Making Provision for Pets in a Will

Mo60

I was in with our solicitor today discussing the writing of a will when the mention of dependents came up. The only dependents that came to my mind was my animals.

Has anyone made provision in their will for their pets? If so, in what way have you provided for them.

I know its a bit of a morbid subject, but I would like to know what would be the best thing to do for my animals.

anniehoo

It's a fairly common request for pet owners to put pet care in their will believe it or not. There's already one very well known organisation that promotes this on their website. Googling "canine care card holder" should lead you in the right direction without mentioning specific places.

The issue with legal Wills and pets, is to update it regularly. Most people do it once, on a whim (generally when kids come into the picture) and forget about it until literally decades later, when it really matters unfortunately.In the fallout over family wealth, a pet will often come next to last on many peoples list. It's nothing unusual for a solicitor to see this request, the problem lies in how often it's updated and unfortunately with pets this has to be at least every 2-5years if you want to secure your pets future.

artyeva

well, maybe this isn't that relevant to your question, but... when my grandmother passed away she specified in her will who she wanted to look after her dog. the dog was well used to the person and she was sure she'd be given a good, loving hime there. she also left a specific amount of money to cover the pet insurance and vets bills for the rest of it's life so her new owner didn't have to worry about finding the extra money.

TooManyDogs

It's a very relevant thing to be thinking about, you wouldn't believe the number of phone calls/emails and dogs surrendered to the rescue I volunteer for because the owner died and never thought about what would happen to their pet. Mostly there are no family members willing to take on the animals so if a rescue space can't be found they end up getting put down

paultf

I only made my Will a few months ago. I have 3 dogs so I wanted to make sure they were looked after. I live on my own so I felt it was important to make sure there was a plan in place. (In general I was advised to make a Will early. Some people might say they are too young but if there is no Will in place it can be difficult to sort your affairs out, especially your dogs.)

What I stated in my Will was:-

Option 1: Is there anybody in my immediate family who could adopt my dogs?

Option 2: If my immediate family couldn't help then I wanted them to try to rehome them locally in good homes with either members of the extended family or friends.

Option 3: If none of the above works then I have been in touch with the organisation anniehoo mentioned above. In my Will I will donate some money if it goes that route.

Mo60

I am in the process of looking into what Anniehoo suggested regarding my dogs. Many thanks.

I also have cats plus my OH has 2 Shetland ponies, so does anyone know if there is a similar thing for these animals.