Estate planning is about protecting what’s important to you. Although much of the traditional estate planning conversation focus on surviving spouses, children, grandchildren, many pet parents wonder about what could happen to their “furry children” after their death or if they become incapacitated and unable to care for the pets. Read on if you’ve ever thought, “What will happen to my cat, dog, or other pet if I pass away?” “What if I’m incapacitated and unable to care for them?”
Not long ago, pet trusts were thought of as little more than eccentric things that famous people did for their pets when they had too much money. These days, pet trusts are considered mainstream. For example: in May 2016, Minnesota became the 50th (and final) state to recognize pet trusts. But not every pet trust is enacted exactly according to the owner’s wishes. Let’s look at 3 famous pet trust cases and consider the lessons we can take away from them so your furry family member can be protected through your plan.
A pet trust is an excellent way to make sure your beloved pet will receive proper care after you pass on. The problem, of course, is that you won’t actually be there to see that your wishes are carried out. It’s critical to set up a pet trust correctly to ensure there are no loopholes or unforeseen situations that could make your plans go awry. Here are 5 tragic mistakes people often make when leaving their assets to their pets.
As the coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life and leave Americans uncertain of the future, you don’t have to feel helpless during this pandemic. In fact, now is a great time to be proactive and plan ahead should you or a loved one fall ill. One of the most important and relatively easy things you can do (and should do) is to select a medical agent and set up your advance healthcare directive.
Covid-19 has brought the value of estate planning to the forefront for many people. Estate planning is not just about who gets your stuff after you pass; it’s about planning for disability too. Please contact me to update or create your estate plan.
During this time, I am offering video and telephonic meetings, as well as limited in-person meetings when legally required. In-person meetings will follow the guidelines from the CDC for physical distancing.
I can be reached at anna@vanpeltlegal.com.
Your estate plan, like your home, periodically needs a thorough polishing. Your life circumstances are constantly changing, and an estate plan that perfectly met your needs a couple of years ago may now be cluttered with outdated provisions or documents. With spring fast approaching, now is the time to dust off your estate plan to ensure that it will still achieve your goals, as well as to avoid unintended consequences that may arise as a result of divorces, deaths, births, or other changes that have occurred since the last time your plan was reviewed.
An obituary can be much more than just a dry announcement of the time and location of your funeral or memorial service. It can be a way to share your life story, communicating information about significant events and people, as well as important values you would like to impart to others. You do not need to leave this task for grieving family members to do after you pass away: Instead, writing your own obituary can be an important part of your estate planning that you can do today.
Hi Anna. Everything happening right now really has me thinking I need to get a simple will done right away, just in case. What do I really need? Can you help me with this?
Hi friends! I’ve received many similar emails, texts, and DMs lately, so don’t feel like you are alone if the events of the past few days have you thinking about your own will and plans for your kids, should the unthinkable happen to you. There are three things I want you to know right now…
Genealogy has long fascinated many people, and it continues to be studied by those who are interested in discovering who they descended from and what those family members were like. Many of us have gazed at black and white or sepia-tone photos of ancestors whose names we don’t know and wondered about their lives, joys, trials, and accomplishments. Fortunately, today, there are many resources making it much easier to discover information about prior generations of our families.
Many people own property in more than one state—perhaps a vacation home in Oregon, a rental property in a former home state, or even a car titled in another state. It is important to think about how that property will be handled as you create an estate plan. It may be necessary for there to be an additional probate proceeding called ancillary probate. Through proper estate planning, however, this result can be made less burdensome or even avoided.
