I thought that using a tortoise as a real-life example and a metaphor for estate planning was pretty clever, so I wanted to pass along this summer article from the Wall Street Journal entitled “Tortoise Estate Planning.” *subscription link required (may not be required): email Lorie if you want a link to the article and don’t have a subscription to the WSJ*
The article isn’t just about estate planning for turtles (that’s a pretty niche audience), but shining a light on the considerations that thoughtful pet owners (and thoughtful planners in general) put into their estate planning.
The featured tortoise in the article (named Snoop Dogg 😊) was adopted by a man named Will when Will was nine years old. Will is now 29 and Snoop Dogg lives with Will’s parents. Will is thinking about the fact that Snoop Dogg might live another 130 years – meaning he’ll outlive Will’s parents and Will.
While most of us don’t have to worry about 100+ year old turtles, many of us might have concerns about the care for our own dogs or other pets. About 20% of our clients make provisions for their pets in their estate plans. The level of detail and expense ranges from: (1) a simple, outright gift of a modest sum of money to a loved one who will care for the pet to (2) a larger sum of money that will be in trust for the care of the pet. The “pet trust” option provides for the contingency of a caregiver no longer being willing or able to care for the pet. It also allows for the possibility that the best pet caretaker might not be a great manager of money.
Although I like dogs, we don’t have one right now. That may be changing soon though since my 8 ½ year old son Chase is a dog LOVER! He stops and asks anyone we see while walking if he can pet their dog and falls in love with any dog he spends time with. This is him peeking over his “Dog Responsibility Chart.” He’s been asking for a dog for quite some time. We said that once he earned 50 points (1 point for walking a friend or neighbor’s dog; 1 point for picking up poop), we would have a serious discussion about getting a dog. He made it to 50 points (and even donated a few points so his sister could get to 50 as well). First time in history that kids were excited when a dog pooped twice on one walk!
If this article triggers a question about how your beloved animal would be cared for it outlived you, please reach out and let’s discuss! If you have a tortoise or turtle, I suggest you reach out before May 23, 2024, which according to Wikipedia is World Turtle Day!
And remember, another Legacy Program benefit (and a cost of non-renewing) is that typically discussions and implementation of even somewhat minor changes to the estate plan for non-legacy program clients cost $5,000+.