Estate Planning for Pets
Pet Trusts are a simple way to provide care and support for your pets.
How to Protect Pets in Your Estate Plan
Pets are much more than just another item of property for many people. They can become like family. As a result, including pets in an estate plan is an important goal for some pet owners. Fortunately, Michigan law specifically allows trusts for pets.
Pets Trusts are Allowed by Michigan Law
A Pet Trust is the only way for pet owners to appoint a caregiver for pets and a trusted person ("trustee"), who must follow their instructions, to hold and manage the trust property, for the benefit of the pets.
A Pet Trust can be easily incorporated into any estate plan. The trust is separate from your other estate planning documents so that it can be easily managed by a trustee appointed by you. The most important factor is to ensure that both the pets and a specific amount of money are transferred to the trust so that the trustee can manage them.
Essential Steps to Create a Pet Trust
- Choose a caregiver for the pets
- Select a trustee to manage money set aside for the pets' care
- Create a valid trust document to appoint the caregiver and trustee, and provide instructions for care of the pets
- Include instructions in the trust to distribute the remaining money to beneficiaries upon death of the pets
- Ensure that ownership of the pets is transferred to the trust upon death of the owner
- "Fund" the trust with money through the use of a will, trust, or account-level beneficiary designation
A pet trust is free with any estate plan.