Many people want to provide for their pets in their will and make them beneficiaries. Some people have attempted to leave significant amounts of money to their pets in their wills; however, animals do not have the capacity to own property in Ohio, so you cannot leave property directly to them in your will. If you do attempt to do so, the provision will be declared invalid. The money that you would have tried to leave the pet will go to an alternate beneficiary. It will most likely go to who you appointed as the beneficiary of the residuary of your Estate or if you did not appoint someone for that, it would go to the person who would have inherited based on the intestate statute of the state. Because this would defeat the purpose of providing for your pets, you should consider other alternatives.
What you can do instead is provide for a new owner for your pet in your will. Pets are viewed as personal property so you are able to leave them to someone in your will. You should also include an alternate caretaker in case something happens to the first person you hope to leave your pet or pets too. Even though you cannot leave money to your pet directly, you can leave money to this new owner for the costs of taking care of the pet.
Additionally, you can provide for your pet in a trust. A trust is different from a will in that you can provide for the pet if you ever become incapacitated. According to Time for Paws, funding can be included for your pet in a trust as well. The person who manages the funds in the trusts does not have to be the same person that is the guardian of the pet. Making these roles two different people can help create a system of checks and balances. If you are interested in either of these options, or in determining another solution to protect your pet, you should consider discussing this issue with an attorney. Or for more information go to americanbar.org. You can protect your pets at home by installing various security measures. To know more click on iPetCompanion and to find the best cat doors and litter box for your pet, check out Furrytips.
Go here for more information.
No comments yet.