Want to include your pets in your Florida estate? § 736.0408 – The Florida Pet Trust
It’s fairly easy to leave your pets to someone in your will and estate adminstration in Florida because Florida estate planning law considers pets to be property. So you can pass down your Great Dane to your family in West Palm Beach, or friends in Delray Beach, just as easily as you could with other assets. What is a little more complicated is gifting your estate to your pets in Florida.
Although your pets can’t actually own property, under Section 736.0408 of the Florida Trust Code, you can set up a Florida Pet Trust to use those assets for the benefit of your pets.
Section 736.0408, “Trust for the Care of an Animal”, provides:
- A trust may be created to provide for the care of an animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime. The trust terminates on the death of the animal or, if the trust was created to provide for the care of more than one animal alive during the settlor’s lifetime, on the death of the last surviving animal.
- A trust authorized by this section may be enforced by a person appointed in the terms of the trust or, if no person is appointed, by a person appointed by the court. A person having an interest in the welfare of the animal may request the court to appoint a person to enforce the trust or to remove a person appointed.
- Property of a trust authorized by this section may be applied only to the intended use of the property, except to the extent the court determines that the value of the trust property exceeds the amount required for the intended use. Except as otherwise provided in the terms of the trust, property not required for the intended use must be distributed to the settlor, if then living, otherwise as part of the settlor’s estate.
By taking the time to have a Florida Pet Trust prepared, you will have peace of mind knowing your dog, cat, bird, turtle, or any other pet will be fully cared for the way you love and care for them now (provided of course that your pet is legal in Florida…).
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