You are not likely to make plans for your pets after you have died. A lot of Malaysians perhaps never really thought about making prudent plans for their plans when they are no longer around to look after it. Here’s the common thought process: people often assume that they will outlive their own pets.
While they are not wrong, they often overlooked other factors and possibilities of outliving their pets. You may pass away suddenly from illness, diseases, and accidents. You have no control over the course of your future when it comes to illness and accidents. Hence, there are possibilities that you may not outlive your pets, however chances may be low.
If you want to plan for your pets’ future, you may consider these plans.
1. Get a secondary caregiver
In the event that you are no longer around to take care of your pet, find someone to whom you can entrust your pet. That someone can be a family member, a relative, or even a close friend. Get someone who doesn’t just like pets and is familiar with your furry friend, and find someone preferably your pet is familiar with.
These family members, relatives, or close friends can permanently adopt your pet in the long term until the end of their lifetime. Even when you are no longer around, your pet will have someone to take care of them properly.
At the same time, if you are away for long periods of time, your appointed pet caregiver can also take over and take care of your pet for you.
2. Choose a permanent home for your pets
Just in case if you don’t have family members or close friends looking after your pets after you’ve died, you may choose a permanent home elsewhere. Find a suitable pet home for your pets. You will have to see if your pet likes the place enough to want to “retire” there for the rest of its last days.
Ideally, it will be best to leave your favorite pet with someone you can really trust to take care of your pets. However, not everyone is ready to take care of pets as they may not want to commit. For that very same reason, you may want to find a permanent pet home to leave your pets after you have passed away.
3. Create pets in your will
You may list your pet as a beneficiary in your will. This is not a joke, it’s for real. You may list your furry friends in your will detailing what they will get and what will happen to them after you have passed away. Essentially it works as a regular will for your family members and friends, but just for your pets, that’s all.
You will not need to list temporary caregivers in your will. The temporary caregivers, however, will need to step in before anyone has executed the will. You will certainly need to list the permanent adopter of your pets in your will along with any additional provisions you have come up with,
After you have created a will and include your pets in it, assign an executor. Assign an executor who ensures that all your instructions are followed. They will need to act in your best interest and the interest of your pets. You may also set aside funds to take care of your pets.
If you cannot find a permanent caretaker for your pets, you may rehome them in animal homes. If you are doing this, you will need to set aside some funds from your estate to cover these costs. You may grant your executor the authority to make decisions for your pets too.
4. Create trust for your pets
Trusts function differently from a will. It can go into effect immediately and it provides care for your pet as soon as you cannot provide that care. It also applies when you have become too sick to care for your pets.
You may set aside money in your trust to care for your pets too. Like a regular trust, you can assign a specific trustee who takes control of the trust when you have passed away or have become too ill to take care of them.
The money set aside in your trust will only be assigned to be used on your pets, specifically just your pets. Those funds are spent only by the trustee with your permission and only for the care of your pets. If you are creating a trust for your pets, make sure that the trustee is either the permanent caregiver you have appointed or the emergency caregiver if you need to find a new home for your pet.
Bottom Line
Most Malaysians may not have thought of including their pets in their wills or trusts. They’d thought it is just for their relatives and family members. However, that is not the case. You may include your pets in your wills and trusts too in Malaysia. Just make sure you have everything in order before you passed away before your pets do.
If you need any help with will writing, feel free to contact us for further assistance. We are more than happy to help you with your pets and your wills and trusts
