Many of us have pets who are very dear to us. California has enacted a law declaring that a trust for the care of an animal is a lawful. One can now set aside a certain amount, up to all of their estate, to be dedicated to the care of their pets.
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Preferred care for pets
You don't necessarily know what pets you will have at the time of your death so your pet trust needs to be somewhat general. You may wish dogs cared for in one manner and cats or birds in another. So you must first decide how you would want them cared for. You could specify that your trustee locate a good home for your pet and pay for all of the pets health needs, plus a monthly stipend for food. Or, you could specify that you want you pet kept at a particular kennel or boarding facility. You may wish horses handled in one manner and dogs in another. The pet trust can be very specific or general.
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Determine how much to put into the trust
Leona Helmsley, you may recall, left twelve million for the care of her dog (the New York court reduced it to $2,000,000). . You needn't do that!! Consider the longest life span of a dog or cat (15-20 years?) and figure how much it would cost per year to feed and vaccinate the animal. Add in some extra money for trustee fees and medical bills and that is the amount you would probably want to provide.
Some people prefer to leave their whole estate in the trust and provide that upon the animal's death the balance left in the trust is distributed to their heirs or charities in whatever manner they specify. Unlike New York in the Helmsley case, California courts will not reduce the amount left in trust for pets.
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How do you know the trust will be properly administered?
The California statute allows anyone interested in the welfare of the pet to petition the court concerning the management of the trust and/or care of the animal. A person or organization who receives assets from the trust after the pet dies may file a petition with the probate court and raise such issues as: the trustee is spending too much on the pet, the trustee is not spending enough on the pet, the trustee is taking excessive compensation or is spending money on purposes not related to the pet.
The trustee must annually prepare an accounting for how the trust funds are being managed (unless the trust waives the accounting or the amount is less than $40,000). The accounting must be mailed to the organizations and/or persons who inherit after the pet's death and to any animal charity that has requested the accountings.
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