Pets

Planning the protection of your estate can be stressful, and sometimes people can overlook those who don’t have a voice — pets. What would you want to happen to your pets if you were no longer there to look after them? Would you want a family member or friend to take them in?

The Administration of Estates Act 1925 defines domestic animals as ‘personal chattels’ and this has made it possible to make gifts of family pets in your will. There are even cases of people leaving money, property and even cars to their pets. We can understand the thought processes behind this — people want to use some of the proceeds of the family home to ensure their pets have a comfortable life. Care needs to be taken over the wording of your will, because an incorrectly written provision may cause your intentions to fail. For example, a cash gift to your dog, cat or tortoise will fail, not only because they would not be able to open their own bank account, but also because animals cannot own cash or provide a legal receipt to your executors.

It’s also important to have a discussion with the person you are thinking of leaving your pets to, before making any hasty decisions. Just because someone is willing to look after your pets for you while you’re on holiday, it doesn’t mean they would be happy to take on the responsibilities of caring for and looking after your pets permanently. They may not be financially capable of taking on such a responsibility – vet bills or keeping your pet in the lifestyle to which they are accustomed could have a financial impact on them, so, you may want to consider leaving the person some money to help with the cost of looking after your pet. Of course, you want them to actually look after your pet and not just accept the money and put your pet into an animal shelter at the first opportunity. You can include a clause in your will to ensure your wishes are carried out exactly. Talk to your one of our expert estate planners to advise you correctly.

If you cannot think of anyone who can take care of your pet, or the person who said they would look after them can no longer do so for any reason, you can stipulate that your pet gets taken in by an animal shelter.