Can a Pet Be a Life Insurance Beneficiary?

If something ever happened to you, you'd want your pet to be well taken care of. You might have someone in mind to adopt your pet, but you might worry that they might not have enough money to pay for things like unexpected vet bills — or that they wouldn't spoil your pet the same way you would. Making your pet a beneficiary on your life insurance might sound like a good way to take care of these financial concerns, but there are a few things you should be aware of. https://www.mosleyagency.com/life/default.aspx

Pets are Property, Not Property Owners

The first thing to be aware of is that, under the law, your pets are property that need an owner. Pets can't own their own property. Their toys and anything else that "belongs to them" is actually your personal property. This includes if you try to give them money — whether through a life insurance policy or any other means. 

For this reason, life insurance companies usually limit you to naming human beneficiaries. If you list a pet's name on your policy and the life insurance company doesn't realize it's not a human, it wouldn't pay the benefits to your pets. Instead, the money would either go to your other beneficiaries or into your general estate — depending on how you set things up.

A Trust Could Be An Option 

There is an alternative to leaving your life insurance money to a human beneficiary and hoping they use it on your pet as you wish. You may be able to create a trust for your pet. A trust requires any money to be used for its stated purpose. Any money left over when your pet passes on could go to a human or charity of your choice. 

If you're interested in setting up a trust for your pet, you'll need to ask an attorney about how it works in your state and how to do it the right way. You'll also need to pick who you want to manage the trust and who will physically take in your pet. Don't forget to discuss your plans with them to make sure it's something they're willing to do.