What Happens to Pets When You Die UK (2026): Planning for Your Animals

No. In English law, pets are property — they have no legal capacity to own or inherit assets. A gift directly to a pet (e.g. 'I leave £5,000 to my cat Whiskers') is void and will fail. Instead, you can leave money to the person who will care for your pet, with a request (not a legally binding obligation) that they use it for the animal's welfare. For a more secure arrangement, you can create a trust with a named trustee who holds the money on behalf of a named human carer, on terms that the carer provides for the animal throughout its life. The trustee can enforce the arrangement against the carer if the animal is neglected. Alternatively, many people include a letter of wishes alongside their will, asking the executor or the recipient of the pet to care for the animal and specifying how they would like them cared for.

Under the intestacy rules, a pet passes to the estate of the deceased as personal property (chattel). The administrator (the person who manages the estate without a will) has the authority to decide what happens to the pet. This is likely to be a spouse, civil partner, or adult child, who may agree to care for the animal themselves or arrange rehoming. Without a will there is no express guidance about the owner's wishes for the pet — the administrator is not bound to follow any preference the deceased may have expressed verbally. If no family member can or will take the pet, the administrator can contact a rescue organisation. Ultimately, if no one in the estate will take responsibility, the animal may be handed to a local rescue charity or in extreme cases to the local authority's stray animal service.

The term 'pet guardian' has no formal legal status in English law — unlike a guardian for minor children. However, you can identify a named person in your will as the person to whom your pet is left as a gift of chattel (personal property). This puts the pet in the legal ownership of that person on your death. You cannot compel them to care for the animal — once they own it, they may rehome it — but naming someone you trust, combined with a sum of money and a letter of wishes, creates a strong practical arrangement. Discuss your wishes with the named person in advance to make sure they are willing and able to take on the responsibility. Consider naming a back-up carer in case your first choice cannot take the pet.

In England and Wales, it is not possible to create a valid 'purpose trust' solely for the benefit of an animal because trusts must benefit people, not animals. However, you can create a trust that benefits a human — the carer — with a condition or expectation that they use the funds for the pet's care. More reliably, you can leave a sum to a named trustee, to be held on terms that the trustee pays the carer a regular allowance while the pet is alive, and retains the balance for a named charity (e.g. an animal welfare charity) on the pet's death. This creates practical accountability: the trustee can withhold payment if the carer is not providing adequate care. A solicitor can draft this properly. For most people, leaving the pet to a trusted friend and including a note in a letter of wishes is simpler and sufficient.

A letter of wishes is not legally binding but gives your executor and any nominated carer guidance on your wishes. For pet care, it should cover: the pet's name, species, breed, age, and any microchip number; the veterinary practice and any ongoing medical conditions or medication; the pet's daily routine, diet, and preferences; names of two or three people you would like to be considered as carers (in priority order); whether you would like the pet rehomed through a specific charity if none of your nominated carers can take them; and any sum of money you are leaving for the pet's care and your guidance on how you would like it used. Keep the letter with your will and update it whenever your pet's circumstances change. Tell your executor and nominated carers that the letter exists.

Several national charities offer emergency rehoming or temporary fostering for pets whose owners have died: the RSPCA accepts stray and surrendered animals and has a network of rescue centres; the Dogs Trust has a Buddy Scheme that temporarily fosters dogs for owners who are terminally ill, and rehomes dogs on an owner's death; Cats Protection rehomes cats from bereaved households; the Blue Cross rehomes a wide range of animals. Some charities ask for a donation in the will to support their work — including a charitable legacy to an animal welfare charity in your will is a way of ensuring they can continue to help animals in situations like yours. Contact your chosen charity in advance to understand their intake process.

If you leave a sum of money to a human carer with an expectation they use it for your pet, that gift is subject to the normal inheritance tax rules — it is a gift to a named person and part of your taxable estate. Gifts to human recipients use the annual exemption and other IHT reliefs in the usual way. If you leave the money to a charitable organisation (e.g. the RSPCA or Blue Cross), the charitable exemption applies and no IHT is payable on that portion of your estate. Note that a gift solely for an animal — not a person — is void (as above), so the IHT question only arises for gifts to human carers or animal welfare charities.