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New York - British Fashion designer Alexander McQueen did it
and so did billionaire hotel operator Leona Helmsley, but legal experts warn
that there can be pitfalls to bequeathing money to a pampered pet.
Between 12% and 27% of pet owners make provision for their
beloved pets in their wills, according to researchers at Washington University
in St Louis School of Law.
McQueen left £50 000 for the care of his English
bull terriers when he died last year, and Helmsley bequeathed $12m to her
now-deceased Maltese, named Trouble, after her death in 2007.
"Although pet inheritance in America was recognised in
1923, and despite several recent innovations, the law remains unstable,"
said Washington University Law Professor Adrienne Davis.
She said trusts must be properly drafted and should name
caretakers who are willing to comply with the trust terms. If a final resting
place is desired for the pet, lawyers should check that it will accept animals.
Despite Helmsley's wishes, a US judge reduced Trouble's
bequest from $12m to $2m and more problems arose after the dog's recent death.
"The remainder of Trouble's money will go to Helmsley's
charitable trust," said Davis, adding that gifts to charitable trusts
would qualify for a tax deduction in the United States.
"However, tax law excludes charitable remainders
following pet trusts from qualifying," she said in a statement.
The judge also overturned Helmsley's wish that her
charitable trust go to animal welfare, and allowed the trustees to distribute
the money to charities of their choice.
Helmsley also wanted Trouble to be buried in the family
mausoleum but pets in the US cannot be buried in cemeteries for humans.
Outdated family concepts
Davis called for legal reforms to make sure pets receive
what they are owed.
"One proposed bill would extend the charitable
remainder tax deduction to pet trusts. Other reforms would make it easier to
create trusts for future generations, or 'grand-kid pets'. That 'companion'
feeling has spilt over owners' lifetimes into their estate plans, with no end
in sight."
Washington University Professor Frances Foster believes the
traditional concept of family is outdated and legal changes are needed to
reflect how important pets are in people's lives.
"Trouble - and millions of American pets like her -
should inherit," she said in an article in the Florida Law Review.
"American inheritance law is trapped in an outdated
family paradigm. That paradigm assumes that the decedent's closest relatives by
blood, adoption or marriage are the most deserving recipients of the decedent's
estate," she said.
But Foster said for many Americans today that is not the
case because "their pets, not their human family members, are their
nearest and dearest".
