Elderly woman leaves $2.8 million fortune to pets and not her kids. Her reason is heartbreaking

An elderly woman from China has decided to leave her entire inheritance to her cats and not her children. As per reports, the Shanghai woman named Liu named her pets as her inheritors because she was angry that her children never visited her, not even when she was sick. According to her, her children never even tried to contact her, and therefore she has transferred around $2.8 million to her pets who were with her during the time she was sick, she says.

According to Chen Kai, an official from China's Will Registration Centre headquarters in Beijing, "Liu’s current will is one way, and we would have advised her to appoint a person she trusts to supervise the vet clinic to ensure the pets are properly cared for." 

Another official said that Liu can still change her mind and will if she ever patches things up with her children. "We told Auntie Liu that if her children change their attitude towards her, she could always alter her will." 

The story sparked online debate with many commenting on how heartbreaking it must have been for the elderly woman. "How disappointed and heartbroken she must have been to make the decision not to leave anything to her children," one user wrote, via South China Morning Post.

This is not the first time that something like this has happened. Back in 2020, a businessman in Tennessee left around $5 million to his eight-year-old Border Collie. British designer Alexander McQueen, who died in 2010, famously left $97,000 of his $31 million fortune to his beloved dogs, Minter, Juice, and Callum.

Pets are considered property and cannot legally inherit money in the US. Owners can make arrangements to ensure that their pets get everything they own through pet trusts. In order to do this, the owner is required to give the power of attorney to the person who will be the pet's caretaker or guardian in their absence. They can make a direct bequest, leave money directly to a guardian through a specific bequest, or set up a trust for the care of the pet, per Fidelity.

Through the specific bequest the owner can choose the amount of money they feel will cover the cost of their pet's care and leave it directly to the guardian in their will or living trust. 

Through the second way, which is to do this through a pet trust, the owner will have more control over how the money would be spent in their absence. Aimee Kwain, an advanced planner with Fidelity and an animal lover who has multiple cats says, "The trustee has a fiduciary duty to carry out the terms of the trust." In addition to this any money left after your pet dies will go to the beneficiary of the trust which which doesn’t necessarily have to be your pet’s guardian. 

If you are planning to leave your fortune to your pet, it's important to consider everything, including the fact that circumstances can change. This is why, it's always recommended that you have a backup plan.