Care for Your Pet From Beyond the Grave

There was a hitch in the plans: Helmsley left Trouble in the care of her brother Alvin, who apparently wanted nothing to do with him. As a result, a New York judge cut Trouble's share of the inheritance down to $2 million, reapportioning $6 million of the funds to the two disinherited grandchildren. The rest was put into her charitable trust.

And while Helmsley requested that Trouble be buried with her once he dies, New York State law does not allow pets and humans to be buried in the same place.

Helmsley's wishes might seem a bit extreme or odd to even the most loving pet owner, but they were carefully outlined and certainly how she wanted her money to be spent and her pet to be cared for. However, they happened to be outlined in a will, which does not carry the same protection for a pet as a trust, according to Rachel Hirschfeld, a pet-trust lawyer.

"At least with a pet trust, you can guarantee that the money and the pet will stay together," says Hirschfeld. "The bad thing about a will is you can't leave instructions for care. A person can drop the pet anywhere and keep the money for themselves."

Hirschfeld suggests that those leaving behind more than $100,000, or more than 10% of their estate to a pet, put together a pet trust -- especially if there are family members who might put up a fuss about the pet's "inheritance" or instructions for its care. She has created a simpler (and less costly) "pet protection agreement" for those with fewer assets who just want to make sure someone will take care of their pet.