eco dogs: Don't leave pets out of estate plans

In the rush to button down an estate plan, people often spend most of their time focusing on the big questions and overlook small?but increasingly crucial?details.

Even the simple question of who your heirs will be is getting more complicated. Nowadays more people are considering pets and even children posthumously conceived from genetic material in their estate-planning mix, say financial advisers. That often means setting up trusts that just a few years ago would have been unthinkable.

"You can't forget about the softer side of planning," says Shari Levitan, head of private wealth services at Boston-based Holland & Knight. "Pets are very real members of the family that need to be addressed."

There are 86.4 million cats and 78.2 million dogs owned in the U.S., according to the American Pet Products Association. Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of the Humane Society of the U.S., estimates that about 400,000 pets a year need to find new homes because their owners die.

To ensure your pet receives proper care after you are gone, estate planners recommend setting up a formal trust.

Until recently most people set up simple honorary trusts that left lump sums to friends or family members to care for their pets. But such agreements rely on people's willingness to honor your wishes and spend the money on the pets?a leap of faith that some pet owners aren't willing to take.?

?For the full report, see The Wall Street Journal>

Source: http://www.ecodogsblog.com/2011/07/dont-leave-pets-out-of-estate-plans.html

modern family jesus cop cop plenty plenty jim parsons