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.