Latest / Life Is Legal / Dog Bites, Service Animals, and Pet Trusts: What Every Pet Owner Needs to Know | Ep 22

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Dog Bites, Service Animals, and Pet Trusts: What Every Pet Owner Needs to Know | Ep 22 · Life Is Legal

0:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Today, we're going to talk about all things pets from a legal standpoint and this is going to be kind of a quick hit on multiple pet topics because I want to try to answer a lot of questions that I've gotten over the years from pet owners, you know, knowledge to keep in your back pocket so that you can both know your rights as a pet owner.
0:22
[SPEAKER_00]: or non-pet owner, and your obligations.
0:26
[SPEAKER_00]: Our pets are family, but legally, they're something else.
0:35
[SPEAKER_00]: Hi there, and welcome back to Life is Legal, where we unpack the laws that sneak into everyday life without the Latin, the lecture, or the staggy lawyer vibe.
0:46
[SPEAKER_00]: I'm your host, Brooke Hardy, lawyer, legal translator, and definite helicopter dog mom.
0:53
[SPEAKER_00]: So let me start with a story, as I tend to do, a couple.
0:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's call them Alex and Jordan, okay, just because.
1:01
[SPEAKER_00]: They adopt a golden retriever in her name, of course, is butter scotch.
1:08
[SPEAKER_00]: They raise her together.
1:10
[SPEAKER_00]: They train her.
1:11
[SPEAKER_00]: They fight over who has to walk her in the rain.
1:15
[SPEAKER_00]: And they do things like celebrator burst.
1:18
[SPEAKER_00]: They like she's the small furry queen that she is.
1:22
[SPEAKER_00]: And then the relationship ends.
1:26
[SPEAKER_00]: And suddenly, what used to be our dog becomes my dog.
1:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And they even go to court over it.
1:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And the judge asks, who paid for the dog?
1:42
[SPEAKER_00]: And just like that, one person walks out with the dog.
1:46
[SPEAKER_00]: And the other walks out completely stunned because the law didn't see what they knew.
1:55
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the first truth, right?
2:00
[SPEAKER_00]: Your pet is property.
2:03
[SPEAKER_00]: Under traditional American law, pets are considered personal property.
2:10
[SPEAKER_00]: A mere chattel, can you believe it?
2:14
[SPEAKER_00]: And that's not me being dramatic.
2:15
[SPEAKER_00]: That's how courts actually classify them, which is why,
2:20
[SPEAKER_00]: For decades, pet disputes were handled like disputes over furniture or something.
2:27
[SPEAKER_00]: But that's starting to change in small, but meaningful ways.
2:33
[SPEAKER_00]: Let me tell you about a case out of Alaska.
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[SPEAKER_00]: In 2017, Alaska became the first state to explicitly allow courts to consider the, quote,
2:50
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's have a big deal.
2:51
[SPEAKER_00]: It means a judge can now look at things like who actually cares for the animal, who has the better environment for a pet going forward, who has a yard versus a high-rise apartment or something.
3:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And what's in the animal's best interest?
3:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Maybe who's in a better position to pay for that bills or that sort of thing?
3:17
[SPEAKER_00]: California followed with a similar law.
3:20
[SPEAKER_00]: So we're starting to see the law inch very slowly toward our own reality as pet owners.
3:29
[SPEAKER_00]: But in most states, we're still firmly in who bought the dog territory.
3:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And before I leave the topic of who gets the dog, I have to tell you about how an Instagram famous dog named Oscar became the center of a multi-party lawsuit.
3:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Here's what happened.
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[SPEAKER_00]: a guy owned the dog.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Another couple helped care for the dog, and they all three created the dog's Instagram account, the account grew.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It got lots tons of followers, actually, sponsorships, so now we got income here, okay?
4:17
[SPEAKER_00]: And then this sort of friendship fell apart.
4:21
[SPEAKER_00]: And, of course, everyone sued everyone, and they were fighting now over multiple things, ownership of the dog, control of the Instagram account.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The revenue generated from the Instagram account, and even defamation claims tied to the social media posts, but that's separate.
4:44
[SPEAKER_00]: The dog wasn't just a dog anymore.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It was a business asset, suddenly.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And here's why this is wild.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The court had to untangle physical ownership, versus digital ownership, the actual account, and economic ownership, the income stream.
5:03
[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the thing.
5:06
[SPEAKER_00]: Judges know what's happening.
5:09
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, they know this isn't just about property.
5:12
[SPEAKER_00]: A lot of them are pet owners themselves, right?
5:14
[SPEAKER_00]: They get it.
5:16
[SPEAKER_00]: But the legal framework they're working within often leaves them with very limited tools to account for the sentimental side of pet ownership.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So now let's talk about when things go wrong with your dog.
5:33
[SPEAKER_00]: And I think we all know what that means.
5:35
[SPEAKER_00]: When the dog bites, okay, a postal worker in California was attacked by a dog while delivering the mail, probably a very common occurrence across the nation.
5:47
[SPEAKER_00]: The injuries were severe.
5:50
[SPEAKER_00]: And the homeowner argued, this dog has never been anybody before.
5:56
[SPEAKER_00]: And it didn't matter, because California is what we call a strict liability state, which means if your dog bites someone, you are responsible, full stop.
6:11
[SPEAKER_00]: No, but he's actually so sweet, or this has never happened before, done matter, okay?
6:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Now compare that to states that still follow versions of the one bite rule.
6:23
[SPEAKER_00]: Historically, that rule has said, you are not liable for your dog's first bite, unless you had reason to know that the dog had dangerous tendencies, maybe the dog, you know, tried to bite someone lurched forward, and at the nick of time you, you know, I'm got him back with a leash, or he bites everything in sight, tables, chairs, and growls, you know,
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[SPEAKER_00]: You know when you have a dangerous dog.
6:52
[SPEAKER_00]: So even in those cases, if your dog bites someone as the first time, you might be held liable.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But for any dog that typically is fine, well-managed, no big deal, bite someone, and it really was a shock.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You may have legal recourse and say, I am just someone that had no reason to know that my dog was a biter and neither would anybody else.
7:20
[SPEAKER_00]: I have tried a total of one dog bite case in my career.
7:27
[SPEAKER_00]: My client was a dog rescue non-profit organization, and they had a labrodoodle named Thor, who was being fostered by a lady.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Rule number one, try to steer clear of names like Thor, because it just becomes hard to defend a dog,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway, so this lady came up from behind Thor in the backyard, kind of snuck up on him.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And not on purpose, but Thor didn't know she was coming up on him.
8:02
[SPEAKER_00]: And she was trying to get him away from what he was eating in the backyard and startled him so badly that he turned around and chumped down on her hand and then chumped her cheek.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And admittedly, it was bad.
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[SPEAKER_00]: but I also felt sorry for poor sore who had just spent the past few days in a brand new foster home, right?
8:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And it was already tweaked up and nervous about us aroundings, and who was now on trial for his life, essentially, and long story short.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm trying to convince the judge that any dog in his position would have felt like he was under attack and needed to do sort of the dog equivalent of standing as ground, which is to bite, to protect himself.
8:55
[SPEAKER_00]: And the dog prosecutor ended up putting a woman on the stand who stated that she had previously
9:11
[SPEAKER_00]: And furthermore, that she had told the rescue organization about it, I knew at that moment that we were cooked.
9:20
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
9:21
[SPEAKER_00]: We were in a one-byte state and Thor had bitten his second foster mom.
9:29
[SPEAKER_00]: And that changed the whole complexion of the case.
9:32
[SPEAKER_00]: And I wish I had a happier ending to this story for a typical dog owner.
9:39
[SPEAKER_00]: A situation like that can result in homeowners insurance claims, mandatory muzzling, or quarantining your dog for a period of time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Sometimes dogs are declared dangerous, a legal term, which means that the dog can only be owned by someone that has special liability insurance.
10:08
[SPEAKER_00]: Inclosures that ensure the dog will not come into contact with any people, especially children.
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[SPEAKER_00]: not to mention the emotional stress that goes alongside this entire process.
10:27
[SPEAKER_00]: So when we say liability, we're not talking about something abstract, we're talking about consequences that can change multiple lives.
10:38
[SPEAKER_00]: And speaking of homeowners insurance,
10:41
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's address that for just a minute because most standard homeowners insurance policies do cover dog bites.
10:51
[SPEAKER_00]: If your dog injured someone, your insurance company might pay the medical bills, cover legal defense costs, pay settlement or judgments against you.
11:03
[SPEAKER_00]: It's good to know where your
11:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, but here's where people can get burned.
11:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, insurance companies are not huge fans of dog bike claims.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So many policies include restrictions or exclusions specifically for certain breeds like pit bulls, rot wilders, dovermins, uh, sometimes German shepherds, even a key does.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So if your dog has never shown aggression and you own one of those dogs, even, you may not be covered.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So check your policy, or if your dog is originally covered, but keeps biting people.
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[SPEAKER_00]: your insurance company could drop you.
11:55
[SPEAKER_00]: So keep all of that in mind.
11:57
[SPEAKER_00]: And something interesting is coverage typically applies anywhere, not just your home.
12:04
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you're dog bite someone at a park, your homeowner's policy may still apply, definitely worth looking into.
12:11
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk for a minute about umbrella policies.
12:14
[SPEAKER_00]: This can be a really good safety net, an umbrella policy sits on top of your homeowners and your auto insurance and provides extra liability coverage.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so thank you.
12:29
[SPEAKER_00]: homeowners policy covers up to $300,000, and umbrella policy could add very easily another million.
12:35
[SPEAKER_00]: And these umbrella liability policies that sort of follow you around through your life to protect you are really pretty cheap.
12:48
[SPEAKER_00]: And they, again, can pick up the slack if your homeowners or auto or other insurance gets tapped out or doesn't cover something.
12:57
[SPEAKER_00]: Because dog bite claims can easily exceed this standard homeowner's limit.
13:02
[SPEAKER_00]: Especially if a child is injured or the injuries are severe, like in Thor's case, certainly if there's like permanent scarring or disability, that's when things get real dicey.
13:14
[SPEAKER_00]: So let's flip it.
13:17
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, what if someone harms your animal?
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[SPEAKER_00]: There was a case where a family dog was negligently killed by someone and the owners sued.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They were devastated.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Of course they were.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But the court said, you can recover the dog's market value.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's it.
13:40
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, under traditional law, pets are property.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But,
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[SPEAKER_00]: I would say, too, that courts are going to recognize recovery for veterinary care or other, you know, out-of-pocket costs associated with the incident or harm to the animal, but emotional damages still super limited in most jurisdictions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So the net net is you love your dog like a child, but the loss still treats the loss.
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[SPEAKER_00]: like a damaged bike, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's kind of the rude reality of it all.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So now I wanna turn to something that a lot of people don't really think about.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Dogs, cats, bunnies, horses, yeah.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Of course you can own those as pets, but what about an oscillat or a lemur?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you buy your girlfriend at chimpanzee for Valentine's Day?
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[SPEAKER_00]: What types of pets are legal to own in which or not?
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[SPEAKER_00]: There was this guy, another case, who kept a tiger in his backyard, like normal suburban backyard, an actual full-grown tiger.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Can you imagine looking over the fence and seeing a tiger next door?
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[SPEAKER_00]: anything.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There is absolutely no way that is legal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And here's the wild part.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And some parts of the world, some parts of the states, it actually can be.
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[SPEAKER_00]: A handful of states do not have a blanket statewide ban on owning dangerous wild animals.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, Texas, for instance, uses
15:31
[SPEAKER_00]: And under that law, you can own certain animals like tigers and lions and bears and chimpanzees.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But only if you comply with specific requirements like registering the animal with your county.
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[SPEAKER_00]: maintaining special liability insurance, often at least $100,000.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And you are forced to keep the animal in a secure enclosure that meets very strict standards.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So it can't be just walking around that backyard, you know, like a dog does.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And oftentimes, you have to allow inspections by city personnel to make sure that you are doing what you're supposed to be doing with regard to this animal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So here's the twist, even if you do all of that though, your county can still ban it.
16:29
[SPEAKER_00]: So you could be compliant under state law, fully insured, properly registered, and it still be illegal because your local county said, nope, absolutely, frequently not.
16:42
[SPEAKER_00]: So you've got to check things at multiple levels.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You can't just say, oh, Missouri allows tigers, okay?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You've got to check federal, state, county, and then of course your HOA rules, which I can guarantee you not gonna allow you to keep a weird animal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You can't own a favorite in Hawaii.
17:04
[SPEAKER_00]: How about that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You cannot own a hedgehog in California.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Did you know that?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You cannot own a pet monkey in most states.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Otherwise, I would totally have one.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Pithons, anacondas, venomous snakes, wolves, and wolf hybrid, sloths.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Those are... Ownable?
17:24
[SPEAKER_00]: but highly regulated, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: You're going to need the appropriate permit and possibly insurance and the registration with the county or city and all of that.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So if someone is even thinking about getting an exotic pet, again, federal, state law, local city and county ordinances, check them all.
17:47
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Now I'm going to talk about the part that's hard, but super important.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Let's talk about animal neglect.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
17:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Because loving animals also means recognizing when they're not being treated well by yourself or others.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There was a case where a woman was found living with dozens and dozens of animals in extreme conditions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's pretty common occurrence actually.
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[SPEAKER_00]: No proper sanitation, inadequate food, the animals were suffering, big time.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So she wasn't trying to be cruel, she was, she believed she was helping them, but
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is what's often referred to as animal hoarding, and it's recognized as a very serious issue.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Under some states, for example, it's a crime to fail to provide necessary food, water, in general care, or subject animals to cruel conditions.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that's when your pets can be taken away.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So at what point does it become illegal?
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[SPEAKER_00]: If your neighbor has three dogs, no issue.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If your neighbor has 15 dogs, now we start asking things like, are they properly cared for?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are they inviting, hurting each other?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are they violating zoning violations?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Is this a new sense to the neighbors?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Is there excessive barking or horrible smells coming from the house?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Again, are the animals fed and watered properly?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Are they getting any exercise or are they all cooped up in pins excessive barking alone can lead to citations under local nuisance ordinances those are going to be county driven laws okay and you I guarantee you can find your counties nuisance ordinances online
19:53
[SPEAKER_00]: And, you know, if all else fails, you can call animal control.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And, no, you are not overreacting.
20:00
[SPEAKER_00]: If the situation genuinely impacts your ability to enjoy your home,
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[SPEAKER_00]: Um, for more on the barking factor, check out episode 10 about neighbor disputes.
20:10
[SPEAKER_00]: I go into it more there.
20:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, but I would stress to folks, you know, if you think an animal cat dog horse, whatever it may be, whatever is, you see, you know, keep an eye on things.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And if you think they are being mistreated, call animal control to go do a wellness check, just like you would a human.
20:32
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, because that's where you see, you know, the stories on the news about the puppy mills and the woman housing 63 dogs, 14 billy goats in a couple of squirrels, you know.
20:45
[SPEAKER_00]: Um, animals don't have a voice, so we've got to be the voice for them.
20:53
[SPEAKER_00]: What about unhoused individuals and pets?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Because this is where law and humanity sometimes collide in a really profound way.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There is no law that says you must have a house to have a pet.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And many studies have shown that homeless individuals often take better care of their animals than themselves.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But the problem is shelters often don't allow animals, sucks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And public accommodations that may be available to these people, have limits to bringing animals.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So,
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[SPEAKER_00]: And less the animal qualifies as a service animal under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA, access to certain important services is not guaranteed.
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[SPEAKER_00]: so people are forced to make impossible decisions, right?
21:56
[SPEAKER_00]: So along those lines, let's talk about wind dogs are legally allowed in to public spaces and privately owned businesses and apartments.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What do animals have to be allowed?
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[SPEAKER_00]: There are three categories that some people sometimes confuse understandably.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The first is service animals.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Those are legally protected almost everywhere, okay?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Then there are emotional support animals, ESAs.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They have more limited protections.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And then there are therapy animals, which basically receive no individual legal rights at all.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And the lot trees each of these categories very differently.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So let me hit a little bit more.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is the gold standard of protection.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, an admissibility into various venues.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What are they?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a service animal is a dog, specifically a dog, and in rare cases, a miniature horse,
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[SPEAKER_00]: That is individually trained to perform specific tasks for a person with a disability.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Examples might include guiding someone who is blind, alerting someone who's deaths, detecting seizures, interrupting PTSD episodes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: You've seen those dogs that retrieve medication they're included.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And so where are service dogs legally allowed?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Almost all public places, including restaurants, stores, hotels, airplanes, government buildings, private businesses, even places that say no pets.
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[SPEAKER_00]: What people usually business owners can ask are two questions when you have a service dog.
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[SPEAKER_00]: This is all that other people can ask you.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Is the dog required because of a disability?
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[SPEAKER_00]: The second question they can ask is what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
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[SPEAKER_00]: That's it, that's all they can ask.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They cannot ask, what is your disability or show me proof of certification for this dog?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Where are your papers?
24:35
[SPEAKER_00]: They can't ask any of that.
24:37
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of the service dog certificates that you get online are completely meaningless legally.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
24:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So having a service dog is a whole thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There are organizations who specialize in training service dogs and it's a whole process and routine and just getting a certificate type of your dogs name into a certificate online that says service dog certificate is not legal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It's
25:16
[SPEAKER_00]: where you might be able to have some luck is getting your dog certified as an emotional support animal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And ESA, that's a whole different thing, OK?
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[SPEAKER_00]: An ESA, emotional support animal, provides comfort simply by being
25:37
[SPEAKER_00]: just by being there, just by being present.
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[SPEAKER_00]: There's no specialized training required, okay?
25:45
[SPEAKER_00]: And folks with pretty severe anxiety or depression or PTSD might have an emotional support dog.
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[SPEAKER_00]: or animal.
25:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
25:57
[SPEAKER_00]: ESAs can be virtually any type of animal by the way.
26:02
[SPEAKER_00]: I was just talking to a friend.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She had experienced a person on a plane that had an emotional support chicken.
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[SPEAKER_00]: It created a whole big thing.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The lady in the chicken were escorted off the plane.
26:15
[SPEAKER_00]: Anyway,
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[SPEAKER_00]: When does ESA law apply?
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, it's a thing under what's called the Fair Housing Act.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, stay with me.
26:29
[SPEAKER_00]: ESAs are protected in housing, meaning landlords must generally allow ESAs even if
26:41
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a no-pets policy, and even if the animal is not a typical pet, again, this is going to be state driven though.
26:54
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, landlords can require, if you have an ESA, a letter from a licensed professional, a doctor, a therapist, whatever.
27:06
[SPEAKER_00]: and confirmation of a disability-related need.
27:12
[SPEAKER_00]: So if you show up at your apartment and you provide that letter from a licensed professional, saying this person for medical reasons, needs, and the essay,
27:24
[SPEAKER_00]: your landlord needs to allow it.
27:27
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, but you can't.
27:29
[SPEAKER_00]: If you just show up with an emotional support animal and just say, this dog provides me comfort.
27:34
[SPEAKER_00]: He is my emotional support.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And even if you get one of those fancy vests that they sell online, one of those little jackets that's red and looks official.
27:45
[SPEAKER_00]: A landlord without this extra documentation can say,
27:52
[SPEAKER_00]: where ESAs are not protected, okay?
27:56
[SPEAKER_00]: This is where people sometimes get tripped up.
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[SPEAKER_00]: ESAs do not have immediate access rights to things like restaurants or stores or airplanes.
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[SPEAKER_00]: These rules changed in 2021, okay?
28:12
[SPEAKER_00]: Public spaces are not automatically allowed like a service dog is.
28:19
[SPEAKER_00]: So if someone brings an emotional support, animal into a restaurant and says, it's emotional support.
28:25
[SPEAKER_00]: The business can absolutely legally say no.
28:29
[SPEAKER_00]: Again, it becomes murkier and more interesting if they provide documentation from a lawyer or therapist.
28:38
[SPEAKER_00]: I think that might scare the business owner enough to allow that animal in there.
28:44
[SPEAKER_00]: But if you don't have it, chances are you're going to get shut down.
28:48
[SPEAKER_00]: quick note on airplanes.
28:50
[SPEAKER_00]: This changed recently.
28:52
[SPEAKER_00]: Airlines now recognize service dogs and do not have to accommodate ESAs.
29:03
[SPEAKER_00]: So generally speaking, it's kind of like they've wise that because a lot of people were taking advantage of the ESA thing and just getting their pet because they wanted to fly with their pet to clear an emotional support animal.
29:21
[SPEAKER_00]: So now, emotional support animals are generally treated like pets for air travel.
29:27
[SPEAKER_00]: The third category are therapy animals.
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[SPEAKER_00]: These are hospital dogs, school therapy dogs, um, disaster response animals.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They are trained, but not for a specific individual.
29:43
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They have no legal access rights, no more than like the family pet.
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[SPEAKER_00]: They're allowed places by invitation only, baby, not by law.
29:56
[SPEAKER_00]: Let's switch gears to one of my favorite things, and that is planning for your demise.
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[SPEAKER_00]: As is in a state planning attorney, this is always top of mind for me.
30:08
[SPEAKER_00]: And you can and should legally plan for your pet in the event something happens to you, okay?
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[SPEAKER_00]: We firmly establish that pets are family.
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you should think about what would happen to those furry little family members if you pretty see some.
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[SPEAKER_00]: who would care for them and are you okay with them being returned to a dog rescue organization would you prefer that they were because you like that organization or do you want to leave cash to the person that agrees to receive your pets so that you can help them with pet care costs.
30:49
[SPEAKER_00]: And there, yes, is something called a pet trust.
30:53
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, maybe you remember a woman by the name of Leonihelmsley.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She was a very, very wealthy hotel owner, and she passed away back in 2007.
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[SPEAKER_00]: She was in the news after her death because she left $12 million to her dog named Trouble.
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[SPEAKER_00]: 12 million bucks.
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[SPEAKER_00]: and she did this through a pet trust, which is legally enforceable, meaning the money had to be used for the dog's care.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And a trustee had to manage it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: A trustee can either be a human being, a specifically named individual, or there are what are called corporate trustees, banks or other companies that serve in the role as trustee.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And also, the caregiver had to follow specific instructions on how to care for trouble.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The court later reduced the trust from $12 million to $2 million, which still feels like trouble was doing just fine, because he required pursuant to Leonas Will security due to kidnapping threats.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'm not kidding.
32:18
[SPEAKER_00]: uh, definitely needed the luxury care and dog food for get about it.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And um, and then the trust, I mean, that required ongoing management of a multi-million dollar fund, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: So you can't
32:34
[SPEAKER_00]: leave money to a pet directly, but you can create a structure that legally requires someone to care for that animal, okay?
32:43
[SPEAKER_00]: It needs to be all carefully crafted and most lawyers, including myself, will oftentimes, you know, try to talk you out of setting up a formal trust for your pet
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[SPEAKER_00]: Once a trust is created, that requires filing a tax return for the trust.
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[SPEAKER_00]: That requires fiduciary obligations, meaning the highest standard of care for someone with respect to managing the money and treating the beneficiary.
33:15
[SPEAKER_00]: That may be exactly what you want, right?
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[SPEAKER_00]: A very high standard of care.
33:19
[SPEAKER_00]: but think twice if you're kind of a normal person who has a dog or a cat or two or three or even a horse, you know, before you set up a trust because those need to be crafted in a way that that aren't going to become an albatross around someone's neck later, you know.
33:40
[SPEAKER_00]: If you have a good friend or family member that would take the pets,
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[SPEAKER_00]: just leave them the money outright and know that they're going to take good care of your pet.
33:48
[SPEAKER_00]: Okay?
33:48
[SPEAKER_00]: So, what do we do with all of this?
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[SPEAKER_00]: We recognize that the law is still catching up to how we actually live and how we actually feel about our pets, our pets are family.
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[SPEAKER_00]: But legally, there's something else, still.
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[SPEAKER_00]: And that gap is where all the important decisions live.
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[SPEAKER_00]: If you've got a pet, here's your little homework assignment.
34:18
[SPEAKER_00]: Think about making sure your covered liability wise with the right insurance if you've got an aggressive animal.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Okay?
34:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Look into that.
34:30
[SPEAKER_00]: Look into your homeowners insurance.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Look into a possible umbrella policy.
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[SPEAKER_00]: Be aware of a worst case scenario in what that would look like.
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[SPEAKER_00]: plan for what would happen if life didn't go according to plan, and your pet outlived you.
34:51
[SPEAKER_00]: Your pet relies on you for everything, so make sure they're okay if something happens to you.
34:58
[SPEAKER_00]: Because in both of these situations, the law will step in eventually.
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[SPEAKER_00]: The only question is whether you thought it through first.
35:07
[SPEAKER_00]: And that my friends is another reminder that life is legal, so you got another rules.
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[SPEAKER_00]: I'll see you next time.