Thanks so much, Maggie. I guess maybe I shouldn't have used the term template. We don't want to go too deeply into exactly what people need to do to donate or else we know we'll run into local laws that vary or other such issues. We're just looking for some wording to let them know that leaving money for us after they're gone is an option and they need to set that all up in advance. We just want to get ideas or wording that worked for other rescues rather than trying to reinvent the wheel or the dog stroller. I know I did see one rescue who had all sorts of forms to fill out and that's way over the top for a rescue of our size.
Thanks SO much for the info about former fosters. Yes we take back every dog we ever fostered for the rest of their lives and that's important info to pass on that we didn't think about. Usually the child or relative of the deceased owner contacts us to take the dog and they don't always have the medical records, chip registration or routine of the dog. This would be a good way for people to take the best and responsible care of their dog after they're gone. Thanks so much for that info. A very good point we would not have thought of! I love our Maddie's Pet Forum!!
------------------------------
Susan Leavitt
National Coordinator, East Coast, VP Board
American Maltese Association Rescue
NY
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-01-2023 04:16 PM
From: Maggie Thomas
Subject: Planned Giving/Legacy Website Templates
As a national rescue, templates are unlikley to work for every state. Louisiana, for example, has very different succession laws than some other states, so most of the forms downloaded from legal self-help sites are famously wrong here, according to some succession attorneys I know -- and I would be very concerned about offering legal advice on a rescue website. Direct people to their estate lawyer (financial planners cannot write wills or codicils and are acting illegally if they do so). Designate someone in your org who is a single point of contact for the estate/trust lawyers.
This is also important for your adopters, by the way -- we tell our adopters to let their executor know in their documents that their pets can always come back to us, but to please give instructions to provide us with the updated vet records for the pet, and to please make a final bequest in any amount appropriate to their own circumstances to help us with care, particularly as we may not have a foster home open and might have to pay for commercial boarding, in the event of an unexpected death of an owner. Watch out too for random people with no connection to your rescue "willing" random animals to you, without any advanced notice, prior arrangement OR donation to follow the animal -- in those situations, I have had to decline to take the dogs and tell the executor, "Sorry, but we won't accept them."
------------------------------
Maggie Thomas
President
Red Stick German Shepherd Rescue
LA
------------------------------