Do you have a will for your miniature horses?

[Maxi'sMinis]

I was just wondering if any of you have set up a will that covers your minis? If so have you stated where, when and how your horses are dispersed or sold?

I was just thinking about the safety of my beloved minis and if and when I go how they will be taken care of. Please share.....

 

[~Lisa~]

Yes I have a list of what horses will go where and have discussed with those people taking on the horse if anything should happen

 

[Sandee]

Afraid all I did was to put concerns for them in writing and requested the most "responsible" ( the one I don't think will lose perspective) person in my family to take care of handling them whether it be keeping or selling or giving to someone.

 

[Marty]

Yes I have a plan.

And here's also a bit of advice:

Before you go willing out any of your horses, be sure to discuss this with the people you will be gifting them to in advance. They may not want them!

I was willed more than one horse and one especially broke my heart.

One of them belonged to a very dear friend of mine who had brain cancer. She willed me her very old quarter horse who had tons of problems, more than you could count. We had discussed putting her down on several occasions in the past but she was in denial and very optomistic and convinced this horse would last another ten years and be fine if she kept up on her regimine of one thousand supplements a day. What I saw however was a very old worn out tired crippled horse in chronic pain who would never rally who was costing a fortune in meds and supplements, loads of feed, frequent vet visitations, and practially round the clock care. When my friend passed, the horse showed up at my barn with everything she owned including her one thousand supplements. Of course I knew in my friend's eyes this was an "honor" for me to be bestowed with her wonderful mare, but it was also a huge hardship on me. I did do right by this mare and follwed the regimine for quite some time regardless, and eventually she passed by herself to be with my friend in heaven.

 

[sfmini]

I am leaving all of my animals to Judy as I know she will do the right thing. That includes the bird (not her favorite but she will find him a good home) and dogs. I had to specify the dogs as my brother is NOT to get any of them. He loves his dogs, but is not able to let them go when it is time and that just makes me crazy. Judy will do it when it is needed. When I told her that, she told me that she was glad, because she would fight tooth and nail to keep them.

 

[SilverDollar]

We have a revocable trust with provisions for our animals. I calculated the annual cost for all my animals (yikes!

) to be sure enough was allocated for their care. My sister will care for them and she's agreed to this. She's not to sell them or I will come back and haunt her.

 

[Irishroots]

I was wondering about this myself. If I passed and my husband gave my horses to whom I specified, would that person be able to register the horses in her name?

 

[Skylight_minis]

I was thinking about this earlier this week before i seen this topic i was thinking about other people being able to put them in their names. I decided that i could sign transfers for each horse and lock them away in a safe place. If you have someone in mind that you want the horses to go to you could put their name on the transfer papers or if they are to be sold to an unknown party just leave the buyers line blank. The great thing about just doing the transfer papers is if you change your mind later on you can rip them up and do another one and you didnt mess up the horses reg. papers.

 

[cretahillsgal]

I have signed transfers for all of my horses "just in case" something were to happen to me. They are all in a folder locked in the safe. Then at least hubby or whoever can find homes for them without having to worry about their papers being untansferable.

 

[sedeh]

My minis are specifically mentioned in our will. I talked with a good friend and she and her husband agreed to take the whole herd if something should happen to both my husband and I (God forbid!). She said she'd appreciate it if we would wait until after she gets out of nursing school!

I said we really don't want it to happen at all!!

I've been thinking about putting signed transfer papers in with our wills, though I think with them being named specifically in the will my husband or friends should be able to get the herd transfered into their names.

 

[Miniv]

Some very valid questions have been brought up........ If the horses are willed, but the transfer papers aren't signed, will the registries honor the will?

 

[REO]

I don't think so MA.

Anyone can own the horses or buy without papers etc. All the registries care about is the owner of record, and they won't transfer without signed transfers from the owner of record.

Signing transfers is a very good idea for all of us

 

[SilverDollar]

There is a lot of information on this website: Pet Trusts This is not the type of trust we have but it might give you ideas. If you look at the FAQs tab it will give you a lot to think about. There are also links to other sites with additional information. You need to make sure that whatever you do is legal and enforceable in your state or country.

(I am not affiliated with this site nor have I used the company. Just passing along information.)

 

[sfmini]

I will verify this with the office, but I am 99% sure that the office will honor a will and the beneficiary becomes the legal owner of the horses. I'll let you know when I hear the exact process.

 

[REO]

Thanks Jody! I'd like to know the answer for sure

 

[susanne]

PLEASE be sure to check out your individual state's pet trust statutes -- each state determines its own laws regarding this, so one size does not fit all. Some states (such as Oregon) take such trusts very seriously, while other states allow them to be easily overturned.

Here's a list of various state pet trust statutes: http://www.professorbeyer.com/Articles/Animal_Statutes.htm

I know nothing about the company listed in a previous post, but be very cautious setting up such a trust over the internet -- there are so many questionable operations out there.

It's critical that someone know what to do for your pets immediately upon your death, so be sure to appoint someone trustworthy and close by. You sure don't want them to go uncared for until the will is read or sent down the road before your wishes are even known.

If Keith and I kick the bucket simultaneously, our property will be sold and the proceeds will go to the care of our animals. We have no human kids, and my siblings don't need the money (although I'm sure they'd disagree...). Any leftover funds will be donated to our favorite charities.

Finally, I second Marty's advice: be sure that the person you appoint to take care of your beloved pet agrees and knows the full extent of this commitment.

 

[SilverDollar]

Susanne, I agree with you about not setting up matters such as this over the internet. (I only included a link so that people might learn what kinds of questions they should be asking themselves and other issues to consider. Another section of the link you posted has FAQs in "normal" English: http://www.professorbeyer.com/Articles/Animals.htm) Personally I would only work with an attorney regarding anything to do with my affairs when I die or become disabled, and only an attorney that specializes in trusts, wills and estates. We have done all that we can to legally ensure our wishes will be carried out should both my husband and I die at the same time, or become incapacitated/unable to care for our animals (a will is only in effect if you die).

In our personal situation, a revocable trust (not a "pet trust") was best for us. A will was completely inadequate. Laws and statutes are best interpreted by an attorney, and only an attorney and a tax professional can advise you of what's best in your personal situation (there are legal, financial, and tax limitations for wills). Be careful trying to interpret laws on your own unless you're an attorney.

Since we have some special needs pets, I created a binder that includes information about each animal (this is also with our attorney in the trust documentation). The first page is their daily feed and care requirements which I also have posted in the barn.

 

[sfmini]

I got this from Pam at AMHA:

Jody,

You are correct. If some one submits a copy of the Death Certificate and Will the person named as the recipient of the horses or is executor of the Will has all rights to sign any paperwork on behalf of the deceased individual. If it’s a spouse and they live in a community property state a copy of the Death Certificate is all that is needed.

The thing everyone is possibly referring to is an office policy that was put into place in 1994 which states: “If one of the family members (him or her) die the ownership may be changed to the one member or other members with a copy of the death certificate and a court document (Will or Legal Document) stating the horses were left to the other party(ies). A transfer form does not have to be submitted; however the transfer fee and original registration certificates must be submitted.”

So let me clear a bit of that up that may be confusing the others. If the person that received the horses when the owner dies wants their names removed from the ownership and are not submitting the paperwork for any other transaction that is when they must pay for a transfer and submit the certificate. However, if they leave the ownership record as it is until they submit it for permanent status change, gelding status change, etc.; when that is submitted we can remove the deceased owner’s name without the cost of a transfer. Or if they are selling the horse(s) they would have the legal right to sign on the behalf of the deceased individual without removing his/her name.

This is pretty much the same as in the case of marriage or divorce of owners.

 

[susanne]

SilverDollar, I totally understand -- and that site does give some good food for thought...I just worry about the overly trusting... BTW, you made an excellent point about wills not going into effect if you're alive but incapacitated.

Jody, THANK YOU for going to the effort of clarifying that.

I think this thread needs to be added to The Best of board for future reference.

 

[minimule]

I'm dealing with this kind of thing right now. I bought a filly in 2009 that was to be double registered. The owner started the paperwork but ran into financial issues so the papers stopped moving. In Juy of this year, before I could pick the girl up, he passed away with no will. He was a young man and had a partner but the partner wasn't on the paperwork. I've been trying to get her papers finished but since there are no legal documents anywhere stating WHO is eligible to sign for him, I know have a nice little filly with no papers at all.