Many wills, trusts include arragements for pets

UNDATED (WHDH) -- It's becoming more common to include pets in wills and trusts.

About one in five pet owners already have in writing what happens if their animals outlive them, because the consequences for not doing so can be so severe.

"If you haven't made any arrangements, there's a good possibility that your pet could end up in a shelter, and there's an even greater possibility that your pet could be euthanized for lack of finding a loving home,” said Kim Bressant-Kibwe of the ASPCA.

Kim Bressant-Kibwe is a trust and estate counsel with the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals which has recently teamed up with Legal Zoom to provide the pet protection agreement.

"It costs about $39 and what it allows you to do is to set out some very basic information about the care of your pet. You can name a guardian, a successive guardian,” said Kim Bressant-Kibwe.

She said you can't leave your pet part of your estate, but you can establish a trust fund to pay for future care.

"As final act of kindness, animals give us their undying, unlimited amounts of devotion, the least we can do is provide continuing care for them in the event something happens to us,” said Bressant-Kibwe.

The ASPCA estimated a half million owners die or become incapacitated each year without leaving instructions on how to care for their pets.