Making The Beneficiaries Jump Through Hoops – Your Pets
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Want to make a start on your will?
Making a Will is not about wealth it is about making sure that what you want to happen to your estate does happen. It gives you the opportunity to specify such things as who will administer your estate, who will care for your children and who will receive specific items of your property.
This is a fairly common situation. Obviously you will wish to be certain that your pets will be well taken care of when you are no longer with them.
You may feel that your friend gets on so well with your pet that you would like them to be together after your death. It may be tempting to leave your friend £200,000 on condition he looks after my pets for the rest of their lives’.This is different from leaving money in trust for your pets as the money goes to your friend immediately on your death.
This type of condition imposes an obligation on your executors to see that your friend complies. What will they do if he starts to take care of your animals, gets his cheque and then gives the animals to somebody else?It is generally better to say, ‘I give £30,000 to my friend X and express the wish without imposing a binding trust that he will take care of my pets until the end of their days.’ This imposes a moral obligation on your friend but not one which the executors are bound to monitor.
In contrast to leaving money for their upkeep, you may wish to have your pets put to sleep when you are dead.
This needs to be stated in the will. In the absence of any specific statement of who is to do this, your executors will have to perform the task.
Is this of interest – Making The Beneficiaries Jump Through Hoops – Options To Purchase or Making The Beneficiaries Jump Through Hoops – Examples
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