ABOUT US
WATCH OVER OUR FRIENDS©, INC. (W.O.O.F.) is an IRS approved charitable organization, recognized as a 501 (c)(3) non profit corporation for pet owners/pet guardians and their companion animals, be it dog, cat, horse, llama, bird, reptile, gerbil, whatever!
PURPOSE
Watch Over Our Friends’ (“W.O.O.F’s”) purpose is to be a permanent trustworthy agent for funds an animal owner chooses to leave by including language in a Will or Living Trust to ensure permanent, loving and safe homes for pets who either survive their guardians, or whose guardian is incapacitated or unable to care for them any longer. The funds the owner sets aside will be applied exclusively for their animal's benefit, including food, medical and veterinary care and other items an owner would provide for the pet, for the remainder of the animals’ life. In addition W.O.O.F. shall periodically monitor the new guardian and new home to make sure the situation is still mutually desirable for the animal(s) and the new guardian.
MISSION
Give pet owners peace of mind as to the loving care and well being of their companion animal for the remainder of the life of the animal.
THE QUESTION - “WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY ANIMALS WHEN I AM NO LONGER AROUND?”
More and more people are voicing concern about their animals and what will happen to the animals when the owner is gone or no longer able to care for their pets. They want to make sure they are properly cared for and loved until the natural end of the animal’s life, if they are not there to do so. And for many these days, especially those that find themselves alone, they are closer to their animal companions than to any other family member, so the continued well being of their pet is a rising concern.
Often a person decides to just trust the family will do the right thing by the animal when one of these life changing events occurs. But when family members have pets of their own, taking on additional animals may not possible or practical. It may be that a family doesn’t have the resources to take on new mouths to feed. Maybe the person named to care for the pet has moved into a place where animals aren’t welcome, or it is not an appropriate setting for an animal. Horses and birds live a long time, and are especially hard to place. Cats are not as widely appreciated as dogs. These can be huge headaches for the surviving family and the easiest route of putting the animal down, despite any stated wishes of your client, even in a Will or Trust, may be the one taken. Funds designated for a pet may be channeled to other expenses.
THE ANSWER
WATCH OVER OUR FRIEND© aka “W.O.O.F.” is an answer. We are IRS approved as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. We work with attorneys and accountants who are forming trusts and preparing wills for their clients who wish to include a pet trust in their estate planning. It is W.O.O.F.’s purpose to accept designation as the permanent trustee or beneficiary agent to administer funds left in an honorarium trust to provide care for an animal’s lifespan.
Gifts to a pet are done through Honorarium Trusts. Honorarium Trusts are statutorily recognized in many states. The law provides language which allows a person to leave funds for their animals’ care in a Last Will and Testament or in a Living Trust. On your request, your attorney can include this language in your estate planning. You make the decision to leave those funds to WATCH OVER OUR FRIENDS, but you want to work with an attorney to make sure it is correctly set up. We recommend on our links professionals familiar with Honorarium Trusts
Your funds for your pet will be placed in designated accounts managed by W.O.O.F. solely for expenditures for food and veterinary care and such other expenses as needed to provide the same level of care as you would provide for the animal.
When a change in your life occurs, and W.O.O.F. is named as your pet’s Trustee, our duties and responsibilities include:
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Determine the person you name as the pet’s new guardian is still willing to accept the animal(s), and be responsible for it for its natural life.
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Arrangements for your animals’ immediate foster care when an emergency or sudden change occurs in your circumstances.
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Responsibility for the smooth transition from your care to the new guardian.
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If you do not have a person to name as the new pet guardian, we will place the animal in an pre-qualified appropriate home on a permanent basis.
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Periodically monitor the new guardian and new home to make sure the situation is still mutually desirable for the animal(s) and the new guardian.
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Pay or reimburse all bills incurred by the new guardian for the pet’s food and veterinary care and other reasonable and necessary expenses, such as boarding for vacations, from the funds you left.
HISTORY
The founder is an attorney with 32 years legal experience in Wills and Estates and Probates, who also has a passion for the well being of all animals. This organization grew from experiences with families in managing and settling estates of persons who had died or become incapacitated. The Board of Directors are animal owners and animal lovers, of good reputation and standing in their communities. A community foundation will succeed W.O.O.F. and ensure its purpose and mission are carried out, if the organization should cease to operate.
HOW DO I START?
There is a checklist for you to print and complete and take to an attorney of your choosing. click here for our checklist. If you do not have an attorney, we have recommendations on our links.
There is also an excellent website by Dr. Gerry Beyer, professor of law at Texas Tech University School of Law, national expert on Pet Trusts. See our Links
WHAT IS THE REQUIRED AMOUNT TO LEAVE FOR MY ANIMAL?
The amount you leave is totally in your discretion, but it should be sufficient, based on your own records and expenditures to adequately pay for food, veterinary care, and other items you would customarily purchase for your companion pet, based on the animal’s breed, size, age, health and special medications, and future medical issues anticipated. You will provide detailed instructions as to how you have cared for the animal and the care you expect it to continue to receive for its natural life.
You are also asked to leave instructions for what happens to any funds left if your animal’s life should end before exhaustion of the sum you leave for your pet. These funds can be designated to continue the work of WATCH OVER OUR FRIENDS, or to go to a permanent fund to provide for animals who do not have funds left for them, or to be distributed to another charitable organization or to your family. The choice is strictly personal.
WHERE WILL THE MONEY COME FROM?
You can consider a bank account, the value of a car owned at death, the remainder of retirement benefits you control, a specific asset, or a specific gift from your estate assets. One of the easiest ways is to buy insurance to fund your pet’s trust. You must NOT name the pet directly as the beneficiary of the insurance policy. Your lawyer can explain, or see our links.
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Our Board:
Penelope Cooper
Susanne Lloyd
John Biggers - Advisory
Daphne Daniel
Allison Guynes
Cindy Atkins
Sara Drapkin-Ott |
In MemoriumThese people were instrumental in the concept and founding of the organization.
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Jane Lowery - Jane served as Executive Director of Texas Accountants and Lawyers for the Arts from 1991 to 2008. She is currently self-employed in the practice of law, with emphasis on nonprofit tax law, and is licensed in both Texas and Colorado. Lowery has extensive experience with arts mediation training and has mediated arts-related disputes for local artists and nonprofits. Ms. Lowery graduated from the University of Houston Law Center in 1977 and holds a BS in Education from Texas Tech University. Prior to joining TALA, she was the Project Manager for Rice University, for the 1990 G 7 Economic Summit , Manager of Community Relations for Texas Eastern, where she managed charitable contributions. Senior Attorney, Texas Eastern Corporation, 1981-87, and Attorney at Tenneco Realty. The mother of three grown children, Ms. Lowery enjoys the arts, her golden retrievers, one Maine Coon cat, and a varied pro bono law practice. She and her husband live in Vail, Colorado and Galveston, Texas.
Mary Lane Leslie - Mary Lane Leslie came to Taos in 1996. A practicing lawyer for 32 years, she conceived Watch Over Our Friends from experiences with her own clients. It fills a gap in the pet trust chain for transition from owner to new guardian. An animal lover all her life, she and her husband Doug currently own two Arab greys, Lily and Dash, a 15 yr old "Taos dog" Buddy and two cats, Missy and Honey. 
Amanda Bailey (b. 1949, d. 2012)