sniffings

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Estate Planning for your Pet Posted: 19 May 2010 01:00 PM PDT Seriously. When this came up last week at my high school reunion I thought the person was kidding. A little joke at Dr Larry's expense. In fact this person's mother had established a trust for her dog and my friend was the beneficiary. That means that he was given money by the Trustee, in this case a little over $5000, for the ongoing care of his mother's dog. The more I think about it the more I like the idea. Lot's of people do living wills these days to help manage their estates if they suddenly become incapacitated and can't make decisions for themselves. We have one, for instance. In the event we die, everyone is taken care of. Except for Miles.   I would imagine in our case that daughter Claire would step in and take care of Miles. After all, Miles is technically her dog, but many pooches or kitties are not so lucky. Lot's of lonely people without families or that are estranged from their families can't expect someone to swoop in and take care of the pet.   The easiest way to do this is to provide for the care of your pet in your will. You'll need to make sure you have someone willing to accept the responsibility for the pet and name that person specifically in the will. You may want to have several options.  You can also create a trust for your pet where you leave cash or property to a trustee and that trustee then designates a caregiver for the pet. The caregiver becomes the beneficiary of the trust as in the case of my old high school pal. You can also name a rescue program or a shelter if they agree in advance to care for your pet and take the proceeds as a charitable contribution. Make sure that you have it in writing that they will care for your pet in an acceptable way.   You may want to contact someone who specializes in estate planning for specifics and there are no shortage of articles on the subject on the web. When Leona Helmsley left her Maltese $12 million, estate planning for pets became a hot topic. I'd be happy to be the beneficiary on that one.   My daughter Claire graduates from Law School this weekend. I'm so proud of her and all the work she's done the last three years. Maybe she could become a pet Estate Planning expert. Wonder if that niche is still open.

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