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Aug 02, 2026
For many people, a pet is an important member of the family. Yet pets are often overlooked when wills, trusts, and powers of attorney are prepared.
A verbal promise from a friend or family member may feel sufficient today, but it may provide little protection if that person’s circumstances change. A thoughtful estate plan can identify who should care for your animals, provide money for that care, and establish a backup plan if your first choice is unavailable.
For Louisiana pet owners who want more certainty, a Louisiana pet trust can provide an enforceable structure for the animal’s care.
Can You Leave Money Directly to a Pet?
No. Although pets are family in every way that matters personally, Louisiana law treats animals as property. Louisiana Civil Code Article 471 classifies things that can move, including animate things, as corporeal movables.
Because an animal cannot receive or manage an inheritance, a will should not attempt to leave money directly to a pet. The owner instead needs to leave the animal to a person or place the funds in a legally recognized trust for the animal’s care.
One option is to leave the pet and a fixed sum of money to a chosen caregiver. That approach is simple, but it may provide limited oversight. An outright monetary gift generally becomes the recipient’s property and may not require the recipient to provide reports about how it is spent.
A properly drafted Louisiana pet trust can offer greater protection by separating custody of the animal from management of the money and restricting how the trust property may be used.
What Does Louisiana’s Pet-Trust Law Allow?
Louisiana Revised Statute 9:2263 expressly permits a trust to provide for one or more animals that are living and identifiable when the trust is created.
Under the statute:
- The trust may name a caregiver who will have custody of and responsibility for the animal.
- A trustee can manage the money and other trust property.
- The trust may name a person who can enforce its terms.
- Trust property may be used only for the animal’s care and the reasonable compensation and expenses of the trustee and caregiver.
- A court may terminate any portion that substantially exceeds what is reasonably needed.
- The trust ends upon the death of the last surviving animal covered by it.
- The trust can identify who receives any property remaining after it ends.
A pet trust can therefore address questions that an informal promise may leave unanswered.
Choose a Caregiver—and a Backup
Selecting the right caregiver is the most important part of the plan. The person should be willing and realistically able to care for the animal.
Before naming someone, discuss:
- The pet’s species, breed, age, and expected lifespan
- Housing needs and any landlord or homeowners-association restrictions
- Compatibility with the caregiver’s children and other animals
- Medical conditions and anticipated veterinary expenses
- Behavioral issues or special handling requirements
- Whether multiple pets should remain together
- Travel, boarding, grooming, and exercise needs
Always name at least one backup caregiver. A person who is willing to care for a pet today may later experience health problems, move somewhere that does not allow animals, or simply be unable to accept the responsibility when the time comes.
If you want a rescue organization or animal sanctuary to serve as the final backup, contact it in advance. Confirm its requirements, capacity, fees, and willingness to accept the animal. Do not assume that an organization will be able to take a pet years in the future merely because it currently operates a sanctuary program.
Decide Who Should Manage the Money
The caregiver and trustee may be the same person, but they do not have to be.
Naming different people can create useful accountability. The caregiver provides daily care, while the trustee manages the funds, pays or reimburses approved expenses, and monitors whether the trust’s instructions are being followed.
The trust may also designate a separate person to enforce its provisions. This person can raise concerns if the caregiver or trustee is not following the plan.
Louisiana law does not automatically require a pet-trust trustee to post security or provide an accounting unless the trust or court requires it. If regular reports, veterinary documentation, or expense records are important to you, those requirements should be addressed in the trust instrument.
How Much Money Should a Pet Trust Receive?
The appropriate amount depends on the animal and the level of care you want to provide. Consider:
- Food and routine supplies
- Preventive veterinary care
- Medication and treatment for existing conditions
- Emergency veterinary expenses
- Grooming, training, or boarding
- Pet insurance premiums
- Housing or transportation needs
- Reasonable compensation for the caregiver or trustee
- Final veterinary and disposition expenses
The calculation should account for the pet’s expected lifespan and the possibility that medical costs will increase with age. Long-lived animals such as parrots, horses, and tortoises may require especially careful planning.
At the same time, funding should be reasonable. Louisiana law allows a court to terminate the portion of a pet trust that substantially exceeds what is needed for the animal’s care and reasonable administrative expenses.
Your plan should also identify the person or charity that will receive any money remaining after the last covered animal dies.
Write Down the Pet’s Care Instructions
Money and legal authority are only part of the plan. The caregiver also needs practical information about the animal.
A pet-care document may include:
- The veterinarian’s contact information
- Microchip and registration numbers
- Vaccination and medical records
- Medication schedules
- Food, allergies, and feeding instructions
- Daily routines and exercise needs
- Behavioral triggers, fears, and commands
- Grooming and boarding preferences
- Information about pet insurance
- Instructions about keeping bonded animals together
- Preferences concerning serious illness and end-of-life care
- Burial, cremation, or memorial preferences
Some details will change over time. Work with your estate-planning attorney to determine which instructions belong in the legal documents and which should remain in a separate care memorandum that can be updated more easily.
Keep the information somewhere the caregiver can find it. The best instructions are not useful if no one knows they exist.
A Will Does Not Address Incapacity
A will operates after death. It does not authorize someone to use your money or take responsibility for your pets if you are hospitalized, incapacitated, or temporarily unable to return home.
A complete pet plan should therefore address both death and incapacity. Depending on your circumstances, that may involve:
- A properly drafted Louisiana power of attorney or mandate authorizing someone to arrange and pay for animal care
- A revocable trust that can continue operating during incapacity
- A written emergency-care agreement
- An emergency contact card in your wallet
- A notice inside the home identifying the animals and emergency contacts
- Instructions provided to a trusted neighbor, relative, or veterinarian
An agent’s authority under a mandate ends at death, so a will or trust must address what happens after the owner dies. These documents should be coordinated rather than treated as interchangeable.
Should the Pet Trust Be Created in a Will or During Life?
A pet trust can be structured to arise under a will after death or as part of a trust created during the owner’s lifetime.
A testamentary pet trust does not become operative until death and the required succession steps occur. A lifetime trust may offer more continuity if the owner becomes incapacitated, provided it has been properly established and funded.
The best approach depends on the owner’s health, finances, animals, and broader estate plan. Our discussion of how trusts can keep certain property out of a Louisiana succession explains why creating a trust document and actually funding the trust are separate steps.
Common Pet-Planning Mistakes
Common problems include:
- Attempting to leave money directly to an animal
- Naming a caregiver without first obtaining that person’s agreement
- Failing to name a backup caregiver
- Leaving money outright without enforceable care requirements
- Providing no method for oversight or enforcement
- Funding the plan without estimating the animal’s actual needs
- Forgetting to identify who receives the remaining funds
- Relying on a will without planning for incapacity
- Failing to update the plan after adopting another animal or after a pet dies
- Assuming that a rescue organization or sanctuary will automatically accept the animal
A plan should be reviewed whenever the animals, proposed caregivers, or owner’s financial circumstances change.
Field Law Can Help Protect Your Pets
Pet planning is not simply about leaving money behind. It requires coordinating legal authority, custody, funding, care instructions, backup caregivers, and the rest of your Louisiana estate plan.
Field Law helps Louisiana pet owners create wills, trusts, and mandates designed to protect their animals during incapacity and after death. If you want to create a pet trust or add pet-care provisions to an existing plan, contact Field Law to schedule a consultation.
