It is estimated that 17 million households in the UK have at least one pet. We are definitely a nation of animal lovers!
We would encourage you to consider who you’d like to take care of your pets if you lose the capacity to do so, or if you die. Although it is difficult to think about what may happen to your beloved animals if you either die or become too ill to look after them yourself, there are positive steps that you can take in order to ensure that your pets will be taken care of, no matter what the future may hold.
Taking care of your pets if you lose the capacity to do so
A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a powerful legal document which allows you to appoint people you trust (your “attorneys”) to make decisions on your behalf if you become unable to look after yourself.
When creating a LPA, it is possible to write guidance and instructions to your attorneys with regard to how you would like them to take decisions on your behalf. This is where making provision for your pets comes in.
If you would like your pet to carry on living with you after you have lost capacity, you can say so within your LPA. Alternatively, you may wish for the animal to be given to a relative or close friend to look after, or else arrange for your pet to be re-homed by a charity. If you wish to name a specific person to look after your pet, be sure to discuss your intentions with them and get their agreement before completing your LPA.
You can also make financial provision for your pet within a LPA. For example, you may wish to ensure that your attorneys continue to pay for food and vet’s bills from your own funds.
There are many good reasons to decide now what you would want to happen to your pet if you become unable to look after them yourself. Some examples are listed below:
- You may require someone to come over daily to put out food and exercise your pet which will stay in your home with you; pets can be good therapy for animal lovers and slow down the onset of dementia;
- You may decide for the pet to live with the named individual with a request that they bring them to visit you weekly or monthly;
- If you don’t know any pet lovers who would be willing to take yours in, you might wish to nominate a reputable shelter that you know will take good care of them before they are rehomed.
Unless you specifically state who you want to take care of your pets, or specify an organisation or shelter that can rehome them, you may not be able to have a say in the future of your pet’s life.
Sadly, our Private Client Team has seen first-hand the heartache that can come in unfortunate cases where a ‘best interests’ decision has meant that a pet has been sent to a shelter, or even put to sleep. To avoid this unwanted fate for your pet, you must be specific when drafting a Power of Attorney.
For further information on Lasting Power of Attorney, please read our guide.
Whatever your wishes, make them known. We cannot stress this enough! What’s more, the time to act is now, whilst you retain mental capacity.
If you want to write provisions for your pets into your Will, we can do so in a specific and legally binding way that puts your wishes and their welfare first.
Speak with the experts
Appointing Power of Attorney is one element of Estate Planning, and should be considered as part of the wider picture.
If you already have a Will and other provisions in place for when you die, we congratulate your forward planning and can create or update your Power of Attorney as a separate entity.
If, however, you’re yet to consider what will happen, not only to your pet, but also to the rest of your assets and loved ones in the future, how about sitting down with one of our friendly specialists to get everything put into place, sensitively, in one go?
Whatever aspect of our services you need, you can reach out to our team on 0161 969 3131 or fill in our contact form and we’ll be in touch shortly.