Conference misery::feline_v1

    Hi Lisa.  People who don't want to face such things aren't dealing
    with reality.
    
    I know you are across the water but, Cats magazine had a whole
    article on wills and leaving an estate to care for the cat/cats
    etc.  Here in the states the laws differ from state to state. I
    would be interested to see what your solititor/lawyer says.
    
    Barbara

    My husband and I were discussing this very thing about 2 weeks ago.  I
    had picked up some literature from the SFSPCA in which I found a
    section on wills etc.  They have a situation where by one makes a
    donation to the foundation - papers are drawn up etc.  In the event
    that the animals are left without their people the society will come
    and get them - find homes for them and the animals will receive FREE
    medical care for the rest of their lives.  I am going to call and get
    more information and ask them to send specific literature.  It is very
    practical to think about these things - I want to know that my animals
    will be taken care of and will receive the medical treatment that they
    deserve.
    
    Giudi

    
    Lisa, I have been thinking alot about that too, lately.  Arrangements
    have been made verbally, but nothing is in writing.  This goes hand in
    hand with looking into "Living Wills".  Do any of you folks out here in
    CA know where I can obtain info about getting one in place?
    
    
    

    I had this put into my will, there's a trust fund for the cats. 
    There's also a backup arrangement with TreeHouse in connection with a
    donation to them.  I'm in Ca -- the lawyer who did it was Douglass
    Adams in Saratoga, Calif.
    

    Barbara, could I possibly get a copy of the Cats magazine article from
    you?  my mailstop is UCO-2.  I went buggy figuring out what to cover
    in the will (do I need to authorize euthanasia?  what happens if their
    guardian dies? stuff like that), so I'd like to see if I blew anything.
    
    Karen
    

    By the way, one mistake I made was naming the cat explicitly by his name
    in my first will.  Then he died, and I acquired others, so it had to be
    redone.  It now says something like "any pets" and I have written
    descriptions and photos filed with it at the lawyer's office, and
    as my "family' changes, I just change that stuff.  Their guardian also
    has a copy of everything, inclusding the photos.
                                                          

    
    Wow Karen, I am impressed...
    
    
    

First, I'd recommend you check with your lawyer (or solicitor).  Maybe you can
read up on the subject yourself to find out what options may be available (or
for the do-it-yourselfers, so you can do-it-yourself :-)).  I remember reading
something recently on the subject myself, maybe it was in Cat Fancy.

One thing that may or may not need mentioning, is that (at least in some
places...) you can't name your pet(s) as beneficiaries, contrary to the
fictional stories where you hear "And to my cat, Furface, I leave my entire
estate of $1,000,000,000".  You need to set up a trust, or leave the money to
the individuals who will care for the pet(s), with perhaps the given provisions.

When a relative-in-law died suddenly a few years back, it seemed (at least at the
time) spur of the moment that one local friend offered to take Rusty.  I'm not
sure if that person ended up keeping Rusty, but we later learned that
whoever took Rusty was given a nice sum of money, specified in the will.

It is also a good idea to think about (and speak with) those people you'd like
to take care of the pet(s) when you can't do it yourself (for whatever reason).
Bill and I took his Mom's cat several years before she died.  It was a lot
less strain for all of us to have it taken care of then.  I just thought of
that now...it was a LOT of strain for all of us at the time, and I know it would
have been much worse if we had to deal with it later than we did.

Jill

    Jill is probably joking, but just in case, don't do-it-yourself.  This
    is one place where you do need a lawyer's help, so that the will is valid.

    My sister, daughter and I made our wills at the same time and tied
    each will into the other.  If one dies then the other has two get the money,
    property and cats, if two die then the third gets the lot.  If we all
    die (say in a car accident--gruesome I know but possible) then our
    current vet--or current vet at that time--will make a quality decision
    about the cats based on a variety of choices laid out by us in our
    wills.  It's not purrfect but it's the best we could come up with, and a
    heck of a lot better than leaving it to chance.

    When I did my first will (24 and unmarried at the time, but
    "attached"), I asked my lawyer if I could put in my will that if
    something happened to me (I was about to go on a plane trip), that my
    mother would get my cats.  He laughed at me and said to "pre-arrange"
    this with my mom.  I didn't like being laughed at, but I guess he's
    never heard of such a request before.  My mom knows that if something
    happens to me, then she gets the cats, but I know she isn't thrilled.
    
    Also, regarding .4 - I've heard of Treehouse.  I think on PBS's show
    Cats and Dogs, a segment was done on them (a few years ago).  I thought
    they would be a good place to leave my babies.  However, I'm on the
    East Coast, they're on the West Coast, so it would make more sense to
    find a place out here.  
    
    Mary
    

    I think that Treehouse is in Chicago.  Maybe Karen can verify that for
    us.
    
    Jo

    Yes, TreeHouse is in Chicago.  I chose them as a backup to the guardian
    and my family, even though I'm in Calif., because they've been stable and
    a great place for animals for a long time.