Massachusetts, along with 46 other states, now permits a trust to be created for the benefit of a pet, for the purpose of providing funds for the pet’s care and designating responsible individuals to care for the pet and manage the trust funds for the pet’s benefit.   To learn more, read Attorney Sayward’s article on Pet Trusts included in our May 2011 newsletter.  If you don’t feel the need to establish a formal trust fund to provide for the care of your pet after you are gone, you should still consider making provisions for your pet’s care in the event of your incapacity or death.  To learn more about other planning steps, read my article in our upcoming April 2014 newsletter.  You can also read an informative article about planning for pets at the website of the Humane Society of the United States.

Contact us to obtain a kit entitled Providing for your Pet’s Future Without You which includes wallet alert cards, emergency care instructions for your pets, window stickers to notify emergency responders that there are pets in the house, and an emergency contacts form that can be hung in a visible location inside your home.

Published April 2014