Estate Planning for Pets
Making Your Wishes Official
Once you’ve decided that Blue Bell’s Lifetime Care Program is the right fit for your companion, the next step is ensuring your instructions are clearly documented. Including your pet in your estate plan gives your trustee or executor clear authority to carry out your wishes.
Taking the time to plan ahead turns your love into lasting protection, ensuring your cat receives the care and adoration they're used to. This step guarantees their comfort continues, no matter what the future holds. Estate planning for pets is one of the most compassionate things you can do.
Work with your attorney or estate advisor to secure your cat's future and include Blue Bell in your plans.
Why Legal Documentation Matters
Because pets are legally classified as personal property, estate planning for pets is the best way to protect their future. Formalizing your instructions establishes:
Loving Lifetime Care
Sets a clear path for placement if you face a serious health change during your lifetime or pass away.
Clear Directives
Authorizes your executor or trustee to carry out your exact plan and arrange placement without guesswork.
Dedicated Funding
Allocates funds to cover your cat's lifetime care fee and, if you wish, a bequest to support our ongoing mission.
Placement Donation & Age Requirement
Placement donations are calculated on a sliding scale according to your cat’s age upon admittance. Donations are lower for older cats with shorter care horizons, and higher for younger cats expected to remain in our care longer. No funding is required upfront; the donation is only due upon transfer. Our program is designed for senior cats age 12 and older. You are welcome to plan ahead with us regardless of your cat's current age. However, if your cat is under the age of 12 while drafting your documents, we recommend designating a backup option for their care. Contact us to learn more.
While the placement donation helps offset the cost of your cat's care, the actual expense of providing a lifelong home typically exceeds this amount. If you are interested in making an additional gift, check out our guide below to explore tax-advantaged ways to give now and in the future.
Sample Pet Estate Planning Language
These examples are designed to help you and your estate attorney prepare the required legal documents and funding provisions in the event your cats need to be placed with Blue Bell.
Placement in Event of Incapacity
It is important to plan for the care of your cats in case you become incapacitated. If you wish to place your cats with Blue Bell, you should add provisions to both your Durable Power of Attorney and Living Trust.
Here are some sample provisions:
Durable Power of Attorney
With respect to any cats that I own when this Power is executed or that is acquired thereafter, I give my attorney in fact the power to take any actions he or she believes necessary to maintain my cats, including the power to house, or to arrange for the housing, support, and maintenance of my cats at a quality of care and accommodation comparable to that enjoyed in my residence. If I own a cat or cats, I further grant my attorney in fact the power and authority to deliver the cat or cats, to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS in Laguna Beach, California. My attorney in fact shall, at the time of delivering the cat or cats, pay to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS the then current fee for the lifetime care of each cat.
Living Trust
In the event the settlor is, during his/her lifetime, unable to continue to care for his/her cat or cats or cannot have cats where he/she lives, the trustee is hereby authorized to deliver the cat or cats, to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS in Laguna Beach, California. The trustee shall, at the time of delivering the cat or cats, pay to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS the then current fee for the lifetime care of each cat.
Placement in Event of Death
It is also important to plan for the care of your cats in the event of your death. If you wish to place your cats with Blue Bell, you should add provisions to your Will and Living Trust.
Here are some sample provisions:
Will
If I have a cat or cats at the time of my death my executor is directed to deliver the cat or cats, as soon as possible after my death, to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS in Laguna Beach, California. My executor shall, at the time of delivering the cat or cats, pay to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS the then current fee for the lifetime care of each cat. The payment of said sums shall be made from any available assets of my estate.
Living Trust
Provided the settlor has a cat or cats at the time of his/her death, the trustee is directed to deliver the cat or cats, as soon as possible after the settlor's death, to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS in Laguna Beach, California. The trustee shall, at the time of delivering the cat or cats, pay to the BLUE BELL FOUNDATION FOR CATS the then current fee for the lifetime care of each cat.
The above sample provisions are only suggestions and you should consult with your estate-planning attorney to draft your power of attorney, will and trust so that they accurately express your wishes and reflect your individual situation.
Completing Your Registration
Once your plans are set, please submit your registration form. We’ll confirm your enrollment and ask for the relevant sections of your estate plan. If you or your attorney have any questions about our legal provisions or enrollment process, please reach out.