Florida law allows pets to be beneficiaries of your estate plan

Headlines are made when wealthy people leave outsize fortunes to their pets. One notable example is Leona Helmsley, the hotel magnate who passed away in 2007. Cutting out her family, Helmsley left her entire $12 million fortune to her pet Maltese, Trouble. A judge subsequently scaled back the dog's inheritance to $2 million, but that's still an ample sum for a small dog to live on comfortably!

More recently, a Tennessee resident spread her wealth beyond her household pets. Glenda DeLawder, an avid animal lover, died in 2015 at age 72, leaving her $1.2 million estate to the county to help care for its dogs and cats.  So far, $540,000 has been given to the Carter County animal shelter to purchase a van to transport animals to veterinary care and adoption events, and to expand its cat living areas.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, over two million adoptable dogs and cats are euthanized every year: That is one every 13 seconds. A number of those animals are pets whose elderly owners have died or have become too ill to care for them.

If you have a precious pet, you doubtless want to make sure it is properly cared for if you become incapacitated or pass away.  Consider formalizing arrangements so that you know it will be protected. Florida residents may establish a pet trust, which can be created while you are alive, or at your death via provisions in your will. Your trust will provide money for the care and maintenance of your pet, as well as name someone (as well as backups) to care for it. You can also name beneficiaries to receive any funds that are left in the trust when your pet passes on. 

Many of my clients derive great peace of mind from knowing that no matter what happens, their pet will be well cared for. And unlike Trouble the Maltese, it probably won't take $2 million to keep your Fifi or Fido happy.

Pet Trusts are a Valentine's Present for Your Pet!

I was at the Puppy Love Festival in North Palm Beach, Florida this weekend with my dog. The festival attracted hundreds of canines with their devoted owners in tow, and included contests for best Valentine's outfit (see winner at left), best kisser, best singer, and best tail-wagger. What a hoot! People sure do love their dogs. Which is why you will surely want to make sure they are taken care of in anything happens to you. Luckily for pet owners, Florida is among the states that allow pets to be included in an estate plan. You can actually make your dog, or any pet, the beneficiary of your will or trust.  Contact The Karp Law Firm if you have a beloved pet and wish to make sure he can live out his days in security if you cannot be around to care for him yourself. That's an excellent Valentine's Day gift for your beloved companion. More photos of the event:

Passwords, PINS and Your Estate Plan

I still chuckle when I think about it: Several years ago humorist Dave Barry wrote an article longing for the good old days, when the only number he needed to know was the number of the bus to board when school let out. Those simple days are long gone, of course. If you have a computer and online access - and most of my clients do these days -- you’ve got a slew of cryptic information to keep track of: PINS, passwords, log-ins, account numbers, secret questions to verify your identify, maybe multiple email addresses. You need all of these to access your online brokerage accounts, bank accounts, websites like Medicare, frequent flyer accounts, social networking sites, email, Facebook, utility companies… well, the list goes on and on.

If you’ve ever forgotten or misplaced one of these numbers or passwords, you know it can be an ordeal in time and energy to retrieve. So just imagine what it would be like for your successor trustee or personal representative if HE had to retrieve it, in the event of your disability or death! The people your Florida estate plan designates to handle these matters are going to need this information. Yet, if you're like most people, you’re probably reluctant to hand over such personal information ahead of time.

Voila: Enter several new online services to solve the dilemma. These services are sort of like the cyberspace version of a safe deposit box. For a one-time or annual fee, you can upload passwords and other private information to a secure account. You designate contact information for those you want to be notified of this information upon your death of disability. A variety of sites offer these kinds of services, among them assetlock.net, deathswitch.com, legacylocker.com.

Worried about someone contesting your estate? Look beyond the No-Contest Clause

Occasionally I am consulted by someone who is greatly concerned that his estate plan will be challenged after he or she has passed on. Most commonly, the client wants to leave very little to a long-estranged child, and he's worried the child will sue the estate. Contests can drag on for years, draining money from your estate and preventing your beneficiaries from receiving their inheritance timely. They are ugly affairs.

A "no-contest" clause  -- a provision that penalizes a beneficiary who challenges his inheritance -- may work in some states. But in Florida, the no-contest clause is just so much legal window dressing. It may make you feel good to put it in. And it's very presence may have some deterrent value to a potential challenger. But it is NOT legally enforceable. Florida Probate Code  section 732.517 states that “A provision in a will purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable.” Similarly, Florida Trust Code 736.1108 states that "a provision in a trust instrument purporting to penalize any interested person for contesting the trust instrument or instituting other proceedings relating to a trust estate or trust assets is unenforceable."

You can't bullet-proof your estate plan to guarantee someone won't challenge your estate. The good news is that you can take the wind out of the legal sails of any would-be challenger. Read more about the steps you can take to protect your estate against a challenge and reduce the likelihood a contest will not succeed.