Wednesday July 16, 03:47 AM
Blog cafe A dog's legacy
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By The Financial Express
Eyebrows were raised when Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her dog in her will, and they were raised even farther when it was learned recently that she had signed a "mission statement" indicating her wish that the charitable trust created by her will, which has an estimated $5 to $8 billion in net assets, be devoted to the welfare of dogs. The judge supervising the implementation of her will cut the bequest to her dog from $12 to $2 million, and it is uncertain how much of the charitable trust will actually be devoted to dogs. The possibility that dogs will receive billions of dollars from a bequest presents interesting questions: why would a person leave so much money to dogs; should such bequests be permitted by law? Some pets are kept for essentially practical purposes, such as mousing in the case of cats and home protection in the case of dogs. But increasingly pets are child substitutes or personal companions and, as such, love objects, and hence natural objects of bequests, particularly for childless or wealthy people. And it is natural to extend one's affection to the entire species, just as, if you love any persons, even if just members of your family, it is natural to have at least an attenuated regard for the welfare of other people, even for the human species as a whole; and so with dogs and cats if you have a pet of one of those species. Therefore, odd as it may seem, Mrs. Helmsley's desire to spend billions of dollars on dogs is more easily understood than her desire to give her dog $12 million, since above a far lower amount (probably far below the $2 million allowed by the probate judge) it is inconceivable that the money could increase the dog's welfare; hence the size of the gift makes no sense as an altruistic measure. This may explain why the Uniform Trust Act authorizes the judge to cut down the amount of the bequest to a pet to the pet's maximum comfort level. becker-posner-blog.com
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