Use Trusted Professionals for Your Pet Trust
I want to provide the necessary estate planning after I am gone, for my Cat, Casey. I recently saw that Legalzoom.com offers online pet trusts. Would one of these trusts be adequate to protect Casey?
Cyndi Bonita Springs, Florida
I certainly cannot speak to the quality of any Legalzoom.com document or its preparation or accuracy.
I have never used the service.
I did visit the site however and read an article by a Tiffany Knight.
Part of the article reads, “But one word of caution: laws concerning pet trusts differ from state to state. Specific legal language is required to establish an enforceable trust for a pet's care. The following 19 states have adopted specific language on animal trusts: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah and Washington.”
On the other hand, Professor Gerry Professor Beyer who is on the faculty of the Texas Tech University School of Law, as the Governor Preston E. Smith Regents Professor of Law, and one of the experts in estate planning for pet owners notes that some 43 states and the District of Columbia have some form of statutory pet trust.
I would personally put my faith and trust in the writings of Professor Beyer when considering the use of their service.
But, that is simply my opinion.
http://www.pettrustlawblog.com/admin/trackback/157804
