Under English and Welsh law, pets are property so a testator cannot leave a gift/legacy to his/her pet. However, it does not mean that there is nothing he/she can do to make sure that his/her pet is well taken care of in the event that he/she dies. Our blog here discusses how to leave your estate to your pet. Like or similar to what Karl Lagerfeld famously did in his will for his famous cat Choupette, a non-charitable purpose trust can be set up in the will.
What is a purpose trust?
Example of a non-charitable purpose trust is:-
‘I give £50,000 to my Trustees to hold on trust to maintain my dog, Max, for as long as the law allows.’
This is valid under English and Welsh law because the purpose is to maintain a specific animal and the trust complies with the rule against alienability of trust capital because the words ‘for as long as the law allows’ limit the duration of the trust to the permitted period of 21 years, which should sufficiently cover the lifetime of Max.
Any potential issue with a purpose trust for the pet?
The main issue is that since there is no human beneficiary, it is difficult to enforce the trust. Using the example above, if Max is mistreated by the trustees (i.e. the trustees are not acting in the best interests of Max) or the trustees just took the £50,000 for their own benefits, Max would not be able to claim against the trustees and there is higher chance for this to go unnoticed. Does it mean that there is nothing that can be done for Max?
It really depends upon the situation. In Max’s case, since there is more than one trustee, the other trustees, who are able to demonstrate their legitimate interest in the trust, can take action against the malfeasant trustees for breach of trust, including but not limited to him/her being removed as a trustee. The situation is trickier if the will only appoints one trustee. In that case, those entitled to the residuary estate or to the property on the failure of the trust should see if they can apply to the court to take action against the malfeasant trustee.
A simpler way for the deceased to protect Max was for him to gift Max to an individual in his will and make financial provision (like an outright gift) for that individual to care for Max accompanied by a letter of wishes. However, it does not mean that this method is completely dispute-proof. There was a case in England concerning the estates of the deceased Maureen McLean and Reginald McLean. In 2017, they made wills entitling all of their four children to equal share of their estates. However, in 2019, after Reginald died, Maureen changed her will to leave all of the inheritance to her biological son Brett McLean. The other stepsiblings argued that the 2017 wills were mutual wills (rather than mirror wills) and, Brett argued that Maureen wanted him to have her property in order to look after her parrots. The court ruled that the 2019 will was valid because there was no evidence to show that there was a legally binding agreement between Maureen and Reginal in 2017, and Maureen was legally entitled to change her will and make the 2019 will.
Final thoughts on a pet inheritance trust
Pets are family and careful consideration is required to safeguard their interests. Our team specialises in contentious probate and pet disputes, and will be able to assist you if you have any questions.
How can we help
Ronny Tang is an Associate in our expert Dispute Resolution team, specialising in defamation claims, contentious probate and inheritance claims, Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 claims, Equality Act 2010 claims and Protection From Harassment 1997 claims.
If you need any advice concerning a pet inheritance trust or a similar subject, please do not hesitate to contact Ronny or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online enquiry form.
Contact usIf this article relates to a specific case/cases, please note that the facts of this case/cases are correct at the time of writing.