Are you concerned about your dog, cat, parrot, turtles, or other pet when you leave this earth?
South Carolina law provides for the welfare of your pets or animals even after you have left this earth. Although you may not be here to take care of your pets you can appoint someone, or ask the court to appoint someone, to care for your pets. You can provide for this in your will. If you do not make a will, probate court will decide what happens to your assets. Generally the probate court will not make a pet trust for your pets or care for your pets in any way if you die without a will. Your friends or family would have to willingly take up caring for your pet, possibly adopt them. If no one is here to care for your pet they may end up in the custody of an animal shelter.
However, no matter how young or old, you can always make a will that will provide for your pets. South Carolina law provides that you can put language in your will to provide for your pets, through what is commonly known as a pet trust. This would require your will allowing for your personal representative to set aside a portion of your estate in the form of a trust t care for your pet. A trust is money or land held for the benefit of another person. In this case you would be putting aside money for the benefit of your pet. This money would be controlled by someone who would be the administrator of the trust and would be given to whoever was caring for the animal for the animals benefit.
If you are concerned that someone might mistreat your pets after you have passed away, the South Carolina law provides that ANY person who is concerned for welfare of the animal can petition the Probate Court to appoint or remove someone to care for your pet.
The S.C. Annotated Code states that the pets do not have to be alive at the time the trust is created. The law even provides for your pets little ones if they are pregnant. A pet trust, depending on the language in your will, will stay in effect until the last pet dies that was either in gestation or alive at the time you passed.
For more information on how to set up a pet trust so that your pets are cared for in the event something were to happen to you please contact and attorney who has knowledge of this area of law. We have several attorneys at our firm who would love to help discuss your options with you.
Visit our webpage at http://www.thepowerslegalfirm.com for more information on how to contact us.
South Carolina Law and Courts 