Horses and Trusts

[KnockedOut]

I’m in the process of updating a living will/trust. I was curious what others have done when it comes to their horses in this aspect. For my older horse, my trainer and I agreed that he would be left to her as he is part of her lease program in the barn and there is space for him to be retired. However for my current, sound, capable show horse I feel like there are many options on the table.

My family and spouse are not horsey at all so I don’t want to leave the burden to them to try to figure out how to deal with a horse. My initial inclination is to leave her to a friend who agrees with some sum of money to account for upkeep. But I’m curious what others have done to try to ensure their horses’ welfare in the event of accidental death or illness etc.

[clanter]

@KnockedOut

My initial inclination is to leave her to a friend who agrees with some sum of money to account for upkeep. But I’m curious what others have done to try to ensure their horses’ welfare in the event of accidental death or illness etc.

your trust fund officer could oversee disbursements to cover horse’s upkeep according to the guidelines you establish in the trust documents

We have our kids who were raised with the horses to take on their care after we are gone…all of that is set up in our wills

[cutter99]

Or consider leaving funds available for euthanasia.

I have two horses in their 20s, one of whom has been foundered twice and one of whom can be a royal pain to handle. No matter what, they will never leave my care. I have arrangements made for them to be euthanized should they outlive me.

[Training_Cupid]

@KnockedOut

My initial inclination is to leave her to a friend who agrees with some sum of money to account for upkeep. But I’m curious what others have done to try to ensure their horses’ welfare in the event of accidental death or illness etc.

This. Yes the person can sell the horse the next day and keep the money, but I am choosing a person who I am trusting to act in my horse’s interest.
Some states allow a pet trust but that might require court oversight, accounting, taxes, etc. which IMO is generally not worth it.

Another option if you don’t know anyone is to name a trainer you are authorizing to sell/find a home for the horse on the estate or trust’s behalf; the trainer gets paid their commission, and the trust or estate pays board fees and gets the net proceeds after the sale.

[2tempe]

I’m dealing with this now…have an 18 yr old retired mare with hind suspensory issues, bilateral. I will likely arrange for her to be euthanized if still around. Also have a loveable, easy stallion - 18, still in work. He’s more of a dilemma; right now will probably leave to my trainer but 5 yrs down the road I may make a change in that decision; depends on a lot of things.

[KayGee]

In our (me and DH) trust, my horse, tack, and a sum of money is left to a dear, horsey friend. No stipulations. If something changes in the future, I will update the trust. For me, making the trust was exhausting except the horse part for which I am grateful.

[OverandOnward]

I don’t have any more constructive trust suggestions, other than to caution that one of the most dangerous times in the life of any horse is on the death of the owner. That is a frequent cause of a horse ultimately ending up in rescue - or worse.

You are wise to choose a home that you have verified has space for the horse for life, and is willing to provide that care. That’s a major mistake some people make when they do make a plan, they ‘give’ the horse to someone who is not up to supporting it. It’s important that the next owner values the horse, emotionally and/or financially, to be sure of the future.

Not to scare anyone, but if the owner hasn’t put together a plan … It doesn’t matter how valuable, trained or talented the horse is, horses from low value to very high value have ended up in bad circumstances because the heirs had no clue. Heart horses can end up neglected, or cycling through one auction pen after another, or even on the truck to slaughter. Even a purebred, breeding or show-winning horse that has considerable market value in the right market can end up in dire circumstances. And it can happen quickly, within days or weeks. It is shocking and unfathomable, but it happens every day.

If you do daily feeding and care and your family is not involved with that, be sure to have a day-of and days-after plan that your family understands.

If your horse is boarded, make sure your heirs will know where. Even if they’ve been to the barn before, could they find it on their own? Do they have the barn name, address, phone number, barn manager name?

Several years ago I realized that if I were not directing my own affairs, my family wouldn’t have the first idea how to find my horse. Or even how to get in touch with the board barn. And I didn’t know how they would go about finding that information, given their complete lack of contact with any of my horse connections. Honestly with everything they will be dealing with in those circumstances, I’m still not sure how soon they will think of doing something about my horse (I have one horse-loving niece that I’m counting on!). Fortunately my horse is at a good board barn with a very responsible and caring barn owner … but even that barn owner is unlikely to want a new “free” horse on their monthly bill. That plan is a little bit complicated.

[Where_sMyWhite]

When I did own horses, I knew who I wanted to be their caregiver for the rest of their lives.

Will/estate provided the caregiver a maximum per year for horsecare over a larger lump sum. Upon the horse’s death, then the financial burden for that horse was complete.

Turns out, both my girls pre-deceased me

[Foxglove]

Like others, I have left specific instructions with the lawyer daughter who is the executor of my (our) will. The two older, unsound horses are to be euthanized. The 22 year old sound, sane horse has a life-time gig with a young family from the hunt club --they have kids and all ride and would, I hope have some use for Steady Eddy. He would go to them with all his tack and his trailer and a yearly stipend for as long as he lives. The question is my young horse --very talented --but not exactly a kids’ horse. While I would love to control the world --I don’t quite know what to do with him so that he will be “safe” – at this point, daughter would have to figure out something for him --but she’ll do her best.

[Equisis]

I am a potential recipient of two animals by trust. The person has more animals, but each has an assigned “person” with sufficient funds allocated to care for the animals for their natural life (as well as euthanasia costs). When the animals pass, any remaining funds go elsewhere. No surprises- we discussed the matter extensively, and if anyone changes their mind, the trust will be updated.

My own situation is not quite as organized, but my family is clear on my wishes. My family is quite attached to the household critters, but they all have “backup” situations, should the need arise. For the horses, the retiree would be euthanized, one working horse would be returned to the breeder (who has agreed) and the other would be returned to a former owner (also agreed). If either working horse found himself unwanted, they would be euthanized. The working horses have value but given that I cannot allocate funds for more than a few years of care (barring catastrophic expenses) I would rather them go happily than waste away from neglect or let them be a financial burden for a loved one.

[KnockedOut]

@OverandOnward

If your horse is boarded, make sure your heirs will know where. Even if they’ve been to the barn before, could they find it on their own? Do they have the barn name, address, phone number, barn manager name?

Several years ago I realized that if I were not directing my own affairs, my family wouldn’t have the first idea how to find my horse. Or even how to get in touch with the board barn. And I didn’t know how they would go about finding that information, given their complete lack of contact with any of my horse connections. .

Thanks for pointing this out! I had not considered outlining their locations and since my friend lives in a different state that would definitely be pertinent.

[Guilherme]

I presume you have an attorney doing this for you? Ask them what your options are. But the biggest question will be who will ensure that your final wishes are followed? You can leave money and the animal to someone but what if they keep the money and ship the animal to an auction? Or spend the money on a cruise and put the horse in muddy paddock with moldy hay? You’re dead and can do nothing. Your representative in charge of the estate has to decide what to do, if anything. Is spending estate assets to enforce an estate legacy rules something that makes sense to that representative? There are a lot of questions that revolve around these issues and they tend to be highly local (in that local law, not social media ideas of what OUGHT to be done) will govern actions.

If this is a DIY project then plan for an extensive, and expensive, probate process.

G.

[clanter]

regarding a trust for a pet… be sure include positive identification of the animal in questions as some end up living a very long, long, long time

In rare cases, caretakers who have a sweet gig (say, getting paid $80k per year to tend to a cat, while living in an estate for the duration of its life) might find “replacement cats” to take the animal’s place when it dies, keeping the ruse going for decades. One caretaker kept a ruse like this going for 25 years.

“The trust should be very descriptive about the animal,” says Michael. “Otherwise, the person could just get a series of black cats, and, you know, Fluffy lives forever.”

https://thehustle.co/pet-trust-funds

for horses…most people can not distinguish one from another …and recently we have had Three different vets mistakenly filled out Coggins paperwork…with the horse standing right in front of them and having photos… still tying to get two sets of papers corrected for the Third time… all you have to do is Look at the photo to see the bay only has one white sock not two. And the yearling has white marking on all legs

[MsM]

I know that I could leave my horse to my BO right now (with money to care for him). Problem is, she is older than I am! I am wondering if it is pricey to change things as circumstances change.

[Guilherme]

@MsM

I know that I could leave my horse to my BO right now (with money to care for him). Problem is, she is older than I am! I am wondering if it is pricey to change things as circumstances change.

As in so many things, it depends.

If you have a disposition in your Will then you must change the Will, either by re-doing it or adding a Codicil. Any change must have the same formalities as the original Will (signature, witnesses, etc.). But it’s usually much shorter without a lot of “boilerplate” language if the change is simple.

G.

[KnockedOut]

@Guilherme

I presume you have an attorney doing this for you? Ask them what your options are. But the biggest question will be who will ensure that your final wishes are followed? You can leave money and the animal to someone but what if they keep the money and ship the animal to an auction? Or spend the money on a cruise and put the horse in muddy paddock with moldy hay? You’re dead and can do nothing. Your representative in charge of the estate has to decide what to do, if anything. Is spending estate assets to enforce an estate legacy rules something that makes sense to that representative? There are a lot of questions that revolve around these issues and they tend to be highly local (in that local law, not social media ideas of what OUGHT to be done) will govern actions.

If this is a DIY project then plan for an extensive, and expensive, probate process.

G.

Yes I have an attorney doing this. Honestly, I know that we can’t guarantee anything after we’re gone. The best we can do is pick the person responsibly and diligently. I’ve seen instances of wives not even following their husbands wishes after a death so it’s not something I haven’t considered. I’ve tried to pick people who have the same philosophy as I do. Those who would rather put a horse down than watch it suffer in old age - or those who would euthanize if they fell into dire financial straights etc.

[KnockedOut]

@clanter

regarding a trust for a pet… be sure include positive identification of the animal in questions as some end up living a very long, long, long time

https://thehustle.co/pet-trust-funds

for horses…most people can not distinguish one from another …and recently we have had Three different vets mistakenly filled out Coggins paperwork…with the horse standing right in front of them and having photos… still tying to get two sets of papers corrected for the Third time… all you have to do is Look at the photo to see the bay only has one white sock not two. And the yearling has white marking on all legs

^^Thank you! Another really good idea. Both of mine are microchipped and registered/tattooed as well so between that and a physical description hopefully that will cover all bases.

[Edre]

I am set up to be the recipient of two horses should anything happen to either owner, god forbid. It is relatively straight forward: the wills leave the horse to my care along with the horse’s belongings, and this comes with a sum of money meant to be earmarked for their care and upkeep.

Similarly, my horse is left to a friend with no stipulations. I trust them to do the right thing (whatever that decision may be). She would go with all of her belongings and the bank account I have established for equestrian emergencies is also willed to my friend to pay for transport and then care afterwards.

[NoSuchPerson]

My trust does not include specific details on disposition of the equines. The trustee received the specific details in a separate document, which also identifies the horse person I want her to consult with about carrying out my wishes. That way, if there is a change in the designated horse person on down the road or my collection of minimally useful and aged equines changes, I can change the details without having to make changes in the actual trust documents.

[jawa]

@KnockedOut

Thanks for pointing this out! I had not considered outlining their locations and since my friend lives in a different state that would definitely be pertinent.

It might not be a bad idea to leave a “next of kin” contact information with the barn owner. This would provide them with a way to contact someone in case you die. Obviously, a will/trust provides the “next of kin” with the power to make decisions, but it may help both the barn owner and your “next of kin” in a difficult situation.