Pet estate planning: It's easier than ever to include your pets in your ...

Henry loves fetching his tennis ball and playing tug with his stuffed animals. About 6 years old, the Shih Tzu mix likely has many good years left.

In a way, that worries his owner.

Fern Edson adopted Henry from the PAWS Chicago animal shelter almost four years ago. Her age: 84. ?I really didn?t think about the age difference,? Edson said. About 18 months later, ?I started thinking about it.?

Edson, whose investment banker husband died 12 years ago, has found peace of mind about Henry?s future, however. She?s enrolled in PAWS? Guardian Angel pet care program, in which donors who leave bequests to the no-kill shelter are assured it will care for animals that outlive their owners.

It?s one of several ways that pet lovers are making provisions for their animals in the event they precede them in death. In recent years, it has become easier than ever to make estate-planning arrangements for pets.

All but a handful of states, for example, have passed laws that permit pet owners to pass on assets for their care. Illinois began allowing residents to create trusts for their pets in 2005. Since then, awareness of pet trusts has risen, and animal law is one of the fastest-growing legal specialties, according to the American Bar Association.

?The tempo of inquiries and the number of actual executed pet trusts has increased in the last couple of years,? said Michael Fitzgerald, a lawyer with St. Charles-based law firm Fitzgerald Perry, which has worked on pet trusts.

If pet owners don?t make arrangements, the outcome for their animals can be uncertain.

Take Angel, a 1-year-old female cat that meowed to passersby recently from her cage at the Anti-Cruelty Society of Chicago. Society spokeswoman Trisha Trinco said Angel was dropped off with two other cats April 28 after their owner died. Angel was spayed May 4 and remains at the shelter. The other cats, Peggy and Marsha, have been adopted.

Some people leave bequests for their pets in wills. But that isn?t always the best option because the purpose of a will is to distribute property, and instructions are unenforceable, according to the 2010 book ?Petriarch: The Complete Guide to Financial and Legal Planning for a Pet?s Continued Care.? In other words, Jane might get the house and the cat, but there?s nothing in the will that compels her to keep the house maintained or the cat fed.

Wills are also subject to the probate process. A recent case in point is the Berwyn woman who died in December and stipulated in her will, written in 1988, that any animal in her care at the time of her death would be euthanized. The woman left most of her $1.4 million estate to animal causes, which suggests she cared deeply about pets. Still, her will sought a death sentence for Boots, a healthy 11-year-old cat. The will?s executors at Fifth Third Bank, persuaded a Cook County probate judge last month to set aside that provision and spare the cat?s life. The bank then gave more than $2,000 to Chicago no-kill shelter Cats Are Purrsons Too to care for Boots while attempts are made to find her a new home.

Estate planners and lawyers say what happened in the Boots case is one reason why setting up a pet trust is better than dealing with pet issues in a will. Trusts take effect quickly in the event of the owner?s death or incapacitation compared with the execution of a will, a process that can drag on for weeks, if not months or years, in probate court.

Jeffrey Schmidt, Fifth Third trust officer, said if pet trusts are part of a person?s overall estate planning, they should cost no more than $250 to $500.

Todd Cordell, vice president of Chicago Trust Co. in Hinsdale, said establishing an estate plan can cost $500 to $3,000 or more depending on its complexity. It should be little to no extra cost to establish a pet trust as part of that estate plan, he said. If provisions of the pet trust need to be changed, amendments to the trust could cost $300 to $1,000 depending on the complexity.

It is recommended that the estate plan provide instructions on how to fund the pet trust. The amount will depend on such factors as the pet?s age, cost of routine care, food and toys, Cordell said.

In Illinois, a judge has the authority to reduce the amount of money used to fund a pet trust if the amount is deemed to be excessive.

Because pets are considered property, they must be bequeathed to the trust.

For most pet lovers, animals are part of the family. In fact, the Friedman family of Deerfield calls their ?high-maintenance? 12-year-old Portuguese water dog, Payton, their ?oldest child.?

The Friedmans? estate plan, handled by Lindsey Paige Markus of Chicago law firm Chuhak Tecson, calls for Payton to be adopted in the event of the premature deaths of dad, Brad, 38, an executive vice president for Chicago-based real estate development firm Urban R2, and mom, Jolie, 35, who works at Northbrook children?s clothing store Peek A Boutique.

While the couple?s two human children, boys ages 8 and 6, would be cared for by Brad?s brother and his wife, the Friedmans decided ?they are not suitable parents for a dog.?

Article source: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-0514-pet-trusts--20120514,0,3373309.story

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