Americans love our pets. 66% of US households have at least one pet, and we spend $100B annually on their food, care, and wellbeing.* So why do we forget about them when it comes to our estate planning?
More than 95% of American pet-owning households consider their pets to be part of the family, but virtually all of them, a staggering 92%, do not have an estate plan containing provisions specifically concerning their pets. That’s right, more than 9 out of 10 of those good ol’ boys and girls smiling, wagging their tails, and bringing life to your Instagram feed are animalia non grata when it comes to having a written plan providing for their continued care and support should something unexpected happen to their pet parent.
The Pet Protection Gap problem is two-fold. First, 60% of Americans do not themselves have an estate plan. Of those who do, less than 20% of those estate plans contain provisions concerning pets. All else equal, that leaves only 40% * 20% = 8% of pet households covered.
92% of pet-owning households do not have an estate plan concerning their pets.
Unfortunately, thousands of pets end up in shelters every year because their owners did not make proper arrangements for their care. The same situation may arise when an owner makes verbal, informal arrangements, and those unenforceable arrangements are not voluntarily carried out by the owner's living family members or other designees.
At Just In Case Estates, we want you to join us in the fight to close the Pet Protection Gap by protecting your pet with an estate plan today. We’ve made our Pet Protection Plan totally free, and you can complete all your documents from the comfort of your home or favorite coffee joint.
So what are you waiting for?
Sources:
* American Pet Products Association, "2021 State of the Industry"
