Can you leave money to pets in a will?
Wondering how you can provide for your pets in your will?
What happens to my pets if I die?
When you die, a few things could happen to your pets, depending on your circumstances.
The law doesn’t see pets the same way we do - they’re considered ‘property’ that will either be:
- Gifted to your beneficiaries if you have written a will …or
- If you don’t have a will they’ll automatically pass to someone based on the intestacy laws. If they’re not able to look after them they’ll go to shelters or to a local charity.
But there is a third option that most pet owners prefer:
In your will you can choose a Pet Guardian. After all who you want to have your house or assets might well not be the same as who you want to look after your precious pooch or fabulous feline.
Choosing a pet guardian in your will allows you to have a say in who would look after your pet if you died tomorrow.
Have a say in what happens to your pets after your gone today, by writing your will today.
How to choose a pet guardian
Your pet guardian should be someone you trust and preferably who you’ve spoken to about caring for your pets when you’re gone. You want someone who will love and provide for your pets, just like you do. If you have multiple pets, you can either choose one guardian for all of your pets or different guardians for different animals.
Maybe you don’t have anyone close to you who can take care of your pet? Animal charities such as RSPCA’s Home for Life, The Cinnamon Trust and The Dogs Trust Canine Care Card run free rehoming schemes to care for your pets when you’re gone.
With our online will, we ask about your pets and make it’s easy to include their guardian(s).
What happens if the pet guardian dies before I do?
If your pet guardian dies before you, you should update your will to appoint a new pet guardian. When you write your online will with Octopus Legacy you can make unlimited edits to your will for free for the first year, and only £10 per year after that.
How can I add a new pet to my will?
Did you know the government recommends you update your will every 5 years, or after a big life event or change in circumstance? That includes getting a new pet. With our subscription service, you can add your new pet and name their pet guardian at any time to your will.
Can you leave money to pets in a will?
Between food, insurance, and vets bills, pets cost a fair bit to look after. But whilst you might want to make your pet a beneficiary and leave money directly to your pet, you can’t directly leave money to your pet in a will as pets can’t open a bank account and the law still views them as property, so they can’t directly inherit money. However, there are other ways you can make sure that your pet is cared for after you’ve gone.
How to leave money to animals in my will
There are two main ways that you you can money to your animals in your will.
1. Leaving a monetary gift to the person or charity that you’ve appointed as your pet guardian.
This helps make sure the cost of caring your your pet is covered.
How much money should you leave for your pets in your will?
Consider how much you spend per year on food, insurance and vet bills - multiply that by remaining life expectancy. You may also want to consider the likelihood of them developing health issues and factor these potential future additional costs in.
2. Giving money to an animal charity to help support their work more generally
You can leave a lasting legacy by leaving money to an animal charity, you can choose to leave a specific amount of money through a gift in your will or leaving the charity a percentage of your estate. Our online will makes this easy by asking if you’d like to include a gift to a charity when you are dividing your estate among your beneficiaries.
Use our online will writing service to protect your pets, name a pet guardian, and provide for their care and wellbeing.
