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North Dakota Pet Trusts
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North Dakota Pet Trusts

A North Dakota pet trust under NDCC 59-12-08 lasts for your animal's life, and a person you name, or one the court appoints, can enforce it.

By Settled Editorial

North Dakota lets you set money aside in a trust for the care of an animal, and a person can enforce that trust in court. The rule is NDCC 59-12-08, headed "Trust for care of animal." It covers an animal alive during your lifetime, ends when the animal dies, lets a named person enforce it, and lets a court trim a fund that runs past what the animal needs.

Every section on this page was read on September 28, 2026, in the chapter files the North Dakota Legislative Council publishes at ndlegis.gov. The Council states that all statutory changes approved by the 69th Legislative Assembly in 2025 are reflected there. Read this page as a planning map for North Dakota law, not as advice about your animal or your family. A licensed North Dakota attorney should review any trust before you sign it.

North Dakota Has One Pet Trust Section

The pet trust sits in the North Dakota Uniform Trust Code, chapters 59-09 through 59-19 of the North Dakota Century Code. The Legislative Assembly created that code, including section 59-12-08, in 2007 House Bill 1034 (Session Laws chapter 549). The Legislative Council's bill tables for the 2005 through 2025 regular sessions list no later bill that amended section 59-12-08.

Some states carry two animal-trust sections, one in the probate code and one in the trust code. North Dakota's probate code, Title 30.1, has no separate honorary-trust or pet-trust section, so 59-12-08 is the rule to draft to.

The trust code also explains why your dog can be the reason for a trust at all. A trust ordinarily needs a definite beneficiary. NDCC 59-12-02(1) makes an exception for "a trust for the care of an animal, as provided in section 59-12-08," and another for a noncharitable purpose trust under section 59-12-09. The other creation requirements in that subsection still apply: you need capacity, an intention to create the trust, and a trustee with duties to perform.

What NDCC 59-12-08 Says

The section has three subsections. Let's break it down.

Which animals, and how long the trust runs

Subsection 1 allows a trust for the care of "an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime." The trust ends on the death of the animal. If it covers more than one animal alive during your lifetime, it ends on the death of the last surviving one. The section sets no fixed number of years.

Here is why the wording matters. The section speaks of animals alive during your lifetime. A kitten born after your death falls outside those words, so name the animals you mean to cover rather than writing "any pet I own."

Who enforces the trust

Subsection 2 lets a person appointed in the terms of the trust enforce it. If you appoint no one, a person appointed by the court enforces it. The subsection adds a right for people outside the trust: "A person having an interest in the welfare of the animal may request the court to appoint a person to enforce the trust or to remove a person appointed." A neighbor, a veterinarian, or a rescue group may be able to use that door.

Where the money can go

Subsection 3 says trust property "may be applied only to its intended use," except to the extent the court determines that the value of the trust property exceeds the amount required for that use. Unless the trust says otherwise, property not required for the intended use goes to the settlor, if then living, and otherwise to the settlor's successors in interest.

Two practical points follow. First, you choose who takes the remainder, and your choice controls over the default. Second, a court can find part of a large fund unnecessary, and that part leaves the trust even while the animal is alive.

What the section leaves to the rest of the trust code

Section 59-12-08 says nothing about trustee pay, reports, or replacing a trustee. The general trust-code rules fill those gaps.

  • Pay. NDCC 59-15-08 entitles a trustee to reasonable compensation when the trust does not set it, and to the stated amount when it does. The court may allow more or less if the trustee's duties turn out far different from what the trust contemplated or the stated amount is unreasonably low or high. NDCC 59-09-05(2)(g) keeps that court power in place whatever the trust says.
  • Vacancies. NDCC 59-15-04(3) fills a vacancy in a noncharitable trust first with a person designated in or appointed under the terms of the trust as successor trustee. Naming a successor keeps that decision in your hands.
  • Reports. Section 59-12-08 sets no reporting schedule of its own. If you want the trustee to send receipts to the enforcer each year, write that into the trust.

Section 59-12-09 Covers Other Purpose Trusts

NDCC 59-12-09, headed "Noncharitable trust without ascertainable beneficiary," opens with "Except as otherwise provided in section 59-12-08 or by another statute." It lets a trust be created for a noncharitable purpose without a definite beneficiary, or for a noncharitable but otherwise valid purpose the trustee selects. Its enforcement and excess-property rules match subsections 2 and 3 of 59-12-08, except that it carries no right for an interested person to ask the court to appoint or remove an enforcer.

For an animal alive during your lifetime, 59-12-08 is the section that applies. It is the one to name in your document.

How to Set Up a North Dakota Pet Trust

NDCC 59-12-01 lets you create a trust by transferring property to a trustee during your lifetime, by will or another disposition that takes effect at death, or by declaring that you hold identifiable property as trustee.

  • In a will. The trust takes effect at your death, and the money reaches it through probate. The will has to meet NDCC 30.1-08-02: in writing, signed by you, and either signed by two witnesses or acknowledged before a notary, unless it qualifies as a handwritten will. See North Dakota will requirements.
  • In a living trust. A pet trust inside a revocable trust can start the day you die without waiting on a court. Under NDCC 59-14-02(1), a trust created under an instrument executed after August 1, 2007, is revocable unless its terms expressly say it is irrevocable. NDCC 30.1-08-11 lets your will pour property into that trust at death. See funding the trust and how to avoid probate in North Dakota.

A living trust also covers the months before death. If you might lose capacity first, pair it with a North Dakota power of attorney. NDCC 59-14-02(5) lets an agent under a power of attorney revoke, amend, or direct distributions from a revocable trust only to the extent the trust or the power expressly authorizes it, so say so in writing.

Checklist for Drafting

Next steps, in order:

  1. Name each animal and describe it (species, name, a microchip number if it has one). Confirm each one is alive during your lifetime, since 59-12-08(1) covers only those.
  2. Name a caregiver and a trustee. They can be the same person, but splitting the roles gives the animal a second set of eyes.
  3. Name an enforcer who is neither the trustee nor the person who takes the leftover money. Naming one spares a court appointment under 59-12-08(2).
  4. Name a successor for each role, so a vacancy under 59-15-04 goes to your pick first.
  5. State the trustee's pay in plain words, or accept the reasonable-compensation default in 59-15-08.
  6. Name who takes the remainder. Your terms control over the settlor-or-successors default in 59-12-08(3).
  7. Fund it to a reasonable figure. Estimate food, veterinary care, boarding, and the animal's expected lifespan. A court can find a larger fund excessive.
  8. Decide on reports. Nothing in 59-12-08 requires them. Write in any receipts or yearly statements you want the enforcer to see.

For guardians, health care documents, and the rest of your estate, see the rest of the plan. If you leave no will, North Dakota intestate succession decides who your successors are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are pet trusts legal in North Dakota?

Yes. NDCC 59-12-08(1) says a trust may be created for the care of an animal alive during the settlor's lifetime. NDCC 59-12-02(1) lists a trust for the care of an animal, as provided in section 59-12-08, as one of the trusts that may exist without a definite beneficiary.

How long does a North Dakota pet trust last?

Until the animal dies. NDCC 59-12-08(1) ends the trust on the death of the animal or, if the trust covers more than one animal alive during the settlor's lifetime, on the death of the last surviving animal. The section sets no fixed number of years.

Who makes sure the trustee spends the money on my pet?

The person you appoint in the trust to enforce it. Under NDCC 59-12-08(2), if the trust appoints no one, the court appoints a person. Anyone with an interest in the welfare of the animal may ask the court to appoint an enforcer or to remove one.

What happens to leftover money when my pet dies?

It goes where your trust says. If the trust is silent, NDCC 59-12-08(3) sends property not required for the intended use to the settlor, if then living, and otherwise to the settlor's successors in interest.

Can a North Dakota court reduce a large pet trust?

Yes. NDCC 59-12-08(3) limits trust property to its intended use except to the extent the court determines that the value of the trust property exceeds the amount required for that use. The excess then passes under the trust's terms or, if they are silent, to the settlor or the settlor's successors in interest.

Can the trustee of a North Dakota pet trust be paid?

Yes. NDCC 59-15-08 entitles a trustee to reasonable compensation when the trust does not set it, and to the compensation the trust specifies when it does. The court may allow more or less if the trustee's duties turn out far different from what the trust contemplated or the stated amount is unreasonably low or high.

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Information current as of September 28, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in North Dakota can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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