Estate Planning For Your Pet

 Posted on March 11, 2025 in Estate Planning

The bond between humans and pets is strong. So strong is this bond, in fact, that our pets often feel like members of the family. We want to protect them even after our passing, as we do during life. While the law treats animals as property, which means that they do not have the right to inherit assets or own property, there are ways to put in place protections in an estate plan to ensure that our four-legged friends are looked after even after our passing. An experienced Fort Worth, TX estate planning attorney can help you formulate strategies to protect your pets in your estate plan. 

How Can You Protect Your Pet After Death?

Last Will and Testament

It is possible to name a beneficiary in your will to inherit your pet. You may also leave a beneficiary funds to take care of that pet. Although bequeathing your pet and the money for the beneficiary to take care of the pet is preferable to doing nothing, using a will to protect your pet has some downsides. High on the list of downsides is the inability to ensure that the funds actually go towards care of the pet, and the fact that the will has to go through a lengthy and sometimes expensive legal process called probate. 

Statutory Pet Trust

Texas law specifically provides for the creation of a pet trust. Once you create a pet trust, you fund the trust with the amount you have determined is necessary to care for your pet until its death. You then designate a trustee to oversee the administration of the trust, and a caretaker responsible for caring for your pet. The caretaker will receive funds from the trust to care for the pet. The pet trust will remain in effect until the pet dies. 

Power of Attorney 

A power of attorney helps make sure that your pet is cared for if you are incapacitated. When you create a power of attorney you choose an agent to take care of your pet should you be unable to do so. The power of attorney gives the agent access to your funds for use specifically to take care of your pet. 

Call a Fort Worth, TX Estate Planning Attorneys

Animals are part of our family too, and just as we wish to protect them in life, we want to ensure they are looked after following our death. If you have a cherished family pet and want to make sure they are protected by your estate plan, call the experienced Fort Worth, TX estate planning attorneys. At Gonzalez Law, PLLC we will work with you to formulate an estate plan that considers that which is most important to you and best protects your family — including family pets. Call our offices at 817-349-7330 for a complimentary consultation.