Dog days

I see that AccountingWeb recently had a question in its ‘Any Answers’ section entitled ‘Divorce settlement in favour of dog’.

This asked whether a maintenance settlement in favour of a dog under a court order created a trust with the keeper being the trustee and the dog being the beneficiary.

Coincidentally I was reading that pets are becoming as important as children when a couple separates.

I was also wondering what the tax position would be if a pet owner were to leave a legacy in his will for the maintenance of the animal.

I am sure that this must happen but I haven’t read any definitive advice on this.

Can Taxation readers help here?

Query 17 375 – Rufus The Dog

Reply from Digby Bew

One of the core requirements to establish a valid UK trust is the so-called beneficiary principle; i.e. for a trust to...