Most horse owners are worried about how to prepare and plan for the death of a horse.  But have you ever considered that your horse may out live you?  What happens then?  Surely someone will take care of your horse, right?

 You may think that family members or friends will simply take care of your horse after you pass.  Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t.  Horses, unlike cats or dogs, are expensive animals that require specialized care. 

So what can you do to protect your horse if it outlives you?  First, you need to create a detailed estate plan and identify who you want to take the horse.  Horses are considered property in the eyes of the law and are part of your estate when you die.  Without a written estate plan, the horse will become property of whoever is legally entitled to inherit from you in accordance with your state’s law.  This can become problematic when your beneficiaries have no interest in inheriting your horse.  For example, they may simply want to “cash out” and put the horse up for auction without any knowledge in how to go about selling your horse.  This can lead to your horse being sold to slaughter or just simply sold for value significantly lower than the horse’s true worth.  Therefore, one of the first things you should decide is who you want to take possession of your horse upon your death and make that part of your estate plan.  

The next consideration is how this person should take ownership of the horse. There are two common ways in which you can accomplish this.

Last Will and Testament

The easiest and simplest way to dictate how your horse will be treated upon your death is to include it in your will.  In a will, you simply designate who you want to inherit your horse.  If your will names a specific horse, you will probably need to revise the will over time as most people have a succession of horses in their lifetime. You also may want to consider leaving a specific “bequest” of money or property to the person inheriting your horse for the anticipated future cost of care. 

Before naming your family member or friend, you should make sure this person is willing and able to care for the horse upon your death.  One of the downsides of merely naming someone in your will is that there are no safeguards in place to make sure this person will actually continue to serve as the horse’s caretaker or use any money as intended.  He or she may change her mind once they realize how much work is involved or may be unable to continue with the obligation due to a change in circumstances.  Alternatively, he or she may just want to sell the horse and keep the money.  If money is simply given in a will to the horse’s new owner, it can be used by that individual without limitation – even on personal expenses. 

Animal Trust

Another option is to create a trust for your horse.  This legal document specifies how your horse will be cared for upon your death.  A trust can be “inter vivos” – meaning that it is “living” and in place during your life – or a trust can be created as part of your will. When establishing a trust, you should estimate the anticipated cost of the horse’s future care and then fund the trust with sufficient assets to pay for that care over the horse’s remaining life expectancy.   This can obviously be a costly endeavor.  The trust will terminate upon the horse’s death.

Once in place, the trust will mandate how funds will be directed and a “trustee” of your choosing will be responsible for carrying out your wishes.  In fact, you can name more than one trustee or a succession of trustees if the first person cannot or will not carry out the terms of the trust.

A trust is much more detailed and provides more oversight than a will.  Unlike a will, a trust can provide detailed instructions on anything related to the horse’s care, including feeding preferences, veterinary care, surgery and other expensive treatment, euthanasia, training preferences, breeding and so forth.  Additionally, any money funding to the trust can only be used for purposes outlined in the trust and cannot be comingled with the trustee’s personal money.

Katherine Jarve is a partner at the Marlton, New Jersey law firm of Jarve Kaplan Granato Starr, LLC. She is licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and maintains a practice in personal injury and civil litigation, including equine related issues. Katherine spent her childhood competing on the national AQHA show circuit. This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be legal advice. If you have a specific legal question or problem, consult with an experienced equine law attorney. Questions, comments or suggestions can be e-mailed to kjarve@nj-triallawyers.com.