Written by: Sarah Kirton on Sep 1st, 2022
Animal Care Trust USA 2022: Care for Your Pet – Even When You Can’t
Peggy Hoyt is an Animal Advocate, Pet Mom and Founder of Animal Care Trust USA. She reveals more to DeliveryRank about this relatively new concept that cares for the future of our animals, once we no longer can!
What exactly is a Pet Trust?
A pet trust is a trust whose beneficiary is an animal as opposed to a person. They have been around for nearly twenty years but it is still a relatively new concept because in the past you couldn’t have a pet as a beneficiary. You are still not allowed to have a pet as a direct beneficiary, but can leave a trust for the benefit of your pet with however much money desired. The intention would be to provide your pet’s lifetime care, much like you would be providing for your minor children.
Do you offer your clients a guarantee that their pets will be cared for once they pass on?
I can’t provide any guarantees because usually the client chooses who their pet caregiver will be. This is one of the reasons why I created the charity Animal Care Trust USA so that there would be a non-profit organization that would be able to step in as a backup caregiver in case the selected caregivers were unable or unwilling to take over the care of the animal.
We can also act as a trustee so as to oversee the money for the benefit of the pets.
What percentage of pet parents currently make use of a Pet Trust?
There are only estimates but there are somewhere between 12 and 27% of pet owners that have planned care for their pets, and even fewer have taken out pet trusts. As I mentioned earlier, it is a relatively new concept but I believe that pet trusts are now starting to grow in popularity, and familiarity.
What do the stats tell us about pets once the owner has died, and in your experience?
Some organizations have estimated that approximately half a million loved pets are euthanized every year because their pet parents hadn’t planned a home for them. In the US, we are still euthanizing 2-3 million healthy adoptable pets each year. This is a devastating statistic.
From a cost point of view, would you describe the trust (whichever option chosen) to be accessible to the majority of the population?
I believe so. Our lowest cost option is $199 and $10 a month for the reservation. People can of course go online and create their own online pet trust, which in my opinion rarely works out well. I wrote a book called 101 Ways to F**** up Your Estate, and trying to settle one’s own estate would be one of these, instead of using the services of a professional.
Where do you operate?
We operate solely in the States for now. Not all countries have adopted pet trusts at this stage so I’m not sure we could even operate on an international level. The UK is usually the front runner when it comes to adopting laws and regulations, so I am pretty sure that pet trusts are popular across the pond.
Please check out my book if you are a pet parent and thinking about planning for your pet. It is called “All My Children Wear Fur Coats – How to Leave a Legacy for your Pet”. There are some very useful tips and recommendations therein.
Want to find out more about Animal Care Trust USA, visit https://animalcaretrustusa.org/ or follow on https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-care-trust-usa/
