Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 5, 2016

13

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 5, 2016 


FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


PETS IN YOUR WILL

For those of us who have pets that would be left 
behind after we die, there may be a desire to 
make arrangements for their well-being. Making 
provisions for pets in your will can only be done 
through the establishment of a trust. Pets are 
considered property and, as such, cannot be left 
money or property directly.

 A trust is an entity that is established to receive 
and hold money and property for the benefit of 
designated beneficiaries which can be people, pets, 
organizations or other entities. There are two trust 
options for pet care.

Traditional Trust

 With a traditional trust, you name a trustee 
to administer the money, and also appoint a 
caregiver for your pet. In your will, you designate 
money or property to be received by the trust. If 
life insurance proceeds are to be used, you would 
designate the trust as the beneficiary of the policy. 
Remember, you can divide up life insurance 
proceeds between multiple beneficiaries in the 
event you have other people or organizations you 
want to benefit.

Statutory Trust

 A statutory trust can be specified within your 
will. It is a statement that indicates you are leaving 
money or property “in trust” to your pet. In this 
situation, however, the probate court is then 
responsible for appointing persons to serve as 
trustee and caregiver.

Another Option

 A pet protection agreement is a less formal 
option for providing for your pet. This is a simple 
agreement with another person to care for your 
pet after your passing. This could also be used 
in cases of incapacitation, just as you would 
execute a power of attorney for other affairs. This 
option makes sense if, for example, your pet’s life 
expectancy was limited, and not much money is in 
consideration.

Additional Tips

Trusts for pets can be easy to establish, but there 
are some things to consider, such as the following:

They make the most sense for animals with longer 
life spans such as horses and birds;

 There is usually no need to leave an excessive 
amount of money;

 Name a successor beneficiary for funds left after 
your pet dies, preferably not the caregiver;

Ensure the willingness of the trustee and caregiver 
to serve in those roles;

 Name successors for the trustee and caregiver;

 Do not make the trustee and caregiver the same 
person; and

 Provide detailed instructions of your wishes for 
the care of your pet.

 Dedicated to your family’s wealth, health, and 
happiness,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on 
a mission to help parents protect what they love 
most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., 
Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an 
appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a 
legacy of love and financial security for your family 
by calling 626.587.3058 or visit www.GarlettLaw.
com for more information.

COLOR EXPLORER: FIND YOUR HEX VALUES 

Colors play an important role in brand recognition. 
Sometimes I can’t remember the name brand of a 
product I’m looking for at the market. But, I still 
find the product because I remember the color of the 
container! 

 Big brands like McDonalds, Starbucks, Pepsi and 
Coca-Cola are very particular about consistent color 
use. You should be too! 

 Have you ever been asked for the HEX (hexadecimal) 
values for the colors in your brand? 

 Different on-line tools often allow you to plug 
in a specific color # (HEX value). For example, 
in Constant Contact, you might want to match a 
background color, headline or graphic element to a 
color in your logo to tie it all together. That’s good 
design technique. 

 I recently discovered a cool tool at a Constant 
Contact training session that makes finding your HEX 
colors a snap. 

 Color Explorer (www.colorexplorer.com) is free to 
use. It allows you to easily create, manage and evaluate 
color palettes for your web designs, email campaigns, 
Canva creations and much more. 

 With Color Explorer, you can simply upload your 
logo or an image, and it will extract a complete color 
palette of all the colors in that image. It will give you 
the HEX value as well as the RGB values. 

 I suggest that you print out your brand’s color palette 
and keep it handy as you create email campaigns, 
graphics in Canva.com and other on-line tools. 

 About MJ: MJ and her brother David own 
HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes 
in Digital Marketing strategies. Connect with them 
on Facebook at www.facebook.com/hutdogs. Sign up 
for their upcoming workshops at: www.hutdogs.com/
workshops/schedule 

 
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