Pet Trusts · Arizona
What an Arizona pet trust actually does.
A will can hand your dog to your sister. It cannot hand her the money and make her spend it on him. Arizona law has a tool that does both.
Arizona law counts your pet as property.
Under A.R.S. 14-2907 you can set up a trust for a named animal, and that trust is valid. It runs as long as the animal is alive, and it ends when no covered animal is left.
That is the part a will cannot do. A will can give your dog to your sister, and it can give her money. It cannot tie the two together.
A trust ties them. The money is held for the animal, and a person you name can go to court if the care stops.
See how a living trust worksThe caretaker
The person your pet lives with. They feed him, walk him, and take him to the vet. They do not hold the money.
The trustee
The person who holds the money and pays the bills. They check on the animal, and they can replace a caretaker who stops showing up.
Why a will is not enough
Four gaps a will leaves for your pet.
A will is the wrong tool here, and not by a little. These are the four places it stops short.
Probate moves slower than a dog eats
A will has to clear the court before anything moves. Your pet needs breakfast the next morning, not in four months.
Money with no strings on it
A will can leave your sister money and mention the dog in the same line. The money is legally hers. Nobody can make her spend a cent of it on him.
Nothing covers the first week
Someone has to take the animal the day you go into the hospital. A will says nothing at all until you pass away.
No one to hold anybody to it
A wish in a will is a wish. A pet trust names a person who can take the trustee to court if the care stops.
The checklist
Six things you decide.
A pet trust is short. It is short because these six answers do all the work, and we ask for them in this order.
- 01
Which animals it covers
Name them and describe them. Breed, color, age, microchip number. A real description keeps a lookalike from being swapped in later.
- 02
Who keeps the pet
Ask that person first. Then ask a second one, in case the first moves away, gets sick, or ends up with a landlord who says no.
- 03
Who holds the money
Give the trustee job to someone else. Two names means two sets of eyes. One person doing both jobs answers to nobody.
- 04
How much goes in
Work from the real bill. Food, grooming, medicine, and vet care each month, times the years your animal is likely to have left.
- 05
What the caretaker is paid
A small fee is normal, and it keeps good people willing. Say whether it is paid monthly, and whether it stops if the animal is rehomed.
- 06
Where the leftover goes
Name the person or the rescue group that takes what is left. Leave it blank and the money simply falls back into your estate.
How much is enough, and who checks.
Arizona lets a judge cut a pet trust down. If the sum is far more than the animal could ever use, the court can reduce it and send the extra on.
That is not a reason to leave too little. It is a reason to show your math. We write down the monthly cost and the years behind the number.
We also name the person who can enforce it. If you skip that step, someone has to ask a court to appoint one before anything can be done.
See how we build trusts and willsA number you can back up
Food, grooming, medicine, boarding, and vet bills each month, times the years your animal is likely to have left. Then a cushion for illness.
A named enforcer
Arizona lets you name who may enforce the trust. Name one, and your pet has a person with standing to act the day something goes wrong.
Keep exploring
Where this fits in your plan.
Pet trust questions, answered.
Short answers to what owners ask us first. If yours is not here, pick up the phone.
Call (480) 863-6303No. Arizona treats animals as property, and property cannot own property. The trust owns the money and spends it on him.
As long as your animal does. Under A.R.S. 14-2907 the trust ends once no animal it covers is still alive.
The trustee can stop paying and move the animal to your backup. That is why we ask for a second name, and why the two jobs go to two people.
Arizona allows it. It is also the setup with the least oversight. If you do it, name someone outside who can enforce the trust.
It depends on the animal. A senior cat and a young horse are not the same bill. We price the monthly cost and multiply it out.
Yes. If the sum is far more than your animal could use, a judge can reduce it. The extra then goes where the rest of your estate goes.
It goes where you said. Many people name a sibling, a friend, or a rescue group. With no instruction it drops back into your estate.
Usually not. Most families add a pet section to the living trust they already have. It costs less and keeps one document in charge.
Yes. The Arizona statute covers domestic and pet animals, not only dogs and cats. A long-lived animal is the best reason to fund with care.
This page is general information, not legal advice about your animals. Reading it does not make us your lawyers. Talk with us before you sign or fund anything.
Turquoise Law Group, PLLC contracts with Roddy & Urness, PLLC or Nancy C. Pohl, PLLC in order to provide legal advice to your matter at an affordable cost.
Schedule your meeting
Make sure someone is ready for them.
Book a free consultation. We will work out who takes your pet, who holds the money, and how much it takes to keep the promise.
- Phone, video, or in our Scottsdale office
- Free and with no obligation
- Available in English and Spanish
Prefer to talk now?
(480) 863-6303