So you hear stories about people leaving millions to their pets, when the pet dies, who or where does the money go to?
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It works the same way as if a person leaves money to minor or person that is incapable of making decisions on their own.
A trust is setup by the decedent’s (dead person) will with an appointed executor (decision maker) for the benefit of the Trustee ( pet/person). From there the executor has the power to utilize the money in anyway they see fit as long as it benefits the trustee, this could include tuition, daycare, maintenance of the existing residence, daily living expenses, etc. Even lavish vacations could qualify, (FiFi the poodle never saw the pyramids and wants to go private jet? now they can). As long as no one objects it’s all good.
There also needs to be rules for what happens to the proceeds of the trust after the trust is no longer needed (trustee dies) or the executor is no longer needed (minor comes of age). In the case of the trust no longer being needed, it could be a donation to a charity in the trustees name or in the case of the executor being no longer needed the funds are turned over to the trustee.
Fun fact you can actually setup trusts for things too. i.e a house, or boat. Same rules apply.
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