The Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan
by Laura Breen Galante
What will happen to your pets if you pass away unexpectedly? You probably haven’t considered this question, but attorney Peggy Hoyt has.
A founding partner at the Law Offices of Hoyt & Bryan in Oviedo and an expert in estate planning for pets, Peggy has plans in place should she precede her own pets, and she thinks you should, too.
“Your pets are like your kids, but your pets will never grow up like your children would,” she says. “So if something were to happen to you, it’s important to have a plan for what will happen to them.”
Nearly 70 percent of Americans don’t have an established estate plan for themselves – and even fewer have a plan for their pets.
Peggy says a pet trust is a critical tool in this type of estate planning.
“You cannot leave money directly to a pet,” she explains, “but you can leave money to a trust for their benefit.”
All 50 states and the District of Columbia have statutes that allow for the creation of a trust for the benefit of a pet. In the trust, the pet is the actual beneficiary, but a named pet caregiver and a trustee handle care and manage funds for the pet. Any money spent – whether for food, medical care, recreation, or boarding – comes from the trust.
Peggy is the Founder and CEO of Animal Care Trust USA, a nonprofit organization that offers services at a reduced rate to help pet parents keep loved pets in loving homes.
“The Animal Care Trust is a way for me to serve a broader community of people by offering some low-cost trust solutions,” she explains. “We know statistically that about half-a-million loved pets are euthanized annually because their pet parents didn’t have a plan.”
Peggy also recommends people plan for their pets in the event of their disability. And for those who live alone, she suggests keeping a card in your wallet noting that you have pets at home and a sticker on your residence in case emergency services are called.
If you want to know more, search for Peggy’s weekly podcast, which she affectionately calls a pawcast, called All My Children Wear Fur Coats or visit HoytBryan.com.