As man's best friend, it's no surprise that many people want to provide for their dogs in their Wills. However, dogs can't own property in their own right and therefore a bequest of a specific sum of money or item to a dog (or any pet) is not effective. So what happens to my dog if i die?

Available options

As a pet owner, you might want to consider:-

• a legacy within your Will - although, you can't leave an asset to your pet, you can bequeath the pet to somebody else within your Will. This is the most popular way of providing for pets and is usually accompanied by a bequest of a sum of money to assist with the cost of looking after the pet. The legacy of the sum of money is usually conditional on the person accepting responsibility for the pet after your death;
• setting up a trust - you may decide to make provision for your pet through a trust fund on your death. The trust could be set up so that there were funds available to cover the cost of looking after the pet, with any remaining funds left to a specified beneficiary (for example, the person who looked after the dog or a charity) on the animal's death. Full trust provisions for this purpose are generally considered excessive and the costs involved in administering a trust tend to mean that most people prefer the legacy option above.

Potential pitfalls

Providing for your pet on death is not straightforward. You should ensure that the person you intend to entrust the care of the animal to is willing to take on the responsibility. While they may have been quite happy to take your dog for the occasional walk or to look after the cat while you were on holiday, they might not be quite so keen to have a full-time pet!

As mentioned above, setting up a trust can be expensive and there are ongoing running costs with this option. You should take this into account when deciding on the best way to provide for your pet once you're gone.

What next?

How you provide for your pet in your Will very much depends on your personal circumstances. Please get in touch should you wish to discuss this further.