Pet trusts: how to make sure your pet is cared for

Updated 2026-10-16 · Expert review in progress

The short answer

A pet trust sets aside money for your animal's care and names three people: a caregiver who keeps the pet, a trustee who holds and pays out the money, and someone who checks the money is used as you intended. Washington recognizes these trusts under RCW 11.118. You can create one in your will or your living trust.

You know exactly how your dog likes her dinner, and which noises send the cat under the bed. A pet trust is how you make sure that knowledge, and the money to act on it, outlasts you.

Washington law treats a trust for an animal as a real, enforceable trust. This post explains how a pet trust works, who does what, and how to set one up. It belongs to our guide to the care plan, everything only you know.

What is a pet trust?

A pet trust is a legal arrangement that holds money for the care of one or more animals. A trustee manages the money and pays for the animal's care. A caregiver gives the care itself: the walks, the meals, the vet visits.

For a long time, the law didn't take these trusts seriously. Washington's legislature said so plainly: under the common law, trusts for animals were unenforceable, and it passed chapter 11.118 to make them valid and enforceable by their terms (RCW 11.118.005).

Washington's law applies to any animal with a backbone (RCW 11.118.010). That includes dogs and cats, and also birds, horses and fish.

Why not just leave the dog to a friend in your will?

You can, and many people do. A gift in a will can leave your dog, and some money, to a friend. The friend may well do everything you hoped.

But that money becomes the friend's money. Nothing in the law requires it to be spent on the dog. And a will only speaks after death, so it doesn't help during a long hospital stay.

Item	Gift in a will	Pet trust
Money must be spent on the pet	No	Yes (RCW 11.118.030)
Someone can enforce your instructions	No	Yes (RCW 11.118.050)
Can help while you're living	No	Yes, if it's part of a living trust
Says what happens to leftover money	Not usually	Yes
Simple to set up	Very	Takes more thought

A gift may be enough for an older pet and a devoted friend. A trust is worth it when there's real money involved, a long-lived animal, or a caregiver you'd like supported, not burdened.

Who does what in a pet trust?

A good pet trust names three roles, and a backup for each. One person can hold more than one role, but separating them builds in a quiet check.

The caregiver

This is the person who takes your animal home. Choose someone who knows the pet and has said yes, out loud, to you.

The trustee

The trustee holds the money and pays for care. In Washington, the trustee may be paid reasonable compensation and reimbursed for reasonable costs. Otherwise the money may only be used for the trust's purpose and the animals (RCW 11.118.030).

The trustee is a fiduciary, legally required to act in your interest and follow what you wrote. If no trustee is named, or none is willing to serve, a Washington court will name one (RCW 11.118.070).

The enforcer

This is the person who makes sure the money is spent as you intended. Washington allows three kinds of enforcer: someone your trust names for the job, the person who has custody of the animal, or someone a court appoints. Anyone with an interest in the animal's welfare can ask a court to appoint or remove an enforcer (RCW 11.118.050).

One detail matters here. Washington doesn't require a pet trust to file reports or accountings unless the trust or a court requires them (RCW 11.118.060). If you'd like regular updates, write that into the trust.

How do I set up a pet trust?

Here are the steps, in order.

Decide which animals. You can name each pet, or describe them so they're easy to identify, such as "the animals I own when I die" (RCW 11.118.020).
Ask a caregiver, and a backup. Have the real conversation. Ask about their home, their schedule and their other animals.
Choose a trustee, and a backup. This can be the caregiver, a different friend, or a professional.
Name an enforcer. Someone who loves animals and will speak up if something seems wrong.
Estimate the cost. Add up a year of food, vet visits, medications, grooming and boarding, then think about how many years your pet may live. Your vet can help with the estimate.
Write the care instructions. Food, routine, medical wishes, and what should happen at the end of the pet's life.
Say where leftover money goes. A friend, a family member or an animal charity.
Put it in a document. A pet trust can be part of your will, or part of a living trust. An attorney can draft it for your state.

In your will, or in a living trust?

A pet trust in your will takes effect after you die and the will has gone through probate. A pet trust inside a living trust can be ready sooner, and can also pay for care if you become ill while you're living.

The ASPCA makes the same point: a trust that takes effect during your lifetime can give instructions for your pet's care if you become incapacitated (ASPCA).

What happens when the pet dies?

In Washington, a pet trust ends when no animal it names is still living, unless the trust says otherwise (RCW 11.118.020).

The leftover money then goes in this order: first as your trust directs; then, for a trust in a will, under the will's leftover-property clause; and finally to your heirs under state law (RCW 11.118.040). Saying clearly where it should go keeps it out of that last step.

What to write in the care instructions

The legal part is short. The warm part is where your knowledge lives. Courts in Washington read pet trust language generously, and presume your instructions are meant to be followed, not just hopes (RCW 11.118.080).

Consider including:

Food, portions and feeding times.
The daily walk, and the route she likes.
Her vet, medications and any allergies.
Fears and comforts: thunder, the vacuum, the old blanket.
How often the caregiver should send the enforcer a photo or an update.
Your wishes for her final days, and for burial or cremation.

While you're writing about endings, it can help to write down your own funeral wishes too. The pet details can also live in your pet care plan, which covers what happens tomorrow if you're suddenly in the hospital.

A short example

Here is a typical case, a composite. Linda, 69, has a young border collie named Finn. Her living trust includes a pet trust for him.

Her neighbor Kate is Finn's caregiver, with Linda's cousin as backup. A trust company serves as trustee and pays Kate monthly for Finn's food and vet bills. Linda's friend Ann, who fosters dogs, is the enforcer and gets a photo and a short note from Kate twice a year.

The trust says any leftover money goes to the local shelter where Linda found Finn. Everyone has a copy of Finn's routine. When Linda spends a month recovering from surgery, the same arrangement pays for Finn's care at Kate's house.

Who can serve as trustee?

A friend or relative can serve, and often does. But money for a pet can need managing for many years, and a horse or a parrot can outlive the people around it.

That's where a professional trustee can help, on its own in the role or as backup. Our guide to the four roles explains how trustees fit beside executors and agents. Our guide to choosing professional help compares the options. In a Kinly membership, the four documents include a revocable trust, and Trella Trust Company can be named as trustee, first or as backup to someone you choose.

Common questions

How do I set up a pet trust?

Choose a caregiver, a trustee and someone to enforce the trust, each with a backup. Estimate the cost of your pet's care, write detailed instructions, and say where leftover money goes. Then have it drafted as part of your will or living trust, following your state's rules.

Is a pet trust legally enforceable in Washington?

Yes. RCW 11.118.020 says a trust for the care of one or more animals is valid, and RCW 11.118.050 says it can be enforced by someone the trust names, by the animal's custodian, or by someone a court appoints. Other states have their own rules.

Who gets the money left in a pet trust?

Whoever the trust names. In Washington, if the trust doesn't say, the leftover money passes under your will's leftover-property clause (for a trust created in a will), and otherwise to your heirs under state law. Naming a person or charity keeps it simple.

Can the caregiver and the trustee be the same person?

Yes, but it removes a natural check, since the person spending the money is also the one caring for the pet. If you combine them, name a separate enforcer and ask for regular updates in writing.

Does a pet trust help if I'm in the hospital?

It can, if it's part of a living trust that allows payments while you're incapacitated. A pet trust in a will only takes effect after death. For the first few days of a hospital stay, a simple written pet care plan and a neighbor with a key matter most.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

The care plan and the small thingsWho takes care of your dog if you're in the hospital tomorrow?A pet care plan for the sudden day: who has a key, who knows the routine, who pays the dog walker, and the one-page note that tells a stranger what to do.The care plan and the small thingsFuneral wishes: writing them down so nobody has to guessHow to write down your funeral wishes, from burial or cremation to the music, and how to make them legally count, using Washington's rules as the example.The care plan and the small thingsThe care plan: everything only you know, written downWhat a care plan is, how it differs from a will, and how to write down the treatments you'd want, who to call first, your pet's routine and more.