Financial planning for a pet’s future care

Planning for the possibility that a pet will outlive its owners or its owners’ ability to attend to it is sometimes overlooked in financial planning.

“If your pet is important to you, regardless of your age, just like for the people you care about, you need to think through and make provisions for their care,” said Erin Itkoe, CPA/PFS, CFP, president and wealth adviser at Luminescent Wealth Management in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“Most of my clients have not thought about setting up a plan to provide for their pets,” said Theodore Alatsas, Esq., partner at Alatsas Law Firm, an elder law and estate planning firm in Brooklyn, N.Y. “We have clients who are single or widowed or have no children, and their pets are their only companions, and that is where we think about having a plan.”

Strategies to assure care for pets

When planning for a pet’s future care, “the simplest, most informal plan is to ask family or friends to take care of the pet,” Itkoe said. “This is best when there is a high level of trust that your family or friends will follow through.” However, there is no guarantee the care provided will be as intended when the owner is not there.

The future caregiver may not have the financial ability to provide for the pet. The current owners can set up a savings account for the pet’s care and fund it over time, so the new owners have resources to use. Pet insurance can help pay for some of a pet’s veterinary care even if the original owners are gone.

A way for owners to eliminate doubt about their pets’ future care is to include in their will specific details about maintaining the pets’ current lifestyle. Owners can name a caregiver as a beneficiary and leave them a sum of money to care for the pet or provide in the will for a testamentary trust to be created upon the owners’ death. However, neither a will nor a testamentary trust provides pet care if the owner is alive but incapacitated, because neither takes effect until after the owner’s death.

Pet trusts

A more effective option may be to create a pet trust. Under the trust, the owner appoints a trustee who is responsible for distributing assets to the pet’s new caregiver. A pet trust creates a legal obligation to provide pet care according to the owner’s instructions, unlike including pet care in a will. A single trust can cover all pets.

Laws authorizing pet trusts exist in all 50 states. Under these laws, the owner can designate someone as trust enforcer, and anyone who has an interest in the welfare of the animal may ask a court to appoint someone to enforce the trust as well.

Pet owners need to consider whom they want to be the trustee and have them agree to assume the role. “It is important to identify a trustee who is someone you trust to manage your specific wishes to provide the type of care that matches how you want your pet to be treated when you are gone,” Itkoe said.

Alatsas agreed: “The key word is ‘trust’ because the trustee is taking on responsibility for the pet.” He noted that specifics about a pet’s care (especially veterinarians and medication), routines, and activities should be included in the trust agreement, so they can continue uninterrupted. Owners who don’t know a caregiver they trust can designate a professional pet care organization. Helpful resources include ASPCA local chapters and the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters.

Funds are specifically allocated based on the trust’s instructions. “In some cases, the caregivers can be given a ‘salary’ or fee for caring for the pet while it is alive, so they obtain a benefit for providing the care,” Itkoe said.

“A pet trust can be within an existing trust and a general fund, or there can be a separate trust for pet care,” Alatsas said. “Specific assets can be used to fund care, to make sure funds are available, by transferring the title of bank accounts or investments to the name of the trust.”

The trust can also indicate how to distribute any assets remaining when the pet passes away (e.g., to the trustee or a charity).

In addition to being used upon the owner’s death, a trust can provide for pet care or reimburse expenses if the owners are incapacitated. “The grantor can be the trustee, and in the case of incapacity, a successor trustee can be named to manage the trust,” Alatsas said.

Depending on who is involved, to ensure the caregiver follows the original owner’s wishes for the pet’s care, Itkoe suggests that in certain cases someone other than the caregiver might be named as the trustee managing the distribution of funds, to ensure more accountability. Provisions could be put in place for the caregiver to provide receipts or other reporting to the trustee. It also may be advisable to choose a backup trustee and alternate caregiver in case the named ones are unable or unwilling to continue.

“While there is a cost to creating a pet trust, I believe this is the best option,” Alatsas said. “While the owners are alive, it is important for them to continue to make sure the pets included, and persons involved, are still the right ones.”

Financial planners can help clients think through all the options as part of their overall financial planning process.

“If you care about your pets, you should treat the process with care, get good advice, and pay more attention to the planning process for them,” Alatsas said.

— Maria L. Murphy, CPA, is a freelance writer based in North Carolina. To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Dave Strausfeld at David.Strausfeld@aicpa-cima.com.