Every once in a while you see a story related to estate planning that jumps out at you, and there has recently been one of these circulating on the web. A very famous high-end fashion designer named Alexander McQueen sadly took his own life back in 2010. McQueen was a man with a deep and abiding love for animals, and in fact he was quoted as saying that his beloved three pet dogs were the only beings in his life that he completely trusted.
These three dogs, named Minter, Callum, and Juice, are not going to be wanting for anything in the absence of their deceased owner. The late designer McQueen left a bequest for the care of the pets in the amount of €50,000, which translates to approximately $82,000.
McQueen was a wealthy man, with an estate valued at some $26 million, so clearly he was in a position to give such an eye-popping amount to his pets. Obviously this may seem excessive to many people, but it is important to provide for your own pets in a reasonable manner within your means when you’re planning your estate. Once you find someone who is going to care for your pet(s), you then must make sure that he or she has the financial resources to do so. This can be accomplished through a direct bequest or, in some states, including Oklahoma, through the creation of a pet trust.
Leaving this inheritance behind to Minter, Callum, and Juice was not the only act of generosity towards animals that McQueen included in his estate plan. He also wanted to provide for animals across a wider spectrum, so he donated $164,000 to a couple of different animal-rights welfare charities. The charities that he chose were the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home and the Blue Cross animal welfare charity. I’m sure they were very grateful for the contributions.
Larry Parman
Founding Attorney
Since founding Parman & Easterday in 1985, Larry has led over 1,000 free, community-service education programs and helped more than 10,000 Oklahoma families go from putting off their estate plan to getting it done. His goal for every client is the same: to become the person their family calls "the one who took care of everything."
Larry is the author of three books: The Straight Shooter's Guide to Estate Planning; Estate Planning Basics; and Guiding Those Left Behind in Oklahoma. He served as Oklahoma's Secretary of State and Secretary of Commerce, and his firm is the only member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys in the state.
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