Kelli E. Brown - Estate Planning When You Have Pets

ESTATE PLANNING WHEN YOU HAVE PETS

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Copyright 2020 Kelli E. Brown

Publisher:

October Day Publishing, LLC

Louisville, Kentucky 40241

Cover Design : Created from the original art of Maddie Hawkins

Designed by VIA Studios, Louisville, Kentucky

Edited by Anne Cole, New York

Editions ISBN

Soft Cover

PDF

Brown, Kelli

Estate Planning When You Have Pets

Includes bibliographical references, index and appendices

ISBN 13: 978-0-9983009-4-9

LCCN: 2019909101

October Day Publishing, LLC, Louisville, Kentucky

Bulk orders:

Quantity discounts are available on bulk purchases of this book for educational and training purposes. Discounts are also available to schools, organizations, libraries, community centers, corporations, and others. To learn more, contact us at or October Day Publishing, LLC, 9301 Dayflower Street, Prospect, KY 40059.

How to contact the author:

Kelli E. Brown is a practicing attorney in Kentucky. She focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning, probate, estate litigation, and estate administration. She is a frequent speaker on all aspects of estate planning and probate. To contact Ms. Brown for an interview, speaking engagement, or personal appearance, please visit her website, .

Readers of this book are encouraged to contact the author with constructive comments and ideas for future editions.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

Even though I practice law for a living, this book is not intended to provide you with legal advice; rather, it is informational in nature, written by an attorney who has been there and done that in the area of estate planning for many years. Your issues are specific to you, and for legal advice, you should retain your own attorney in the state in which you live and consult him or her about your situation.

If you have read the above, I am sure that you already know that I am not your attorney; however, my law firm and my malpractice carrier require me to tell you this again, here, in writing, in this book. So, consider that done. If you happen to live in Kentucky, please feel free to research me and other qualified attorneys who practice estate planning and probate in your area who may be able to assist you with your legal needs.

Its important to me that you understand that even though the laws of your state may or may not specifically provide for estate planning for your pet, there are still estate planning techniques that may be employed to benefit your pets, including the many options mentioned in this book.

Also, please know that this is not a book with do-it-yourself forms. Its not because I dont like you, I do (thanks for buying my book), its because I think that forms are for a one-size-fits-all situation, and in my opinion estate planning is not that.

Lastly, please understand that there is a whole big, wide world of federal and state tax issues that could apply upon your death, even if you leave assets to a pet. I do not address those tax issues in this book predominantly because if you are leaving assets to a pet, like me, I assume you do not care about the tax consequences of doing so. Yet, consulting a qualified estate planning attorney about your situation should mean that any and all tax consequences from your death would be addressed by that competent counsel. Therefore, I will leave the tax stuff to him or her and you and I can talk about the interesting stuff.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I greatly appreciate the many people who have positively influenced my life. There are many.

Thank you to the lawyers that trained me, Charles E. English and Wade T. Markham, II. Thank you to my clients. They make practicing law meaningful. It is my honor to be trusted to perform your work.

I could not practice law without the help of qualified assistants, paralegals, and attorneys. Over the years, I have been privileged to work with a spectacular group. Special thanks to Valerie Crowell for all that you do.

Thank you to my draft readers of this book, especially Ellen Brown-Geers and Deborah Campbell. Not only did you read my first draft, you made suggestions, helped me to focus on the important topics book, and were enthusiastic about my project. My most sincere thanks.

Any success in my life would not have come without the support and efforts of my family, including my parents, David and Linda Brown; the Worlds Best Husband, Walter; and especially the sunshine and happiness of my life, my children, Henry and Madeline, and Holly (fur child).

This book is dedicated to all the pets who have touched my life especiallyNicky, Sophie, Claire, Lieutenant, Frankie, Dickel, Dallas, George, Mozzie, Maebe, and my sweet Holly.

Holly

CONTENTS

W arning and Disclaimer

Acknowledgements

Introduction

PART ONE: PET ESTATE PLANNING - OH YES YOU CAN!

1 PROVIDING FOR YOUR PETS: AN OVERVIEW

2 WHEN YOU NEED A HAND: TAKING CARE OF YOUR FUR BABIES IN THE EVENT OF YOUR INCAPACITY

3 ESTATE PLANNING WHEN YOU HAVE PETS: THE BASICS

PART TWO: PET ESTATE PLANNING IN DEPTH

4 PET TRUSTS

5 IN TRIBUTE: PETS THAT PASSED AWAY BEFORE YOU

6 ESTATE PLANNING WHEN YOU HAVE AN EXOTIC ANIMAL

7 WHEN FAMILY MEMBERS ARE OPPOSED TO PET ESTATE PLANNING

PART THREE: FINALIZING YOUR ESTATE PLAN

8 NOT JUST ANYONE WILL DO: CHOOSING THE RIGHT ESTATE PLANNING ATTORNEY

9 PREPARATION AND ORGANIZATION

10 ESTATE PLANNING CHECKLISTS

Glossary

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

My husband and I decided early on that we had our hands full with our responsibilities to our human children and therefore a pet did not fit into our lives. We tried to make that as clear as we could to our children from the start. When our oldest child was twelve, he and his sister (then eight) prepared a PowerPoint presentation entitled Why We Need a Pet. They argued that a pet would teach responsibility (We will feed it!); it would provide exercise (We will walk it!); and, most persuasively, they would learn about loss, which would prepare them for the inevitable loss of a family member (Geez...).

My husband and I applauded the effort, but we were initially a firm no. However, the PowerPoint did make an impression on us, as it raised some interesting issues. It may not be enough for children to pet-sit for others, we thought, and to only enjoy the company of a neighbors pet. We pondered whether perhaps our children might actually need to experience the benefits and detriments of having a pet in our home.

Although allergies in the family ruled out most cats and dogs, we opened the door to the possibility of finding the right pet for us. There was a fish incident that we dont talk about (no, we did not know that tap water would be harmful) ... water friends were ruled out. We ultimately decided that perhaps a dog might work for us, and we gave it some real thought.

One day in December 2016, almost Christmas, my daughter and I had a chance encounter with a stranger carrying an adorable puppy. Since my daughter threw herself at the pup, I had time to engage in small talk with this very patient and kind fur mom. The woman shared that her pup did not shed, would not grow very big, and was easy to potty train. Music to my ears. We looked online, we called, we researched, and almost a year later, Holly, a nine-week old mini-poodle ball of fur came to be part of our family.