Estate planning for your pet's care and comfort
Wenatchee Valley Business World
July 1, 2023
By Lindsey Weidenbach, GGW Partner
We love our pets. A lot of the time, they are treasured members of our family and our companions through life. The love of a pet can be life-altering. Some among us even love our pets more than our own family members (I know, it’s shocking but true). If you are like me, and your pets are your world, you may want to take that next step and protect your pets should you die before they do. I’m here to show you how.
Pet Trust
Under Washington law, specifically Chapter 11.118 RCW for all you nerds who want to look it up, you can leave your assets to any animal, within reason. A dog or a cat? Washington says go for it: make that pet rich! A centipede? A line too far. The State of Washington says no dice: this animal must have a spine. The statute states that an “animal” is a nonhuman animal with vertebrae. You will notice that a trust can be set up for any animal (as defined), and not just pets. This is fun because in Washington, it is illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet (believe me, I’ve looked into it with). However, if I was breaking the law and housing a pet raccoon, I could leave my estate to said hypothetical pet raccoon. Hypothetically, of course.
The first step to disinheriting your children in favor of your beloved French bulldog is to contact a Washington attorney to have them draft a Will for you that leaves your assets to your pet in what we call a pet trust. The pet trust should, among other things, (i) identify the animal or animals, (ii) appoint a trustee, and (iii) state what happens to the assets after the death of the animal. You, the pet owner, get to make all of these decisions.
If the Will is done correctly, the trust will provide the trustee with specific information about your wishes for the animal’s care and how the money spent can be spent. The money can only be used for the animal. It cannot be used for the trustee’s personal gain. The trustee may get reimbursed for expenses and paid for his or her time, but the trustee cannot pilfer the trust funds, thus defrauding the animal’s wealth.
The important language is found in RCW 11.118.100 which states: “Except as otherwise provided in the trust instrument or in this chapter, all powers and duties conferred on a trustee under Washington law also apply to the trustee of a trust for animals.” This means that the trustee owes to the beneficiary animal fiduciary duties. Violations of fiduciary duties are a big deal and come with steep consequences and fines. By creating a pet trust, you are providing your animal with legal rights, which include the ability to sue the trustee and having them removed if they are not following the trust language and/or Washington law.
Pet trusts are usually set up for the life of the pet, which is far too short. Why are we, as society, funding trips to Mars when we could be using science to make our pets live longer?! But I digress. After the life of the pet, any remaining assets will need a home. We call this the “remainder beneficiary”. The remainder beneficiary or beneficiaries could be your family, friends, a charity like the Wenatchee Humane Society, or any combination of the above at your discretion. The reminder beneficiary gets any portion of the trust fund that is left over after the death of the pet. Once the funds find their second home with the remainder beneficiary, the trust is terminated and the trustee is released from his or her duties.
Care Instructions
If you have a pet and don’t want to create a pet trust, but still want to make sure the pet is left with a specific loved one, you can put that right in your Will. It can read something like, “If my pet raccoon, Rocket, is living at the time of my death, I give Rocket to my brother Ian who better care for Rocket as if he were his own son, or I will haunt him from the grave.” You get the point.
Power of Attorney
Pet care and placement can even be a part of your Durable Power of Attorney. A Durable Power of Attorney is a document that appoints someone to act on your behalf should you be alive but incapacitated. Most Durable Power of Attorney documents have language regarding the care of minor children. This language can be adapted to contemplate the care of pets as well.
Conclusion
If you have animals in your life that will need care should you be unable to care for them or should you predecease the animal, contact an attorney to assist you with the necessary legal documents to set your pets up for success.
About Lindsey Weidenbach
Attorney at Gatens Green Weidenbach, PLLC
Lindsey focuses her practice of the law on estate planning and trusts. Before marrying, Lindsey created a Will for herself that left her entire estate to her beloved golden retriever, Stella, in a pet trust. She named her only sibling, Ian, as the trustee of this trust, as a way to annoy him from the grave. Read her bio here.