Maryland Passes Statutory Pet Trust
In February, I wrote that A. Wade Kach, a Baltimore County Republican, had introduced legislation that would provide for pet trusts in Maryland.
A previous bill that was introduced in the Maryland Senate in January of 2006 (Senate Bill 235) failed to pass.
Well this time the legislature got it right.
The newly passed law goes into effect on October 1, 2009 and reads as follows:
(A) A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the lifetime of the settlor.
(B) A trust authorized by this section terminates:
(1) if created to provide for the care of one animal alive during the lifetime of the settlor, on the death of the animal; or
(2) if created to provide for the care of more than one animal alive during the lifetime of the settlor, on the death of the last surviving animal.
(C) (1) A trust authorized by this section may be enforced by a person appointed under the terms of the trust or, if no person is appointed, by a person appointed by the court.
(2) a person having an interest in the welfare of an animal the care for which a trust is established may request the court to appoint a person to enforce the trust or to remove a person appointed.
(D) (1) Except to the extent that the court may determine that the value of a trust authorized by this section exceeds the amount required for the use intended by the trust, the property of the trust may be applied only to the intended use of the trust.
(2) Except as otherwise provided under the terms of the trust, property not required for the intended use of the trust shall be distributed:
(i) to the settlor, if living; or
(ii) if the settlor is deceased, to the successors in interest of the settlor.
Note: The Rule Against Perpetuities does not apply to pet trusts under Est. & Trusts § 11-102 (b) (12).
Animal owners in Maryland, you can now join 39 other states that have passed statutory pet trusts.
I hope that the other will continue to follow suit.
http://www.pettrustlawblog.com/admin/trackback/125834
