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Subject: ARTICLE: Last will and testament can provide for pet

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/lifestyle/011203J12PETFEATURE.
html">Lifestyle News and Features: The Press of Atlantic City

January 12, 2003

Last will and testament can provide for pet

by ELAINE ROSE Staff Writer, 609-272-7215, erose@pressofac.com

I leave my stocks and bonds to be divided equally among my children.
My niece should have my pearl necklace and my nephew gets my late
husband's baseball card collection. My dog, Max, and my cat, Tiger,
go to ... ????

Whether you're young and in good health or getting on in years,
financial experts say you should have a will. Most people think about
their house, bank accounts, stocks and who will care for their minor
children. But if you have a beloved dog, cat, parrot or other animal,
think about arrangements for them in case you're the first one to die.

"Part of being a responsible pet owner is thinking about what if,"
said Barbara Williamson, spokeswoman for the Best Friends Animal
Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, which takes in abused and abandoned animals.

It is common for people to provide for pets in their wills, said
Lloyd P. Eisen, an estate attorney with an office in Atlantic City.
It is preferable to make an informal arrangement with a trusted
friend or family member to care for your pet in case you die, and
some clients leave money to the person for that purpose.

Last year, New Jersey became one of about a dozen states that allows
people to set up a trust to care for their pets, Eisen said. They can
set aside a certain amount of money to provide for the pet after
their death.

"It still doesn't find someone who's going to take care of the pet,"
Eisen said. "What good is leaving $5,000 in trust for the animal if
the animal doesn't have a nice place to be?"

People whose friends and relatives can't care for the animal
sometimes set up a trust with an animal welfare organization to care
for the pet, Eisen said.

The Associated Humane Society in Lacey Township has made such an
arrangement for a few animals, said manager Cathy Gray. The shelter
has special accommodations for animals in this category.

The arrangements must be made in advance, and included in the pet
owner's will, Gray said. The Humane Society estimates the annual
costs of caring for the pet and how much longer it is expected to
survive to come up with a figure. The home office in Newark comes up
with the exact amount, but count on setting aside several thousand
dollars, she said.

It is up to the individual whether they want the pet to be put up for
adoption or to live out its life at the shelter, Gray said.

The process is different at the Humane Society of Atlantic City, said
Ana Cilursu, volunteer coordinator and a member of the board of
directors. Several people have named the Humane Society as guardians
of their pets in their wills and set aside money for their care.

But the arrangement is treated a surrender, "with the understanding
that the shelter will make the decision in the best interests of the
animal," Cilursu said. That might mean putting the animal up for
adoption or euthanasia in case the animal is ill or aggressive.

"There is a grief process animals go through when they lose their
owners," and it is sometimes hard to place them in new homes, Cilursu
said. So like Eisen, Cilursu recommends animal lovers make advance
arrangements with a friend or relative, preferably someone your pet
already knows. You can set aside money in your will for your pet's
care.

Before making a will, calculate what it costs to care for the animal
in terms of food, veterinary care, medications, cat litter and other
things, and estimate how much longer your pet will live, Cilursu
said. You can then leave that money to your friend for care of the
animal. If you have to leave your pet to the Humane Society, plan on
setting aside a few hundred dollars for its care until it finds a new
home.

But animal lovers say a shelter is not the best place for your pet to
live out its days if you can no longer care for it.

"Even the best no-kill sanctuary is not a home," Williamson said.

To e-mail Elaine Rose at The Press:

ERose@pressofac.com

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