Key Takeaways

• Animals can’t be named as beneficiaries of retirement accounts or any other assets.
• To fund your pet’s ongoing care, you can leave money to an intended guardian directly in your will or create a pet trust.
• An attorney can help you set up estate planning documents to include your pet.
  

Pet owners will go to great lengths to ensure that their beloved animals receive the finest of care for life—even if, in some cases, it extends beyond the life of their owner.

Take famed designer Karl Lagerfeld, who reportedly left his Burmese cat Choupette a 7-figure piece of his multi-million-dollar fortune. Or hotelier Leona Helmsley, whose will left $12 million in a trust for the care of her Maltese dog Trouble.

While Helmsley’s bequest may have been extreme (a judge later knocked down the amount to a relatively modest $2 million), the impulse isn’t: “When it comes to their pets, people are extreme!” acknowledges Aimee Kwain, an advanced planner with Fidelity and an animal lover who has multiple cats.

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