All About Estates

“Fat Cats & Lucky Dogs”

“…in the event of their death or incapacitation, [pet owners] can and should make some type of arrangements for the long-term care of their pets”.

That is a quote from a new book by GTA lawyer Barry Seltzer and Texas Tech Law Professor Gerry W. Beyer – “Fat Cats & Lucky Dogs” (Prism Publishing Inc., 2010).

The book discusses many of the pitfalls involved in setting up care for pets in the event of their owners inability to provide it and offers suggestions for overcoming the problems.

Along with providing an outline of a basic estate plan (Will, Powers of Attorney, trusts etc), the book covers such topics as the law in respect of pets and providing for their future care (what an owner can and cannot do), and the advantages and disadvantages of different types of plans (interim, informal, formal).

The book is a very enjoyable read and contains a number of interesting “factoids” such as the origin of the phrase “raining cats and dogs” (page 45) and anecdotes about some pampered pets from the past including those of General Patton, Liberace, Sigmund Freud and Napoleon Bonaparte.

Animal lovers will enjoy the “pet” quotes from celebrities, writers, politicians and comediens while learning how best to provide for their loved ones when they are gone. I’ll leave you with one of my favourites:

“Animals are such agreeable friends; they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms”. George Eliot (1819-1880), English Novelist.

Thanks for reading.

Elaine Blades

About Elaine Blades