Leaving It All To The Dog: Pet Inheritance And Disputes

• Published date: 07 June 2023
• 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...