Short answer: California lets you create an enforceable trust for the care of a pet, and it lasts until the last animal covered by it dies (Prob. Code §15212(a)). The trustee can’t use the money for anything else unless the trust says so (Prob. Code §15212(b)(1)), and a person you name, or one the court appoints, can enforce it (Prob. Code §15212(c)). Leftover money goes where your trust directs.
Without a pet trust, the law treats your animal as property (Civ. Code §655). A will can leave your dog to a friend, but it can’t make the friend spend anything on the dog or keep it. A pet trust puts money and instructions together and makes someone answerable for both.
Law verified against Prob. Code §§6300, 15211, 15212, 15408 and 16062, and Civ. Code §655, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.
What is a pet trust in California?
It’s a trust whose purpose is the care of one or more animals. California classifies it as a trust for a lawful noncharitable purpose (Prob. Code §15212(a)). The statute defines “animal” as a domestic or pet animal for whose benefit the trust is established (Prob. Code §15212(i)).
Courts read these trusts generously. The statute directs that the document be liberally construed to bring it within the section, to presume against the gift being merely precatory or honorary, and to carry out the owner’s general intent, and it allows outside evidence of that intent (Prob. Code §15212(a)).
Most of my clients put the pet trust inside their revocable living trust as a separate share, rather than signing a standalone document. It’s funded along with everything else, and your successor trustee already has authority to act. See steps for creating a trust in California for how the main trust comes together.
How long does a pet trust last?
Unless the document says otherwise, the trust ends when no animal that was alive on the date of your death is still living (Prob. Code §15212(a)). The general 21-year limit on noncharitable purpose trusts in Prob. Code §15211 doesn’t apply to a pet trust (Prob. Code §15212(h)). That matters for long-lived animals like parrots, tortoises and horses.
A small pet trust is also protected from early shutdown. Ordinarily a trustee can terminate a trust whose principal is $100,000 or less (Prob. Code §15408(b)), but that power doesn’t apply to a pet trust (Prob. Code §15212(g)).
Who does what in a pet trust?
- The trustee holds and invests the money and pays for care. If no trustee is named or willing to serve, the court names one (Prob. Code §15212(d)).
- The caregiver keeps the animal and handles daily care. This can be the same person as the trustee, but splitting the roles adds a check.
- The enforcer is the person you designate to make sure the money is used for the animal. If you don’t name one, the court can appoint one (Prob. Code §15212(c)).
- Backups for each role, so the plan survives if your first choice moves, dies or loses interest.
Beyond the people you name, anyone interested in the animal’s welfare, or a nonprofit whose main activity is animal care, can petition the court about the trust (Prob. Code §15212(c)). The same groups can, on reasonable request, inspect the animal, where it’s kept, and the trust’s books (Prob. Code §15212(f)). Choosing people who will do the work is the part no statute can do for you. How to choose a trustee covers that decision.
How much money should a pet trust hold?
Enough to cover the animal’s expected lifetime costs, and not much more. Estimate food, routine veterinary care, grooming or boarding, and a reserve for emergencies, then multiply by the animal’s likely remaining years. Horses and exotic animals cost far more than a cat.
The trustee can’t convert principal or income to the trustee’s own use or to any use other than the animal’s benefit, unless your trust expressly allows it (Prob. Code §15212(b)(1)). If you want to pay the caregiver or trustee for their time, say so in the document.
If the trust holds $40,000 or less, no filing, report, periodic accounting or separate maintenance of funds is required by reason of the trustee relationship, unless the court or the trust instrument requires it (Prob. Code §15212(e)). Above that, the trustee’s annual accountings under Prob. Code §16062 go to the people who would take the remainder and to any animal-care nonprofit that asks in writing (Prob. Code §15212(e)).
What happens to leftover money?
When the trust ends, the trustee distributes what’s left in this order: as your trust directs; if the pet trust was created in a nonresiduary gift in your will, under your will’s residuary clause; and otherwise to your heirs (Prob. Code §15212(b)(2)). Name a remainder beneficiary, such as family, a friend or an animal charity. Leaving it to default rules invites a dispute.
What should the care instructions cover?
Write down what someone who has never met your animal would need to know:
- Diet, medications and known health conditions
- Your veterinarian and any other clinics the animal uses
- Exercise, housing and temperament around people and other animals
- Your wishes on end-of-life decisions and remains
- Whether the animal may be rehomed, and who decides
Keep a separate care letter the trustee can update without amending the trust. Put the binding terms, the money and the people, in the trust itself.
Can I leave my pet to someone in my will instead?
You can, but it’s a transfer of property with no strings. The recipient owns the animal (Civ. Code §655) and any cash you leave with it. A pour-over will can send assets into a pet trust set up in your living trust (Prob. Code §6300), and more on that pairing is in using a will and trust together and how a pour-over will works.
What if I become incapacitated rather than die?
The statutory pet trust is keyed to your death. For incapacity, your revocable living trust can authorize your successor trustee to pay for your animal’s care while you’re alive. Your successor trustee can then show a certification of trust to a boarding facility or veterinary office that wants proof of authority.
How do I set one up?
I add pet trust provisions to a trust-based plan by phone and Zoom, and you sign before a mobile notary who comes to you. The money only reaches the animal if the trust is funded, so I record the deed moving your house into the trust and give you a map for re-registering each account. More is on my living trust attorney page, my trust funding page and the main estate planning page. If you’re weighing other trust types, see asset protection trusts.
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