Planning for the Family Members Who Cannot Speak for Themselves
A neighbor noticed the dog before anyone else did.
For nearly two weeks, the barking came and went. At first it seemed unusual. Then it became heartbreaking. The owner had been taken unexpectedly to the hospital, where she later passed away. Her adult children lived several states away and were consumed with the responsibilities that follow the sudden loss of a parent: making arrangements, speaking with doctors, contacting relatives, and beginning the legal process. In the middle of their grief, no one realized the dog had been left alone. Eventually a concerned neighbor called animal control, and the dog was rescued.
No one intended for this to happen. The family loved the dog. They simply had not anticipated how quickly life can change or how many demands they would face at once.
At DiPietro Law, we spend much of our time helping families prepare for incapacity and death. We protect assets, appoint trusted decision makers, avoid probate, and plan for long term care. Increasingly, another question comes up in the planning process: What will happen to my pets? Pets are loyal companions and beloved members of the family, yet they are often left out of an estate plan. Thoughtful planning means they never have to depend on chance.
Planning for Your Pets Means Planning for More Than Death
When people think about planning for their pets, they usually picture what happens after they die. In reality, incapacity may be the greater challenge. If you are hospitalized unexpectedly, recovering from surgery, in rehabilitation, or living with cognitive decline, your pets still need daily care. Who knows they are home alone? Who has a key? Who knows which food they eat, which medications they take, and which veterinarian they see? Who can authorize emergency veterinary treatment?
Legally, in both Delaware and Maryland, pets are considered personal property. That means the person who would manage your pets if you were incapacitated is the Agent named in your Durable Power of Attorney. As cold as that may sound, it is why this document matters. Without a valid Durable Power of Attorney, the outcome is left to chance. If someone files for a court guardianship, the Guardian appointed over your property would be the person with control. If there is no Agent and no Guardian, what happens depends entirely on the circumstances.
Your Agent also cannot read your mind. Written instructions about your pets’ care, with the answers to the questions above, keep your Agent from having to guess.
One of the most common things we hear is, “My family loves my pets. They’ll know what to do.” Sometimes they will. Sometimes they won’t.
Adult children may live across the country. They may have demanding careers, young children, or limited time. A daughter may desperately want to take her father’s cat and discover that her apartment prohibits pets. A son may be willing to help but have severe allergies. A parrot that may live another forty years is a very different commitment than an aging Labrador, and a horse cannot simply move into someone’s backyard.
Good intentions matter, but they do not always turn into practical solutions. Thoughtful planning asks not only who loves your pets, but who has the time, ability, experience, housing, and financial resources to care for them. That applies to every kind of companion, not just dogs and cats. A horse may need boarding, specialized veterinary care, and significant monthly expense. Reptiles require carefully maintained environments. Livestock may come with ongoing agricultural responsibilities. The more specialized the animal’s care, the more valuable a plan becomes.
Pet Trusts: Leaving Both the Care and the Means to Provide It
Emergency and incapacity planning address the first hours and days. A longer question remains: if you do not survive, who should care for your pets for the rest of their lives, and should money go with that responsibility?
In both Delaware and Maryland, you may create a pet trust. It can be a separate document that deals only with pets, but it is most often built into the owner’s general revocable trust as a pet sub trust that is created when the owner passes. Both states require that a pet trust be in writing and meet the same execution formalities as any other trust to be legally binding.
A thoughtful pet trust answers several questions. Which pets are covered? Who will provide daily care, and who is the backup? Who will manage the trust funds, and who is the backup? How much money should be set aside, given each pet’s expected life span, lifestyle, and special needs, and where will it come from? Sometimes the caregiver and the trustee are the same person. Other times they are different people. Either can work, as long as each role has a backup. The trust can also include instructions about food, veterinary care, grooming, and exercise, guidance about quality-of-life decisions, and directions for any money left after the last pet dies.
Even the best plans can be disrupted. A caregiver or trustee may have a change in circumstances and be unable to serve when the time comes. When we prepare pet trusts as part of an overall plan, we include a fail-safe provision. If the people named do not take on their roles, the trustee has authority to use trust funds for immediate needs and to make alternative arrangements.
Where Pet Plans Go Wrong
Most pet planning problems come from a handful of avoidable mistakes.
Naming a caregiver without asking. A person named in your documents may not know, may not be willing, or may not be able to take on the animal. Have the conversation first, and name a backup.
Leaving the animal but not the means. A pet left to someone with no money and no instructions places the full cost on that person. Veterinary care, boarding, and specialized food add up quickly, particularly for a horse or a long-lived bird. A plan that sets aside funds, based on a realistic estimate of the animal’s lifetime costs, makes it far more likely a caregiver can say yes.
Not naming a backup. If the person you name as caregiver or trustee cannot serve when the time comes, your plan can stall. Name a backup for each role, and have the conversation with your backups too.
Assuming a Will takes care of it. Because pets are personal property, a gift of a pet in a Will passes like any other item, with no money and no instructions attached, and only after someone has been given authority to act for the estate, which can take time. An animal that needs care today cannot wait for that process.
Planning only for death. A plan that works only after you die does nothing while you are alive but unable to act. Without a Durable Power of Attorney, your pets may be cared for only if someone happens to notice.
Keeping the details in your head. Your Agent, caregiver, or trustee cannot act on what they do not know.
Setting it and forgetting it. Pets age, new ones arrive, caregivers move, and families change. A plan that names a pet who has since passed, or a caregiver who has since moved away, may no longer work.
Put the Practical Details in Writing
Even the best Durable Power of Attorney and pet trust work better when paired with practical information. We encourage clients to create a pet care profile that lists veterinary contact information, medications, feeding schedules, allergies, behavioral quirks, favorite toys, boarding and grooming preferences, microchip and insurance information, and emergency contacts. Share it with your Agent and your caregiver, and tell them where to find it. Consider giving your veterinarian an emergency contact, and a wallet card or a note near your front door saying that animals are in the home and who to call if you cannot be reached. It takes an afternoon to write and can spare an animal days of confusion.
A Responsibility Worth Planning For
Estate planning is often described as deciding what happens to our property. At DiPietro Law, we believe it is about protecting the people and responsibilities that matter most. For many families, those responsibilities include the companions who greet us every morning, comfort us during hard days, and depend entirely on our care. Thoughtful planning ensures that, even if we cannot be there one day, the promises we have made to them are kept.
If you have questions about planning for your pets during incapacity or after death, or whether a pet trust is right for your situation, we can help. Families begin by submitting a brief worksheet before meeting with one of our Client Service Directors. During that consultation, our team helps identify your goals, explains the planning strategies available, and outlines what to expect, including timeline and cost. We offer fixed fee estate planning packages, but every plan is tailored to the individual.
Meaghan Mahoney Hudson( Attorney )
Originally from Albany, New York, Meaghan has called Delaware home for nearly two decades. She earned her undergraduate degree from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York, and her Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University School of Law in Bristol, Rhode Island.
A close relationship with her maternal grandmother shaped her deep appreciation for family and intergenerational connections, which is reflected in her commitment to this area of the law. Outside of her practice, she enjoys spending time with her two daughters, as well as reading, traveling, and exploring new food experiences.
Read Meaghan’s full bio here.
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Estate Planning
