Leaving It All To The Dog: Pet Inheritance And Disputes

• Published date: 07 June 2023
• Subject Matter: Family and Matrimonial, Family Law, Wills/ Intestacy/ Estate Planning
• Law Firm: Withers LLP
• Author: Ms Deborah Nicholls-Carr

Karl Lagerfeld, the former Creative Director at Chanel, died in 2019, leaving behind probably the most famous cat in the world, Choupette (although a close second has got to be the lawyer who couldn't remove the cat filter on Zoom during a Court hearing in 2021). Lagerfeld was the theme of this year's Met Gala and not one but two celebrities paid tribute to his legacy by dressing as Choupette.

It has been reported that Lagerfeld left Choupette $1.5 million in his Will, although the amount has not been officially disclosed, and that she is now being cared for by Lagerfeld's former housekeeper Françoise Caçote. But is it legal to leave money to an animal and how does it work practically?

In legal terms, pets are considered personal chattels unless they are a working animal, in which case they are a business asset. Choupette is a social media "influencer" with over 250,000 followers on Instagram and Lagerfeld claimed that she made $3m in one year during his lifetime, although one may question whether an influencer pet can be described as a "working animal". HMRC probably have more traditional forms of animal work in mind.

Either way, an animal is property, and it is not possible to leave money directly to a piece of property. So, what are the options?

One option is to leave the legacy on trust for a pet. The general rule for trusts is that they have a definite object, ie human beneficiaries. The logic is so that the beneficiary can enforce the terms of a trust.

Trusts which are for the maintenance/welfare of animals in general, rather than specific animals, are valid as they are charitable trusts (Lewin on Trusts notes that 'In the case of a charitable trust it does not matter that there is no human beneficiary who can compel its performance, because the Crown as parens patriae does so through the Attorney-General').

A trust for a testator's pet gets around this by being a "trust of imperfect obligation". The funds are stipulated to be paid to a legatee to use the funds to look after the pet. If the legatee, who is to act as nominated trustee, is unwilling to take on the trust then the trust fails, but if the trustee accepts the trust then the Court will make a Pettingall order (from the case of Pettingall v Pettingall (1842) 11 LJ Ch 176) under which it will pay the money to the trustee but require the trustee to give an undertaking to use the funds for the required purpose ie to look after the pet. If the trustee fails to do so, then those entitled to the...