Have you ever considered what would happen to your beloved pet if something happened to you? We all hope that a family member or friend would care for our faithful companion, but how can you be sure? According to Professor Gerry Beyer, Professor of Law at Texas Tech University School of Law, writing in the March 1, 2010, Texas Lawyer, there are four steps that help ensure that your pet will receive proper care immediately when you cannot provide it:

1) Carry a card in your wallet telling emergency personnel that your pet is relying on you for care and the person to notify if you are incapacitated;

2) Keep a document with detailed information about the pet and its care in an obvious location, such as near the pet’s food;

3) Place signs at each entrance to your home indicating that pets are inside so they do not escape or hide when emergency personnel enter your home;

4) Include instructions in a durable power of attorney that authorizes the agent to spend your funds for care of the animals (failure to do so could result in a court deeming that such expenditures are a breach of fiduciary duty).

To plan for the pet’s long-term care (after your death), consider a trust in favor of a human beneficiary that requires the trustee to make distributions to the beneficiary to cover expenses for the pet so long as the beneficiary takes proper care of the pet. The Texas Trust Code actually authorizes statutory pet trusts. Long-term pet care may also be achieved by endowing a fund at a life-care center, such as the Stevenson Companion Animal Life-Care Center at Texas A&M University.

Additional information can be found in the March 1, 2010, edition of the Texas Lawyer (“Clients’ Pets Deserve Care when Owners Die”) or at Professor Beyer’s website at www.professorbeyer.com/Articles/Animals.htm.

*Not intended as legal advice.  If legal advice is required, please seek the service of a competent professional.