Hounded, Cowed, & Badgered

Pet trust tips

The Baltimore Sun has an interesting article by Eileen Ambrose on companion animals and estate planning. The impetus is a bill being considered in Maryland to permit trusts for animals (a little background here). One thing that the article discusses is legal ways to take care of animals in states without pet trust statutes, such as a power of attorney. Past the jump, a practitioner from Kansas gives advice on drafting trust instruments. Much of the advice seems applicable to all testamentary dispositions--knowing what your assets are, providing alternatives in case someone dies--but some, like microchipping the animal, are pretty unique. You also get a sense of the economics of such trusts, with universities charging at least $25K to take care of  a companion animal (as opposed to testing on it). Woe for the animal from the low income family.

Trust bills move in SD, MD

A bill (pdf) has passed the Maryland Senate allowing people to create trusts for animals, also known as pet trusts. The text follows, with slight variation, Uniform Trust Code 408 (scroll down). The language in UTC 408 has advantages over other approaches because it allows trusts to last as long as an animal lives and gives enforcement to anyone with an interest in the welfare of the animal.

Meanwhile, the other news (i.e., not this news) from South Dakota is that Governor Mike Rounds has signed into law an animal trust law. It's less robust than the Maryland one, but no doubt welcome for South Dakotans of means who keep companion animals.

Update (4/23/06): The Maryland bill has died in House committee. In reviewing the legislation this session, one GOP hack listed SB 235 as the "silliest" bill of the year. The animal law section of the state bar association has a measured, smart response which outlines the problems that pet trusts are designed to solve. Maybe next session!

Pet trusts in SD?

A bill in the South Dakota House authorizing trusts for companion animals has passed the Judiciary Committee and is going to the floor for a vote, says the AP.  The bill appears to follow closely Uniform Probate Code sec. 2-907, which has been the template for such laws in other states.  See Prof. Gerry Beyer's list of pet trust statutes for more information.  The provision limits the length of a trust to 21 years, which may be a problem for people with companion birds. (That 21 year number has to do with the vexing and ancient Rule Against Perpetuities.)  The bill would, however, prevent most animals from, as the bill's sponsor says, being "turn[ed] into llama burgers" after a human companion's death.