Parrot and wills/trusts

[GreyG]

Not sure exactly where this question should be placed, but I figured that this was as good a place as any...mods, please move if necessary..

I know its a grim subject, but a necessary consideration for those who want the best for their birds, even after the end of their life. At 45, my wife and I acquired our baby Grey, Zoey. Knowing what her lifespan likely will be, I am confident that our little girl will outlive both of us (heck, at 18 and 9 years of age, our other two fids might as well!). We do not have children (at least no HUMAN children ) so this is an important consideration for us. We have been researching options that we could put in place now to ensure our babies are well cared for upon our death. We have thought about establishing a trust for our babies, giving our entire estate to an entity to pay for their care. Of course, we'd need to negotiate that with whoever/whichever place we choose ( and who agrees to be named as the beneficiary in the trust) - and work through the details with our lawyer.

Has anyone else thought about this besides us?? And if so, what are your thoughts? I realize that is a rather personal question....I'm not asking for details, I'm just wondering if there might be other otions out there for people in similar situations as ours. Maybe there's a better idea that someone else has thought of that we need to consider.

 

[Mayden]

Not sure exactly where this question should be placed, but I figured that this was as good a place as any...mods, please move if necessary..

I know its a grim subject, but a necessary consideration for those who want the best for their birds, even after the end of their life. At 45, my wife and I acquired our baby Grey, Zoey. Knowing what her lifespan likely will be, I am confident that our little girl will outlive both of us (heck, at 18 and 9 years of age, our other two fids might as well!). We do not have children (at least no HUMAN children ) so this is an important consideration for us. We have been researching options that we could put in place now to ensure our babies are well cared for upon our death. We have thought about establishing a trust for our babies, giving our entire estate to an entity to pay for their care. Of course, we'd need to negotiate that with whoever/whichever place we choose ( and who agrees to be named as the beneficiary in the trust) - and work through the details with our lawyer.

Has anyone else thought about this besides us?? And if so, what are your thoughts? I realize that is a rather personal question....I'm not asking for details, I'm just wondering if there might be other otions out there for people in similar situations as ours. Maybe there's a better idea that someone else has thought of that we need to consider.

We haven't really thought about it, being the ages we are, (20/24) but we always anticipated that our parents would take on our guys if something were to happen now, our children in the future (hopefully, if they're animal lovers!) but if not then we will be doing the same; putting money aside and setting up a trust fund for someone to care for our babies when we go.

 

[henpecked]

Yes ,i've thought about it alot. Including working out with my grown kids who wants what bird. The best thing i can do to ensure they're future happiness is to socialize them. A well socialized parrot can find a good home and adjust to changing situation. Socialize,socialize,socialize.

 

[Jayyj]

With me at 35 and Alice 8, I hope we'll reach the end of the road more or less together. I've only thought about it in the sense that I've let close family know that if fate takes me out of the picture without warning then they need to make sure she goes either to someone who knows her, or to a rescue who can rehome her with someone who will care for her properly. It would break my heart to think of her back in a pet shop or listed on Craigslist, Gumtree etc. Hopefully it won't come to that though!

 

[Merlee]

We do not have children (at least no HUMAN children ) so this is an important consideration for us. We have been researching options that we could put in place now to ensure our babies are well cared for upon our death. We have thought about establishing a trust for our babies, giving our entire estate to an entity to pay for their care. Of course, we'd need to negotiate that with whoever/whichever place we choose ( and who agrees to be named as the beneficiary in the trust) - and work through the details with our lawyer.

Have you gone to any of the facilities you have considered being a beneficiary of your will? How many birds do they typically keep at a time? Will they have the staff to give your bird the attention it received while in your care? Personally, I think the bird would be better off rehomed with a family whose values are the same as yours than a sanctuary or a rescue. There is no guarantee that the facility you choose will be able to care for your pet as well as you do. Just my thoughts.

 

[MonicaMc]

Considering my age and the age of my birds, I don't currently have any that could out-live me, assuming that I live to be 60+ years old without any accidents/early death.

If something *were* to happen to me, I don't have any close friends or family that I would entrust my birds to. I wouldn't want them to go to a local bird store and I don't know of any really good sanctuaries in the area... I know people who do rescue and rehome, but am not all that familiar with all of them... and besides, this is not a very big 'bird' area. There are hundreds of people who keep birds, but very few who actually know how to properly take care of them. At least, from what I've noticed.

Granted, I don't plan to stay in this area as I don't like the desert! And well.... I don't plan on having kids, either!



I have heard of some owners entrusting their birds to a younger generation... people that they are not related to, but are just as enthusiastically involved with parrots as they are! And I've also heard of a few owners making a will for their birds to go live at a sanctuary to live out their days. One owner actually gave up her B&G and Amazon to a rescue to be rehomed because her birds hated her husband and she felt that caring for them was getting a bit too much. There's no doubt that she loves her birds! She has since gotten smaller species to brighten her days!

 

[henpecked]

i have 'sanctuary birds' a lady in Cal sent us two amazons .( with custom made ,personalized macaw size stainless Steel cages, and medical records) They can not be traded,sold or bred. They just live out their days with my flock of zons and they're happy.Her husband was dying of cancer and they wanted to spend time together traveling and visiting. He has since died but the lady still calls to check on her fids. She'd probably take them back but knows that they are at" home" now. Both birds are great ,gentle and fun to have around. They'd find good homes in most cases because they are well socialized and friendly birds. They are confident, outgoing and take changes well. The folks who come to visit the rehomes always want to take one of them or both home.IMO the best thing you can do for your birds future is to socialize it, now.

 

[weco]

Grey, you may want too browse around this site, then speak to your own legal advisers.....I spoke to one of my attorneys, recently when I was having a couple of contracts written & I have an appointment with an attorney specializing in animal law.....jurisdictions and countries vary in what you can provide for pets and animals.....

http://www.animallaw.info/

Good luck.....

 

[Gizmomania]

Very timely thread for me. My husband and I (both 57 years of age) have already begun to discuss who will be taking care our birds when we pass. At this time we hope that one of our 4 kids will, but realize that this might not happen if they end up with someone who doesn't like birds.

On Tuesday our 7 month old Pan Am will be arriving in our home, and we hope to be able to share at least 25 of our remaining years with all of our young birds, if not longer. In the event that our kids are unable to take on the care of our flock, we have begun discussions about bequeathing them to one of our local sanctuaries with a stipend to help care for them.

 

[MonicaMc]

My bourke parakeet came from an older couple who wanted to travel the USA and couldn't find a pet sitter... so decided to rehome their birds instead. She was 5-7 years old when she came to me (along with some others), and 11 years later, she's still alive. I've only heard of/seen two older than her.

The couples son used to be a coworker of my mothers, although now he is a customer of hers. It was years ago though that he stopped asking how the birds were doing, and was surprised to find out a couple years ago that one was still alive.

 

[mtdoramike]

My two birds are in my will. So in the case that something happens to me, my wife will carry on with the birds and upon her passing, my daughter who doesn't care for birds will be the one who will find them a good home. It's stipulated that the birds can not be sold, traded, or bred period. I have detailed instructions with what she will have to do to insure they get to a worthy home and I also have contracts drawn up with all the stipulations written down that the prospective new owners will have to agree to. It's a lot easier to ask people to jump through a few hoops when they aren't paying anything out of pocket for the birds. Pets are considered property and will be treated as such in the eyes of the law upon the owners death.

 

[getwozzy]

I don't have anything in writing or "set in stone", but if something happens to ME, my husband will keep our fids and care for them as long as he's able to. I haven't yet, but my plan is to make a binder with lists of care instructions, diet info, training info, etc so that way wherever my birds end up the person will know how to take care of them. I'm hoping that one day my son will be responsible enough to take them and care for them properly, but I like the idea of looking into sanctuaries....my galah isn't even 1 yet, but she's very spoiled and it would break my heart and make me roll over in my grave if she ended up in a less-than desirable situation.

I believe that every responsible parront should think about the "what ifs" and have a plan.