Last Will

November 7, 2012

New York Probate Can Be Simple or Complex

The New York Probate of a Last Will can be relatively smooth depending upon many factors. Of course, everyone has heard stories of feuds over a decedent’s estate and Will Contests that are both lengthy and costly. However, for the most part, the probating of a Will is not controversial.

Essentially, the probate process is the validating of the Will by the Court so that the terms of a Will regarding the disposition of the estate are authorized by the Surrogate’s Court. The Executors or Trustees who may be named in the Will are issued Letters Testamentary or Letters of Trusteeship by the Court. These fiduciaries are then empowered to handle estate or trust affairs.

The Probate Proceeding requires the filing of a petition with the Court along with other papers such as affidavits from attesting witnesses and possibly Waives and Consents from other interested parties. Sometimes, the Court must issue a Citation to be served on interested parties who do not voluntarily consent to the probate of the Will. The Surrogate’s Court Citation is like a Summons and provides a Court date for the parties to appear in Court and advise the Court as to their intentions. The Citation is served on the parties either personally or sometimes by mail.

The New York Probate Lawyer Blog has provided many posts regarding various aspects of probate. The preparation of a clear and complete estate plan which includes a Last Will is the first and, maybe, the most important step in facilitating an easy probate proceeding. Problems often arise when a decedent’s Will has provisions that are unclear or ambiguous. The execution of a number of different Wills over a short period of time where beneficiary shares are drastically changed also leads to post-death disputes and Will Objections based upon lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence.

Of course, there is no guaranteed method of leaving a Last Will and avoiding a potential Will Contest or Estate Litigation. There are, however, some strategies that can lessen the likelihood of fighting. Many Wills contain an In Terrorem Clause or no-contest clause that provides that anyone who attempts to challenge the validity of the Will is to forfeit their inheritance if they are unsuccessful. Also, the creation of a Living Trust can avoid the probate process entirely although these trusts are subject to Court challenge.

The Estates, Powers and Trusts Law and Surrogate’s Court Procedure Act provide many provisions regarding the creation, execution and interpretation of Wills and the procedures to probate and challenge a testamentary document such as a Will.

Experienced New York Estate Lawyers are familiar with the laws regarding estate administration. It is essential that persons who are nominated as Executors in a Will or beneficiaries or other interested persons obtain advice as to the steps to follow in a probate matter and the likelihood that they may or may not be successful regarding their desired outcome.

October 10, 2012

New York Estate Planning Can Include Pre-Nuptial Agreements and Testamentary Trusts

by Jules M. Haas

There have been numerous posts in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog discussing many aspects of the importance of good estate planning. First and foremost, preparing and signing a Last Will allows a person to provide specific direction as to the disposition of property upon death. Absent the execution of a valid Will, a person is deemed to have died intestate and all estate property that does not pass by operation of law (i.e. joint assets) is distributed to the decedent’s next of kin in accordance with State laws. Thus, long lost relatives with whom the decedent had little or no lifetime contact may become estate beneficiaries. For example, the Las Vegas Sun recently reported in a story by Cy Ryan on September 16, 2012 about a recluse who died leaving $7 million dollars worth of gold bars and coins stored in boxes in his house. It now appears that since the decedent did not have a Will, a first cousin who had not even talked to the decedent for a year, may inherit the estate.

Not only does preparing a Will allow a person to specifically name beneficiaries, a complete estate plan that includes a pre-nuptial agreement and a trust can fine tune the manner by which the decedent’s property is disposed of. A good example of such planning was seen recently with the death of actor, Dennis Hopper. As reported at TMZ.com on September 17, 2012, Mr. Hopper had entered into a pre-nuptial agreement that prevented his estranged wife from receiving any benefits under his Will. As discussed in my prior Blog posts, ordinarily in New York a spouse cannot be disinherited and New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law section 5-1.1-A provides that a spouse can elect to receive a share of an estate. However, a valid pre-nuptial agreement can provide that a spouse waives the right to receive the statutory share and instead elect to receive only the amounts provided for in the agreement.

The TMZ article also reports that Mr. Hopper left his 9 year old daughter $2.25 million in a trust and that his wife had no control over the trust. It is very common for parents to leave their minor children assets in a testamentary trust, which is a trust created inside of their Will. The trustees that are also named in the Will can be anyone the testator selects, whether a relative, a friend or even a bank or trust company. The trustee does not need to be the child’s other parent. The surviving parent or legal guardian of the child has no authority to control the named trustee.

New York Estate Planning attorneys work closely with their clients to understand their needs and intentions and to develop an estate plan that can reflect their wishes. Mr. Hopper’s advisors apparently were successful in creating a plan whereby his estranged wife was excluded from obtaining or controlling any part of his estate or the manner in which it would be administered for the benefit of his young daughter.

September 27, 2012

New York Distributees Must Be Determined For Estate Settlement

by Jules M. Haas

Proceedings in the New York Surrogate’s Court, like most Court matters, require that all of the interested parties be given proper notice of the Court action.

In addition to the fundamental fairness that results from proper notice, the Court’s ultimate rulings and Orders generally can have no effect over persons who were not made parties to the proceeding.

The Surrogate’s Court can hear many different types of cases. The most common of these matters is the Probate of a Will or the Intestate Administration of a decedent’s estate. In Probate and Administration proceedings it is mandated that the Court be advised as to identity and location of the decedent’s distributees or next of kin. This information is provided to the Court in the Probate Petition or Petition for Letters of Administration. In most instances distributees are easy to determine since the decedent is survived by a spouse and/or children. However, there are many situations where the closest living relative may be a distant cousin and members of this class of relatives may have had no contact with the decedent for years or decades.

Additionally, locating cousins requires finding relatives that are descendents of the decedent’s grandparents on both the maternal and paternal sides of the family. It is common that when distributees are distant cousins the estate will have to be administered by a public official called a Public Administrator. When the Public Administrator completes the estate administration or estate settlement, an Accounting Proceeding is filed with the Court. It is at this point that the persons claiming to be distributees, such as the cousins, must prove their status in a Kinship Hearing.

When a client confers with me about an estate plan or preparing a Last Will, one of the important items of information I ask for is a family tree or kinship data. Based upon the information provided, a person’s estate plan can be structured by the use of a Living Trust or other plan to avoid post-death complications where kinship data is missing or hard to obtain. It is always a benefit to confer with a qualified New York Estate and Trust lawyer to discuss issues regarding beneficiary designations and planning strategies.

The final estate administration and intentions of a person can be disrupted where Court proceedings are complicated or delayed because all of the parties that need to be notified cannot be determined or located.

Determining the identity of a person’s next of kin can sometimes even involve the use of genetic or DNA testing. A recent article in Arts Beat on September 25, 2012 by Dave Itzkoff reported that a judge had recently ordered DNA testing for a man who claimed to be the brother of Sherman Hemsley, who had starred in the “Jefferson’s” television sitcom.

DNA testing is also authorized under Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 4-1.2 where a person claims to be the heir of a father who was not married to his mother. Needless to say, the determination of a person’s next of kin and the protection of the rights of estate beneficiaries can be very complex and consultation with experienced estate attorneys and even a genealogist is highly recommended.

August 29, 2012

Estate Administration In New York Can Be Complicated By Disputes Over Asset Ownership

by Jules M. Haas

The fundamental goal of an Executor or Guardian administering the estate of a decedent or Guardianship funds is to collect and protect assets and distribute them on behalf of the appropriate beneficiary. The determination of the identity and value of assets is often very complicated. To begin with, assets may be unknown to the Executor, Administrator or Guardian and they must search through financial records such as tax returns and bank statements to discover necessary information. It is not usual for a fiduciary to discover an asset by finding a bank or brokerage statement that is delivered in the mail.

Not only is discovering assets a challenge during estate settlement, the ownership of the asset may be in dispute. For example, a decedent or an incapacitated person may be the owner of a small business with business partners. If the business records were not properly maintained a dispute may arise as to the percentage or share of the business that was owned by the decedent or incapacitated person. Disputes concerning the ownership of assets can have significant ramifications. First and foremost such ownership will directly affect the amounts that can be distributed to the beneficiary of the estate or Guardianship.

Also, whether an estate has a certain value will impact upon whether estate tax returns must be filed and the amount of estate taxes that must be paid. At present, a New York Estate Tax Return must filed if the value of an estate exceeds $1,000,000. The Federal Estate Tax filing requirement is $5,000,000. Additional estate tax issues such as a marital deduction may be impacted by the nature and extent of assets.

Queens Estate Lawyers, as well as estate lawyers throughout New York, work closely with their clients who are fiduciaries to ascertain and collect assets of an estate. The same holds true for New York Guardianship lawyers.

Estate litigation that generally occurs in the Surrogate’s Court may involve many issues regarding property and assets. A recent post in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog on August 24, 2012 discussed a case where the Last Will of Adam Yauch, a founding member of the Beastie Boys, faced probate and interpretation issues due to a handwritten addition to the Will.

Another recent case involving estate assets involves a dispute regarding rights claimed by heirs of one of the co-creators of the Superman character. As reported by Ted Johnson in Variety.com on August 14, 2012, “Ruling Near in Superman Rights Battle”, the dispute between a nephew of the co-creator, who is also the estate executor and Warner Bros. is to be decided by a U.S. District Court Judge. While the controversy concerns the interpretation of a prior settlement agreement and copyright law, the outcome will have a tremendous impact due to the apparent value of the Superman promotional rights.

The best course is for individuals to ascertain all of the assets that may be part of their estate and to clarify and resolve all issues regarding ownership rights as part of their Estate Planning. As can be seen from the recent situations discussed above, this is not always accomplished so as to avoid estate contests and controversy.

August 22, 2012

Late Beastie Boy’s Will Offers Estate Planning Lessons for New York Public Figures

by Jules M. Haas

On May 4, 2012, Adam Yauch lost his battle with cancer at the young age of forty-seven. Sadly, this type of thing is not uncommon in New York, where cancer claims many lives each year. What makes this case more notable than most in an estate planning context is that Adam Yauch lived an alter ego for most of his life, where he was better known as “MCA,” a founding member of the Beastie Boys. The hip-hop trio sold millions of records over the years and amassed a small fortune from record royalties, tour proceeds, and other sources.

Adam Yauch had the foresight to consult an estate planning attorney about drafting a Will. Yauch named his wife, Dechen, as Executor, and the Will was filed in the Manhattan Surrogate’s Court earlier this month. The Will contained many standard provisions about how to distribute Yauch’s assets.

As reported by Deborah L. Jacobs in Forbes.com on August 13, 2012, Part of Beastie Boy Adam Yauch’s Will, Banning Use of Music in Ads, May Not Be Valid, Yauch’s Will differs from most ordinary Wills since it directed that his image or name could not be used for advertisements. Yauch added language by hand to the Will after it was signed to provide: “in no event may my image or name or any music or artistic property created by me be used for advertising purposes.” Celebrities and other public figures may want to prevent others from capitalizing on their fame after they die. Advertising professionals recognize that a public figure’s death often creates a resurgence in public interest surrounding the individual. A recent example is Michael Jackson’s estate which has made millions of dollars by promoting his image and music after his death. However, there are instances where fame can be exploited to the extreme. All else being equal, Yauch’s inclusion of the above provision appears intended to prevent any such behavior.

The problem with the particular provision in Yauch’s Will is that it is handwritten. New York frowns upon handwritten Will provisions because of the view that a handwritten Will provision is more likely to be forged, altered, or otherwise fraudulent. Yauch’s Will is made even more problematic by the fact that the majority of the document is properly typewritten and executed, while the above posthumous advertising provision was added in pen after the execution of the rest of the document. The validity of the handwritten provision may result in Estate Litigation that may prolong the probate of the Will. The estate law in New York provides that handwritten additions to a Will after it has been signed are invalid. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law Section 3-2.1 entitled “Execution and attestation of wills; formal requirements: “provides in paragraph (a)(1)(B) that “No effect shall be given to any matter, other than the attestation clause, which follows the signature of the testator, or to any matter preceeding such signature which was added subsequently to the execution of the will.”

Additionally, as pointed out in the Forbes article, the additional handwritten language created confusion in interpreting the extent of the restriction on advertising. In many cases where Will provisions are Contested, a proceeding for construction or interpretation of Will language is required. New York Estate and Trust attorneys are familiar with these proceedings but they may require extensive Court process.

The lesson to take away from the Yauch case is that New York and its boroughs are home to countless celebrities and other public figures, perhaps second only to Hollywood. As such, estate planning attorneys in New York’s boroughs are more accustomed than most to drafting special Will provisions designed to protect a person’s likeness, ideas, or other artistic property. The same attorneys know that the needs of their public figure clientele are constantly changing and intensely private, requiring the highest degree of confidentiality and legal skill.

Had Adam Yauch thought to investigate the integrity of his Will before his death, his Manhattan estate attorney may have discovered the dangers of including handwritten provisions and explained to Yauch that these provisions might end up having effects that he did not intend. If you are a public figure or celebrity who intends to have a Will executed in New York, or even if you are as far from the spotlight as possible, it is always a good idea to make sure your estate planning papers clearly reflect your intentions.

August 3, 2012

New York Estate Planning May Involve Leaving a Relative Out of the Will

by Jules M. Haas

Clients sometimes consult a New York estate planning lawyer in order to investigate the possibility of “writing someone out” of a Will. In the eyes of the law, this process is called ‘disinheriting’ the person. Disinheriting essentially removes any rights or entitlements that a person may expect to receive upon the death of the testator. It is a right possessed exclusively by the testator and one that ordinarily may not be challenged. Sometimes challenges do occur in the form of a Will Contest or Contested Will where a distributee (i.e., next of kin) or other interested party may contend that the Will is invalid. As previously discussed in the New York Probate Lawyer Blog a Will may be contested on various grounds such as Undue Influence, Lack of Testamentary Capacity or Improper Execution.

The person drafting a Will may arrive at the decision to disinherit a relative or other interested person for any number of reasons. Some of the most common reasons to disinherit a person are: (1) the testator no longer maintains a relationship with the person; (2) the testator does not condone the life choices the person has made or is making; (3) the testator feels that the person has sufficient financial resources such that a testamentary gift would be inappropriate; or (4) the testator would rather bequeath the assets to another person to whom they had a closer relationship, or from whom the testator had received the bulk of his or her end-of-life care.

Whatever the reason, the decision to write someone out of a Will should not come lightly. Disinheriting a person often causes tremendous emotional and financial consequences, and can even make the possibility of a Will Contest more likely. After all, if someone’s assets are left, for example, to all of the surviving children except one, the excluded child is almost definitely going to feel hurt, saddened, and/or angry. The excluded child may claim that the others unduly influenced the parent to keep him or her out, which may lead to years of bitter disputes and expensive Estate Litigation.

New York Estate Lawyers are aware that all Wills, Trusts and Advance Directives must be explicit as to the terms and beneficiaries. These emotional and legal considerations are, in fact, so persuasive that when the beneficiaries of a Will do not include the testator’s spouse and/or children, New York courts sometimes find that the testator meant to have included the missing relative. This means that any document that excludes a close relative from the estate should contain clear, unambiguous language that cannot be interpreted any way other than to express the testator’s desire to have that person excluded. such language can facilitate the Probate and Estate Settlement process.

Moreover, local laws still allow certain relatives to collect a portion of the estate assets even if this language is present. For example, in New York, a surviving spouse is entitled to collect either one-third of the estate or $50,000.00, whichever is greater. This occurs even if the spouse is written out of the Will, so that the surviving spouse does not experience a significant financial burden on top of the loss of their loved one. Estates, Powers and Trusts Law (EPTL) section 5-1.1A provides extensive rules that allow a surviving spouse to take a share of a decedent’s estate (the “elective share”) even if he or she is otherwise disinherited.

July 19, 2012

New York Business Owners Need Special Estate Advice

by Jules M. Haas

Most New Yorkers spend a significant portion of their adult lives figuring out ways to accumulate wealth. At a certain age, the focus tends to shift from the accumulation of wealth to wealth protection. At a certain age beyond that, the focus shifts to how to utilize that wealth in order to ensure a secure retirement. Around the same time, the secondary focus is what will happen to any leftover assets once you are gone.

As complicated as this process is for any New Yorker, the process can be even more complicated for a New Yorker who operates his or her own small business. The primary trouble for an aging New York business owner is that his or her wealth is much harder to calculate, as much of his or her assets are likely tied up in the operation of the business.

As a result, aging business owners have two primary choices when it comes to estate planning. On one hand, they can plan to sell the business for its fair market value. This option puts the full value of the business assets in the owner’s proverbial pocket, from which he or she can set aside retirement money and carve out a plan for what happens to any leftovers at death.

In many cases, however, the state of affairs is not as cut-and-dry. Small businesses in New York are very often family affairs, passed down among multiple generations in some cases. A long-time pizzeria owner may employ some of his own children and even grandchildren, for example. When family livelihoods revolve around the family business, an estate plan that would sell the business for its proceeds just would not make much sense.

Instead, many New York small business owners choose to craft estate plans that transfer ownership interests in the business rather than a defined monetary value. After all, an ownership interest in a business can have a potentially unlimited value, even if its present interest is difficult to calculate. Additionally, the preservation of your business amongst your family members can give you the flexibility to transfer ownership subject to as many or as few conditions as you wish. Hands-on owners may wish to set out long term plans for the business even after they are gone, while others may wish to entrust the direction of the business wholly to a son or daughter.

These cases may be further complicated if some, but not all, of the business owner’s family members intend to carry on the business. For those that do, an interest in the business may be an appropriate testamentary gift. For those who wish to pursue careers outside the family business, other gifts may be appropriate. No two estate plans are exactly the same, especially ones involving the transfer of a business.

For these reasons, an experienced New York estate planning attorney can be an essential ally. Don’t entrust your personal and business assets to the laws of New York when your time comes. Make sure your assets pass precisely how you intended.
Business owners and their New York estate lawyers must be fully familiar with all of the documents and agreements that can effect an estate plan. These items include, shareholder agreements, partnership agreements, real estate deeds, commercial leases, life insurance policies and various types of retirement and pension plans. All of these papers must be fully understood so that their provisions and beneficiaries can be incorporated into the overall estate and lifetime gifting plan that is being developed.

In many instances estate administration and estate settlement can be disrupted where the terms of an estate planning document such as a trust or Last Will contradicts or is not otherwise in harmony with provisions in business papers such as shareholder agreements. A shareholder agreement may provide for the transfer of a business interest upon the death of a shareholder that is contrary to provisions put into a Last Will. Provisions in these documents that contradict one another can ultimately lead to Surrogate’s Court litigation such as Will contests or construction proceedings. Not only can a lack of good planning result in estate litigation, the operation of a profitable family business may be disrupted where there is uncertainty as to whom the new owners will be and who has the present right to make crucial business decisions.

July 11, 2012

New York Will Contest Grounds

by Jules M. Haas

Contesting a will in New York is an uphill battle. After all, the purpose of a will is to commemorate the wishes of a person after they are deceased. Since the person in question is no longer alive to clear up any potential conflicts, courts tend to give tremendous weight to the provisions contained in the will.

The presumption, however, that wills are impenetrable documents is not absolute. On occasion, a dead person’s decedents are able to convince a court that the will should not be enforced as written, or that it should be thrown out entirely. The reasons why someone might want a will overturned are numerous. Perhaps you have been excluded from a will when you don’t believe the deceased would have wanted you to be. Perhaps you were included, but you feel that someone else should not have been included. Whatever the case, the following common grounds can potentially lead to a successful New York will contest:

The will was not properly executed
New York state law requires that the deceased must have signed the document with a declaration that the document is to be considered his or her will. Two witnesses must have been present during the execution of a will, and both must have signed their names to the document to certify their understanding of the deceased’s intent. If any one of these standards is not met, a will contest action is likely to succeed.

The testator lacked testamentary capacity
In a will, the term “testator” is synonymous with the deceased: the person whose wishes are to be carried out. When the testator executes the document, he or she must generally be of sound mind, demonstrating adequate comprehension of what he or she is doing. In particular, the testator must understand (1) the nature and value of his or her assets, (2) the nature of the people who are to receive his or her assets, and (3) the legal effect of signing a will. If, once the testator is dead, someone contesting the will can demonstrate evidence that the testator was incapable of meeting any of these legal standards, the will contest may succeed. However, lack of testamentary capacity is a very difficult standard to prove.

The testator signed the will because of undue influence
As people age, they can naturally become physically and mentally weakened. In this weakened state, a person can become susceptible to the influence of others who have designs for the testator’s assets. Often, the line is blurry between those who seek to influence a testator for legitimate purposes and those who seek to profit from the testator’s weakened state. The standard for undue influence is one of extreme pressure that causes severe duress. The duress must be so severe as to cause the testator to lose free will in the distribution of their assets. Not surprisingly, this is a difficult standard to prove, as the testator’s stand of mind is impossible to access once they are dead, and much of the evidence of the undue influence may be one person’s word against another’s.

If you believe you have sufficient grounds to contest a will, consider consulting a New York estate lawyer, who can help evaluate the strengths and potential weaknesses of your argument. New York will contests are difficult battles, but worth fighting if you have the proper evidence and a skilled attorney.

June 27, 2012

Same-Sex Married Couples Still Need New York Estate Planning Help

by Jules M. Haas

A year ago, the State of New York joined a growing number of states by legalizing same-sex marriage. The LGBT community rejoiced in their victory, claiming equal status in their marriages and all the legal benefits that go along with it.

The legally-minded members of the LGBT community had long argued that sexual orientation discrimination was a considerable problem in medical emergencies and end-of-life scenarios. After all, in a marriage each spouse holds the power to make decisions on behalf of the other when the other is experiencing a medical emergency or is close to death. Absent a living will or alternative health care proxy, the heterosexual spouse is presumed to know what medical directives are appropriate, including whether to terminate life support measures.

It is not surprising that, before the same-sex marriage bill, disputes arose as to whether a same-sex partner could be entrusted with these decisions when no documentation existed. It was not uncommon for life-long partners to be left out of the decision-making process altogether, or even denied hospital visitation privileges because they were not the “spouse.” It is not difficult to imagine a hypothetical scenario in which young heterosexual newlyweds could be entrusted with these decisions for one another, while the 30-year monogamous homosexual partner of another patient could be denied access altogether.

The same-sex marriage bill has alleviated some of this concern. Once the bill was signed, LGBT couples gained the power to decide emergency and end-of-life scenarios for their partner if their partner did not have documentation drafted for that purpose. That being said, New York estate planning attorneys strongly caution against LGBT couples being lulled into a sense of security since the passage of the state marriage law. Living wills and a health care proxy are still essential documents, even if the LGBT couple is married.

Here’s why. Each state has its own stance on same-sex marriage. While New York has been part of the growing minority of same-sex marriage states for a year now, many states have not followed suit. As a result, if a same-sex married couple were to travel to another state in which same-sex marriage is not recognized, the emergency and end-of-life privileges that normally would attach at home may go unrecognized. That means that if there was an emergency situation, the same-sex spouse may be denied the spousal privilege to make the important medical and end-of-life decisions.

For this reason, New York City estate planners strongly encourage same-sex married couples to craft living wills and a health care proxy in spite of any spousal privilege they may enjoy within their own state. The living will can take the uncertainty out of the ailing person’s wishes in the event of a life-threatening medical emergency. The health care proxy can explicitly assign the healthy spouse as the decision-making authority if unforeseen circumstances occur.

Both documents are essential tools for the LGBT couple, even in spite of the civil rights advancements of the last several years. Take the fear and uncertainty out of an emergency or end-of-life scenario, and make sure power to decide remains in the rightful hands.

In addition to these issues, married New York same-sex couples are still denied a myriad of federal benefits. The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between a man and a woman for federal purposes, creating a cascade of estate planning issues for married same-sex couples in our state. A full set of estate planning documents including a Last Will, Durable Power of Attorney and Living Trust should be considered and implemented so that all uncertainty regarding personal and property decisions are eliminated.

A qualified New York Trusts and Estate Lawyer can assist with reviewing and creating these documents as well as examining any additional issues regarding possible estate tax planning and Article 81 Guardianship for incapacity.

June 11, 2012

New York Estate Planners Can Help Protect Pets

by Jules M. Haas

Many New Yorkers worry about the possibility that their pets will outlive them. Many more make the mistake of thinking that a standard Last Will is sufficient to look after their pets’ interests when they die. Any New York estate planning attorney would caution that this is not necessarily the case.

Pets & The Standard Will
The assumption that a standard Will is enough to look after Fido once his owner is gone is based on sound legal principle. At common law, pets are treated as chattel, meaning that they are moveable items of property, not unlike livestock, your car, or the computer from which you read this article. Whatever sentimental attachment we give to pets has no bearing on their ability to be treated like any other item of property, whose owners are free to devise to their beneficiaries in a Will.

But when is a Will insufficient to look after your pet? You may have carefully selected which of your friends or relatives was most appropriate for the job. You may even have discussed the care of your pet with this person and drafted a corresponding Will provision to cover the expense of the pet’s care. What you may not have thought about, however, is what might happen to your pet during the probate process. It can take months or even years to effectively administer your Will, especially if the Will is contested. During this lengthy process, your pet may be left in a state of limbo at best or perhaps given away to a shelter at worst.

The Pet Trust
A better alternative is becoming more popular in a growing number of jurisdictions. The majority of states, including New York, allow for the creation of what is commonly termed a “pet trust.” A New York pet trust is a legal instrument in which a pet’s owner sets aside a sum of money exclusively for the pet’s future care. Like in a normal trust, the creator of a pet trust names a trustee or trustees whose responsibility will be to use the funds from the trust to care for the pet.

If you love your pet, selecting a pet trustee should be a solemn consideration for your pet’s well-being. If you own a dog, your pet trustee should be the type of person who has the room and capacity to care for a dog. In selecting a pet trustee, the pet owner should give careful consideration to things like the trustee’s home environment, including their children, their other pets, and any potential allergy issues. You owe it to your furry friend to provide a comfortable and happy environment, and you owe it to your trustees to ensure that the care for your pet is something they are happy to do – not forced to do.

A New York trust and estate lawyer can explain the requirements and limitations of a New York pet trust and help you evaluate whether a pet trust should be your last gift to man’s best friend.