A guide to the considerations, options and steps that should be evaluated or taken in creating an estate plan for Illinois Pet Owners.
1
Do I need to provide for my pet’s future?
Your pet provides you with unconditional love and long term companionship. But in return, your pet relies upon you for everything. What will happen to your cat if you become ill? What if you are injured and become incapable of caring for your dog? How will your pet be cared for when you die? The answer to these questions can only be provided by you, by planning for the answers now. And there are techniques which allow you to provide fully for the care, comfort and needs of your pet tomorrow without losing control of any of your assets today.
2
What steps should I take even before creating an estate plan for my pet?
An excellent starting point is to find out which neighbors or nearby friends or relatives would be willing and able to help out with your pet in an emergency. You should talk to likely candidates now and make sure they would be willing to help on a short term basis.
A really important step to take today is to create written emergency instructions for your pet. These instructions should give contact information for the neighbor(s), friend(s) or relative(s) who will care for your pet in an emergency, should describe your pet’s diet, any special needs, exercise and play preferences, any special health issues and should give contact information for your pet’s veterinarian as well as pet walker or day care or boarding services, if you have such providers. Carry with and post prominently in your home where these instructions may readily be found in the case of emergency.
The Humane Society of the United States has a free kit for this. Click on the website below for a link.
3
How do I make sure of my pet’s long term wellbeing?
In 2005, Illinois became one of the select states with a statute specifically authorizing the creation of trusts to care for pets. This new statute removes the uncertainty as to enforceability and duration which previously existed in creating an estate plan which provides for the care of pets in the event of the pet owner’s death or incapacity.
A Chicago pet estate planning lawyer with expertise in estate planning as well as the issues raised by including pets in an estate plan can assist you in creating a trust to care for your pet. The pet trust can be created by and incorporated into your will. However, a trust created in your will would take full effect only upon your death and only after heirs and legatees have been given statutory notice and your will has been admitted to probate by a local court. This would not provide any protection for your pet at all in the event of your incapacity and would create a time gap in care and supervision for your pet after your death.
4
How do I choose a caregiver for my pet? Do I need a Pet Advocate?
The choice of a caregiver for your pet is one of the most important decisions you may make for the long term care of your pet when you are not there to provide the care yourself. The person chosen should be animal friendly and able and willing to provide the facilities and the type of care and home living environment your pet needs.
Questions to consider include whether the person has existing pets and if so, whether they will get along well with your pet? Will your pet get along with other members of the household? What about the health, stability and long term ability of the chosen person to care for your pet?
Is the person someone who will likely make good choices for your pet’s health and care? You must remember that, regardless of how detailed the instructions you provide for your pet’s future care, this is the person who make the final decisions and who on a day to day basis will fill in the blanks invariably left by any instructions you do leave.
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More about the caregiver.
You should talk to your chosen caregivers and make sure they are willing to act as caregiver. You may even want to discuss with them what changes adding your pet to their household might require and then incorporate provisions to permit this into your pet trust.
Because times and people and their circumstances change, it is important that you provide an alternate caregiver to your first choice, if at all possible. And you should probably provide that other trusted persons, such as your pet advocate, executor and/ or trustee may themselves choose a successor caregiver if necessary.
Another consideration for the long term care of your pet is whether a separate person should be chosen to enforce the terms of the trust by periodically checking on the well being of your pet and to make decisions where there is disagreement between the pet’s caregiver and the trustee of your trust as to particular expenditures proposed to be made from the assets of the pet care trust you have created
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