You Can Leave a Legacy for Homeless Pets

Through estate planning tools, such as a will, you can help ensure Safe Haven of Iowa County's future success in promoting animal welfare, strengthening the human-animal bond and preventing the overpopulation and abuse of pets. Including SHIC in your estate plans is one of the most meaningful and generous gifts you can make for future generations of animals.

Whether you are making a will, rewriting an existing will, setting up a trust, establishing a charitable gift annuity or a gift through life insurance, think about making a gift that will benefit the animals you care so much about.

To show our deep appreciation for your gift we will put your name on a special plaque located at our main shelter.

Ways you can remember Safe Haven of Iowa County in your estate planning:

• Primary or secondary beneficiary of life insurance policy or IRA
• Final beneficiary for the residue of the estate
• Percentage of an estate
• Combination of a percentage of the residual estate and a specific bequest
• Charitable Gift Annuities (lifetime-income gifts)
• Charitable Remainder Trusts

To discuss putting Safe Haven of Iowa County in your will or estate plan, or for other ways you can support the mission of the SHIC, please contact:

Rinthea Satterlee at 319-325-0150

Safe Haven of Iowa County
P.O. Box 444
Williamsburg, IA 52361

You should consult with your attorney about the applicability to your own situation of the legal principles contained herein.

Don’t forget to provide for your pet’s future after you’re gone.

Because pets usually have shorter life spans than their human caregivers, you may have planned for your animal friend’s passing. But what if you are the one who dies first? As a responsible guardian, you provide your pet with food and water, shelter, veterinary care and love. To ensure that your beloved pet will continue to receive this care should something happen to you, it’s critical to plan ahead.

What can I do now to prepare for the unexpected?

In the confusion that accompanies a person’s unexpected death, pets may be overlooked. In some cases, pets are discovered in the person’s home days after the tragedy. To prevent this from happening to your pet, take these simple precautions:

• Find at least two responsible friends or family members who agree to serve as temporary emergency caregivers in the event that something unexpected happens to you. Provide them with keys to your home and care instructions.
• Carry a wallet “alert card” that lists the names and phone numbers of your emergency pet caregivers.
• Post removable “in case of emergency” notices on your door or windows specifying how many and what types of pets you have.
• Make formal arrangements that specifically cover the care of your pet. It’s not enough that long ago your friend verbally promised to take care of your pet. Work with an attorney to draw up a special will, trust or other document to provide for the care and guardianship of your pet(s) as well as the money necessary to care for him or her.

Establishing an honorary trust for your pet 

Iowa law provides for the existence of honorary pet trusts, which allow for a pet owner to ensure his or her pets are well provided for.

You can establish an honorary pet trust in your will. This trust will be a testamentary trust meaning that it will come into being at the time of your death. Careful consideration should be given to who is selected as trustee. As Iowa law states, if there is no trustee designated in the will, the court will appoint a trustee. The trustee has a legal obligation to protect and appropriately apply funds left in trust. If a trustee is to be designated under an owner’s will, the trustee should be someone a pet owner trusts quite well and is capable of caring for the pet.

Things to consider include:

• Does the person have a large enough home or apartment to accommodate the pet?
• What happens if this person is no longer able to serve as trustee for any reason?
• What happens if a pet owner moves to another state? Some states do not have comparable honorary pet trust laws and some states have variations of the Iowa law.
• Is the life span of the pet to be provided for in excess of 21 years (the allowed duration of this honorary pet trust?)
• What are the tax consequences of the honorary trust?

In any case, an estate planning professional should be consulted to assist with the proper drafting of the honorary pet trust to allow someone to properly care for beloved pets and for the trust to survive scrutiny under Iowa law.