More pet parents considering their four-legged friends when drawing up wills

Rudy Brenner and Andre Patry have been together for 38 years and are on their third Airedale terrier. They consider 12-year-old Lizbeth as part of their family, but they realized that if something should happen to them, they didn’t have a plan.

“God forbid something should happen to both of us. What’s going to happen to her because we didn’t make any plans?” said Brenner.

They decided to change their will, and started to look for someone they could trust to care for Lizbeth.

Their notary, Francine Lewis, said most people don’t consider their pets when drawing up their will.

“When I bring it up with clients, it usually goes very well because a lot of times people are just not aware that they can put a clause, that they can put a provision to protect their cat or their dog or their pet,” she said.

Karl Lagerfeld’s cat Choupette, one of world’s most famous pets, was rumoured to have inherited his fortune when he died in 2019. But in Quebec, Lewis said pets are considered property, not persons and cannot inherit money.

“We can put provisions in the will to determine where the animal will live or how that will be cared for, but it cannot be a legatee or an heir where they are receiving the funds. So that's an important distinction to make, because, you know, we it kind of forces us to trust a third party,” said Lewis.

It’s also important to do the math, and ensure sufficient funds are designated to that person to maintain the pet's level of care, she added.

Brenner and Patry completed their will and found the perfect person to care for Lizbeth.

“We know she will continue to have a nice life, and be with somebody who loves dogs,” said Patry.

While they don’t want to think of unthinkable, they said having a plan in place for Lizbeth has given them peace of mind.