Making Provisions for Your Pets in a Will

We are a nation of animal lovers, with over 50% of UK adults owning pets as part of their household and family. However, many people do not realise that “pets have no legal personality”, which means that you cannot leave money to your pets under the terms of your Will. Instead, you can gift your pet, just like you can gift your jewellery, your car or your food processor!

Unlike other assets, you will most likely wish to make sure that your much-loved pet is taken care of for the rest of their natural lifetime.

To make provision for your pet or pets, you will need to give some thought to the following:

1. Who do you wish to give your pet to?

Who do you want to take on the responsibility of looking after your pet when you have gone? Is there a family member or close friend? Gifts can be disclaimed by beneficiaries, so please have a conversation with your selected recipient first! A substitute is also a good idea in case your first choice is unable to take on your pet if the time arises.

There are also specific charities that can be nominated to take on the care of your pet and they will endeavour to re-home your pet.

You could also leave the decision to the discretion of your Executors with a letter of wishes setting out to them the kind of home you would want your pet to be re-homed into. This option offers a bit more flexibility, provided your Executors are aware of any updated wishes.

2. We all know that owning a pet is expensive. In view of this, if we are expecting someone to take on the role of looking after your pet, we need to consider making some financial provision for our pet so they can continue to be cared for.

As an animal is not a legal person, money cannot be left to your pet directly. The most straightforward option is to leave a specific sum of money to the beneficiary who you are giving your pet, with the wish that they use this money for the benefit of your pet.

This may not give you total peace of mind, as you are trusting that beneficiary to spend the money on your pet; however, there is no way to police this or to stop the money being used for other purposes as a beneficiary can use an absolute gift of money as they chose.

An alternative is to set up a discretionary trust so that the beneficiary taking on the responsibility of your pet could be transferred funds at regular intervals to fund the ongoing care. Greater checks can be made to monitor the spending of the money and the care being received by your pet. Funds could be held back if your pet was not being cared for.

3. Are you likely to replace pets over time or acquire additional pets?

It is a good idea when you make your Will including provision for pets, to make reference to all pets owned by you at the time of your death.

 Please contact the Wills & Estates team should you wish to discuss this further.