Page 196 - ShowSight - September 2019

Wills, Trusts and Dogs: Providing For Your Dogs ...
BY LISA M. CURRY, ESQ continued
“AND, TO PREVENT OTHERS FROM
USING YOUR KENNEL NAME AFTER
YOUR DEATH, YOU MAY WANT TO PREPAY THE RESERVA- TION OF YOUR KENNEL NAME WITH THE AKC.”
trust the court may or may not be able to enforce the arrangement as you intended it. Your trust should specify what to do with leftover money after your dogs die. If you want to give some compensation to the caretaker, give them a stipend—while the dogs are alive and well-cared for. One millionaire reportedly left instructions in the will that his relatives should care for his dogs using his funds, and when the dogs died, at that point—and not before—the relatives could have his remaining money. As soon as the millionaire passed, the rela- tives promptly had the dogs euthanized and
thus were able to collect the money.
In your trust, identify the dogs with specificity, listing all information you have about them including photos and unique identification (microchip, DNA). This pre- vents a caretaker from secretly purchasing look-alike replacement animals when yours
die, to keep their monthly stipend coming.
CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
This article barely scratches the sur- face of estate planning for pets. Given the myriad of issues and discrepancies in state laws, selecting a knowledgeable attorney to help you effectuate your estate planning wishes is critical. Put your best resources to work in providing for your dogs’ safety and comfort, after you’re not around to protect them.
BIO
Lisa Curry breeds and shows Wes- ties and Havanese, and practices dog law in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and has handled cases before the AKC, state courts and agencies and has served as an expert witness on AKC regulations in dog cases. She is a frequent guest speaker at dog clubs. She welcomes your questions, by phone at 201-400-7407 or email at LMCurry@gmail.com.
CO-OWNERS
If you co-own, coordinate with the other co-owners about your estate plan- ning for co-owner dogs and work with an attorney to ensure your arrangements will survive any challenge. Surviving co-owners are likely to challenge arrangements that do not recognize their ownership interest. Also review relevant AKC regulations to ensure you are in full compliance. By the same token, find out your co-owners’ estate plans, and ensure that they do not violate your own interests. It is easier and less cost- ly to address these issues before someone dies, than it is to challenge their will after their passing.
CAN I CREATE A TRUST TO CON- TINUE BREEDING UNDER MY KEN- NEL NAME AFTER I DIE?
Probably not directly. Public policy dis- favors trusts that go on forever. Those states that allow pet trusts generally allow them to last only as long as the pets are alive. (State laws differ as to whether your trust applies to all your animals alive at the time your trust takes effect, or only those you own when the trust is created.) However, you may be able to create a trust naming a
human beneficiary who will receive funds throughout his or her lifetime, as long as they breed your lines or use your kennel name. If your kennel is a separate legal enti- ty, such as a corporation or LLC, you will have additional avenues to provide for its continuance after your death. And, to pre- vent others from using your kennel name after your death, you may want to prepay the reservation of your kennel name with the AKC.
SELECTING TRUSTEES & CARETAKERS
Talk to the people that you intend to name as trustee and caretaker. Make sure they are willing to serve when the time comes, and name alternates for both roles. Whoever you pick now may be unwilling or unable to serve when needed. Consider family and friends, but also consider nam- ing an animal sanctuary which will either keep the pet, or select an appropriate adop- tive home.
If you make the trustee a different per- son/entity than the caretaker, hopefully, each will keep the other one in line. How- ever, as discussed above, in an honorary
194 • ShowSight Magazine, SepteMber 2019