Minnesota Estate Planning and Probate Lawyer Discusses the New Pet Trust Law Recently Enacted
Minnesota just became the final state to allow people to set up a pet trust for the care of their animals in the event of their death or incapacity. Previously, people could leave money in their wills for the care of pets, but there was no mechanism to enforce this.
When meeting with my Minnesota estate planning clients, I would have to inform them that, while they could leave $10,000 to their sister to care for their beloved Labradoodle, nothing was in place to prevent the sister from cashing the $10,000 check on the way to the pound to drop off the dog.
That has now changed. Animal trusts provide the much-needed mechanism legally requiring any money in the trust to be spent on the animals for which it was created. Trusts may take effect if the owner dies or if still alive but incapacitated, and they can be set up for a single animal or a group.
The money remains earmarked for the animals’ care (and only the animals’ care) until the last one named in the trust dies. After that, any remaining funds in the trust will be distributed among other heirs or as directed by the trust’s terms or by the court.
This is fantastic news for my animal-loving clients!
Minnesota Estate Planning Lawyer
If you have a concern over the care of your animal in the event of your death or incapacity, call Unique Estate Law now at (952) 955-7623 to discuss your options.