Inheritance Planning: Have You Forgotten Anyone?

When you get serious about inheritance planning, you are probably going to take the matter to heart. After all, you are preparing to pass along inheritances to the people that you love the most, and this is a profound act on many different levels.

If we were to suggest that you may forget a loved one, you would probably be surprised. However, many people who have a great deal of love for their families do in fact overlook a valued member.

Four-Legged Family Members

A significant percentage of American households include a beloved pet. Since the lifespans of dogs and cats are not as long as human lifespans, you may assume that you will outlive your fine furry friend and not think about including your dog or cat in your estate plan.

Some people may be in a position to exclude their pets, because pets can sometimes be co-owned by multiple different family members, and this is certainly true among young families. However, everyone is not in this situation.

Pet ownership can be very beneficial for senior citizens. Many elders lose loved ones as the years pass. They may be retired so they don’t have interactions with coworkers on a daily basis, and their children and grandchildren may have busy lives of their own.

A pet can provide a perfect solution under these circumstances. The love and companionship is there, and there are other benefits as well. Dogs provide protection, even if it is just in the form of barking when there are unusual noises outside of the door. If you have a dog as a senior citizen, you will probably get more exercise as well as you take the dog for regular walks.

The possibility of predeceasing a pet can be a cause of concern if you’re a senior citizen. You can account for this if you take the right steps in your estate planning.

A pet trust might be the ideal solution. The way that it works is you fund the trust, and you name a trustee to administer the trust after your passing. When you create the trust, you leave behind instructions about the way that you want the pet to be cared for if you do in fact die first.

After your passing, the trustee would follow these instructions, and your pet would be cared for in accordance with your wishes.

Learn More About Pet Planning

If you are interested in learning more about pet planning and pet trusts, we invite you to download our in-depth special report on the subject. This comprehensive report is being offered to our readers on a complimentary basis right now, and you can click this link to access your copy: Free Pet Planning Report.