How do I include instructions for my testamentary trust to provide for my pet?
This article covers the use of testamentary trust to provide for a pet. If you wish to structure your Will such that a gift to a specific beneficiary is conditional upon that beneficiary taking care of your pet (e.g. the beneficiary will only receive his or her share of the estate if he or she undertakes the care of the pet), please refer to this article instead — How do I make a gift to a beneficiary conditional upon them taking care of my pet?
Do note that trust beneficiaries (in this case, the individuals who are willing and able to adopt and care for the dogs) are also considered beneficiaries under the Will. Hence, they and their spouse CANNOT be witnesses to the Will.
Pets are considered property in Singapore. While you cannot name a pet as a trust beneficiary in your testamentary trust, you may provide for your pet by benefiting its caretaker.
It is not necessary to create a separate testamentary trust solely for the purpose of providing for your pet. The payout may instead form part of a larger testamentary trust that also provides for other family members or friends. However, where the testamentary trust is established solely for the purpose of providing for your pet, this intention should be expressly stated under the Additional Trust Instructions.
Trust Fund / Trustee / Trustee Powers
In the Appoint People page, add a testamentary trust and configure the name of the testamentary trust, the Trustee(s), and the Trustee Powers accordingly. You will also need to allocate assets into the testamentary trust.
Trust Beneficiary
Ideally, you should specify who the caretaker is and list him/her as the Trust beneficary with the same payout conditions as per below. You can also keep this give to a definition as per the configuration below.
Giving to a definition (as compared to giving to a named personnel) runs the risk of disputes arising from differing opinions on what the definition entails.
Listing using broad categories can have serious downsides as they may still be ambiguous, overlap with other categories, and is often more prone to mistakes. Listing each personnel individually is still the preferred approach as it adds clarity, makes future updates easier, and helps prevent unintentional errors.
Similarly, both CPF and insurance nominations are not made to unspecified groups of people, rather you will need to list them down individually.
In the system, you can add the caretaker as a beneficiary with the following configurations:
Full name:
Whosoever the caretaker of my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}
Relationship:
Others
Payout Conditions
Under the Trust Beneficiary section, add the caretaker as a Trust Beneficiary with the following payout conditions:
Give:
Others
Please describe the payout & condition:
To pay for all necessary expenses related to the care, maintenance, and welfare of my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}, (including but not limited to food, veterinary care, grooming, and other related costs) until my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}, passes away.
and
Give:
Monthly $ or Yearly $ {Currency} {Amount}
Relationship:
Only IF he/she assumes the role of caretaker to my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}, but stop when he/she ceases to be the caretaker (e.g. when my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}, passes away).
This is mean to be a token of my appreciation for his/her role (if assumed) as the caretaker.
Remainder Beneficiary
Set this as whoever that receives the remaning balance of the trust fund when the trust terminates. This can be to your family members, friends, charity etc.
[OPTIONAL] Additional Trust Instructions
If the testamentary trust is solely meant to provide for your pet (e.g. the trust terminates where your pet dies) and/or you gave a broad definition for the trustee to be the caretaker of your pet, you might want to consider adding some instructions to the trust to specify so.
This paragraph will take precedence over any inconsistent or conflicting instructions in this Testamentary Trust.
My intention in creating this trust is that it shall be used for the care, maintenance, and welfare of my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}.
I direct that the Trustee(s) of this Testamentary Trust shall also act as the Caretaker(s) of my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}.
Once my pet {Type of Pet}, {Name of Pet}, has passed away, this Trust shall be terminated. The remaining balance of the Trust Fund, shall be distributed to the Remainder Beneficiary(s) as per the section on “Balance of the Trust Fund” above.
