Planning for Your Pet’s Future

Find two responsible friends or family members willing to act in your stead and provide temporary emergency care for your pet(s) should something happen to you. These pet caretakers need keys to your home, feeding and care instructions for each pet, your veterinarian’s name and a "permission" letter from you to your vet authorizing them to request treatment for your pet(s) and, finally, they need a copy of whatever permanent care plans you have made for your pet(s). Be sure a number of additional people know both how many pets you have and the names and phone numbers of your pet caretakers. Keep an "alert" card in your wallet with the names and phone numbers of your emergency pet caretakers.

Post "in case of emergency" notices on your front and back door and on one or more windows listing how many and what kinds of pets you have. These will alert rescue personnel during a fire or other emergency. (If you move, be sure to remove the notices!)

Post a notice to the inside of your front and back doors with your emergency pet caretakers’ names and phone numbers.

Make formal arrangements for the care of your pet. Have an attorney to draw up a will or trust to provide for the care of your pet(s) and a way to insure that their care is provided for financially.

Decide who you want to have your pets, whether you want them all to go to one person or whether different pets should go to different people. You may want to try to keep pets that have bonded with one another together. When choosing potential caretakers, consider trustworthy adults who have met your pet and who have successfully cared for pets. Name alternate caretakers in the event your first choice becomes unable or unwilling to take your pet. Discuss the level of care you want your pet(s) to receive with your pet’s designated caretakers and stay in touch with them. If their plans change, you need to know.

If all else fails, you can direct your executor or personal representative, in your will, to place the animal with another individual. Finding a suitable new home can take weeks, so you need to line up temporary care. Provide useful, but not unrealistically restrictive, instructions in your will. Authorize your executor to expend funds from your estate for the temporary care of your pet as well as for the cost of finding a new home and transporting the animal to it. The will should grant broad discretion to your executor for decisions about the pet and in expending estate funds on the animal’s behalf but be specific about your expectations for your pet’s care.

Most organizations do not have the space or funds to care for your pet indefinitely and cannot guarantee that someone will adopt your animal, although some may be able to board and care for your pet temporarily until he can be transferred to a designated caretaker.

Some organization may agree to find pets a new home or care for them until they die. However, be aware that your pets may not do well being institutionalized.

Before making any arrangements, visit the organization to see how animals are cared for; where they are confined; who looks after them; how they are socialized and exercised; and policies regarding care at the facility and placement with a new family. Also consider what might happen if the organization faces funding or staff shortages.

When an owner puts this provision in a will, it may be ruled invalid by the legal system when the animal is young or in good health. In any case, chose a responsible caretaker and discuss the animal’s condition and needs so that the caretaker can make the best decision for the animal after you are gone.

Get help from legal professionals before making formal arrangements. Advance planning is vital. A lawyer can review important, complex points regarding wills, probate, and delays in carrying out your pet care instructions. Additional documents may be needed beyond a will. For example, a trust can provide for your pet immediately, and apply not only if you die but also if you become ill or disabled. A trust created separately from a will can be written to exclude certain assets from probate so that funds are more readily available to care for your pet.

An alternative that’s simpler than a trust is a "Power of Attorney" which authorizes someone else to conduct some or all of your affairs while you are alive, and takes effect upon your physical or mental incapacity. Provisions can be added authorizing your attorney-in-fact –– the person designated to handle your affairs –– to take care of your pets, expend money to do so, and even to place pets with permanent caretakers if necessary.

Whatever documents are created, leave copies with the executor of your estate and with the pet’s designated caretaker(s). Make sure the caretaker(s) also has copies of your veterinary records and details about the pet’s behavior and dietary needs.