Pet power: for sure, every dog--and cats and other pets--will have their day.

If you provide personal financial planning or estate planning guidance to clients, or have clients who are pet owners, you'll be interested in the guidance offered in the recent AICPA publication: PETRI ARCH: The Complete Guide to Financial and Legal Planning for a Pet's Continued Care.

PETRIARCH provides all the information needed to understand new legal concepts related to pets, and it outlines practical applications that will benefit clients, their pets, and your practice. Pet law, including pet trusts and a relatively new and revolutionary instrument called the Pet Protection Agreement[TM], is continually evolving. Recent changes in estate law have transformed how courts now deal with domestic animals. The shift is ongoing, and the trend is toward a much more enlightened view of pets that improves greatly on their legal status as property. These changes bring new responsibilities and new opportunities to accountants and financial and legal advisors who should now consider companion animals in a completely different light and advise their clients accordingly.

Petriarch's author Rachel Hitschfeld is a nationally renowned expert in estate planning and a passionate advocate for people and their pets. Having created the Per Protection Agreement and Hirschfeld Pet Trust[C], she is a frequent author and lecturer, often quoted in well-known...