Trusts, wills safeguard pets when an owner dies

She was known as the "Queen of Mean" for her bullying, skinflint ways, but hotel heiress Leona Helmsley wasn't stingy when it came to her dog.

When she died in 2007, Helmsley had created a $12 million trust for her pet Maltese, a female named Trouble. Although Trouble later had to settle for a measly $2 million, she still lived better than most people, spending her final years in Sarasota, Fla., with a security guard and a caretaker who reportedly spent $100,000 annually on her food, grooming and other essentials.

Call her eccentric, extravagant or three pups shy of a litter, Helmsley had the basic idea right, animal advocates say. We humans typically cherish our dogs, cats or birds as members of the family. But what becomes of Fido or Garfield should they outlive their owners? That's where a pet owner might consider providing for their them in their will....

Source: Trusts, wills safeguard pets when an owner dies By William Loeffler, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW