Can You Leave Something for the Pet Left Behind? An Administrative Scrivener Organises Will Drafts for a Burdened Bequest and a Pet Trust

In short: a pet (a dog, cat, etc.) is treated as a "thing" in Japanese law and has no legal capacity, so you cannot leave property to the pet itself, nor make the pet the beneficiary of a bequest or the beneficiary of a trust. There are mainly two ways to entrust the care of a pet left behind. One is a burdened bequest: you bequeath property to the person who will care for the pet and impose care as a burden (Article 1002 of the Civil Code). If the duty is not performed, the heirs may make a demand, and if there is still no performance, may request the family court to revoke the will (Article 1027 of the Civil Code). The other is a pet trust: you entrust property to a trustee to manage and make payments for a beneficiary (the carer, etc.) who receives the care money (Articles 2 and 3 of the Trust Act). A trust with no definite beneficiary (purpose trust) can be set up only by contract or will, and lasts no more than 20 years (Articles 258 and 259 of the Trust Act). This article is general information and does not make the final judgment on whether a given will or contract is valid. The administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group handles, as an independent business, support for drafting the burdened-bequest will and the trust contract. Making the will or trust contract into a notarial document is for a notary; infringement of legally reserved portions and disputes among beneficiaries and heirs are for a lawyer; where real estate is placed into the trust, and registration of change of title after death, are for a judicial scrivener; inheritance tax and tax on gains from the gift are for a tax accountant; and the sale and use of inherited real estate are for a real-estate agent, a separate business (our company); each is contracted separately. Our office receives no referral fee from any professional.

Can't you leave property directly to a pet, and what scheme can entrust its care?

In Japanese law, a pet is treated as a "thing" and has no legal capacity. So you cannot leave money directly to a pet, make a pet the beneficiary who receives property in a will, or make a pet the beneficiary who receives benefits in a trust. What you can do for the pet left behind is a design that passes property to "the person who will care for it" while tying it to the duty or purpose of care.

Scheme	To whom property passes	Basis
Burdened bequest	Bequeathed to the carer (beneficiary of the bequest), with care as the burden	Civil Code Article 1002
Pet trust	Entrusted to a trustee, paid for a beneficiary (the carer, etc.)	Trust Act Articles 2 and 3
Purpose trust (no definite beneficiary)	Entrusted to a trustee, managed for the purpose of care	Trust Act Article 258 (duration 20 years, Article 259)

A will takes effect from the time of the testator's death (Article 985 of the Civil Code). Because a provision by will thus operates after death, for lifetime situations such as hospitalisation or facility admission you prepare by combining it with another scheme. Options for entrusting lifetime affairs are easier to organise when considered together with a solo person's post-death affairs mandate and a voluntary guardianship. Drafting support for wills and contracts is also covered in our Inheritance and Will guidance.

What is the difference between a burdened bequest and a "pet trust"?

Both tie "being cared for" to property, but the way the money is managed and the way the promise is enforced differ.

Aspect	Burdened bequest	Pet trust
Scheme	Bequeath property to the beneficiary, with care as the burden	Entrust property to a trustee to pay care money
Management	The beneficiary manages it as own property	Managed separately as trust property by the trustee
Start	After the testator's death (by will)	From life if by contract; after death if by will
Enforcement	If not performed, request the family court to revoke the will (Civil Code Article 1027)	Supervised by the trust terms, a trust supervisor, a beneficiary's agent, etc.
Basis	Civil Code Article 1002	Trust Act Articles 2 and 3

A person who receives a burdened bequest bears the duty of care only up to the value of the object of the bequest (Article 1002(1) of the Civil Code). Where the beneficiary renounces the bequest, the person who is to receive the benefit of the burden may themselves become the beneficiary (Article 1002(2)). A trust, by contrast, carves the property out as trust property for the trustee to manage, with the merit that the care money is less likely to be caught up in the trustee's personal debts or inheritance. For the full picture of a design with a family member as trustee, see also The administrative scrivener's role in and structuring of a family trust.

How should you write it so that the carer (beneficiary/trustee) is held to the care?

The point is to write specifically "who cares for which pet and how," and to provide even for the handling where it is not observed. In a burdened bequest, you state the content of the care as a burden and anticipate what happens if it is not performed.

Item to write	Example
The target pet	Identify the individual (name, breed, features, registration number, etc.)
Content of care	Living environment, vet visits/vaccination, food, policy on seeing it through
Beneficiary/trustee	The person who undertakes it, and the next in line if they do not
Supervision mechanism	Designate an executor of the will, a trust supervisor, a beneficiary's agent
On non-performance	For a burdened bequest, demand for performance and request to revoke the will (Civil Code Article 1027)

If the beneficiary of a burdened bequest fails to perform the duty of care, the heirs may set a reasonable period and demand performance, and if there is still no performance within that period, may request the family court to revoke the will concerning the burdened bequest (Article 1027 of the Civil Code). In a trust, it is practice to designate a trust supervisor or a beneficiary's agent so that supervision works even if the beneficiary is elderly or absent. An administrative scrivener supports this drafting, but the final judgment on validity in an individual case is made by a qualified professional. For how it proceeds, see our Engagement Flow.

How much care money, how to pass it realistically, and what happens to leftover property?

Care money is set by estimating the pet's average remaining life, medical costs and the consideration for care. As for passing it, a burdened bequest can bequeath a lump sum, while a trust can be designed to pay out in portions when needed.

Item	Approach
Estimating the amount	Average remaining life × annual food/medical/care costs, plus a reserve
Passing (bequest)	Bequeath a lump sum to the beneficiary, with care as the burden
Passing (trust)	The trustee manages it and pays as care money at the needed time
Handling the surplus	Decide in advance where the residual property goes after the pet's death
Consideration	A separate reward for the trouble of care may also be set

In case trust property or bequeathed property remains after the pet dies, you decide in advance where the residue goes (another person, an organisation, etc.). When using a purpose trust (a trust with no definite beneficiary), note the restriction that the duration cannot exceed 20 years (Article 259 of the Trust Act). Because the amount and the way of passing it affect the heirs' legally reserved portions and taxation, you examine them with a tax accountant and a lawyer, dividing the roles. A guide to our fees is set separately in our Fee Schedule.

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What is the point of a notarial document, and what are the roles of the executor and trust supervisor?

Making a will or trust contract into a notarial document makes it less likely to be invalid for a defect in form, keeps the original at the notary's office, and reduces the worry of loss or alteration. If you make a burdened bequest into a notarial will, family-court probate after death is also unnecessary. The way to make a notarial will and the notary's fee are organised in How to make a notarial will: witnesses and the fee.

Role	Content
Notary	Making the will/trust contract into a notarial document (making and keeping the original)
Executor of the will	Realising the content of the will (delivery to the beneficiary, watching over the care, etc.)
Trust supervisor	Supervising the trustee for the beneficiary (Trust Act)
Beneficiary's agent	Exercising rights on the beneficiary's behalf (Trust Act)

As a mechanism to confirm the care is continued, it is reassuring to place an executor in a will, and a trust supervisor or beneficiary's agent in a trust. An administrative scrivener supports these designations and the drafting, and a notary makes the notarial document. Whether to choose a trust contract or a will, or to combine both, is designed together with lifetime preparations (voluntary guardianship, post-death affairs mandate).

For legally reserved portions, inheritance tax and registration, what goes to the lawyer, judicial scrivener and tax accountant?

Provision for a pet tends to become a design passing much property to a particular person, so the other heirs' legally reserved portions, taxation and, if there is real estate, registration are involved. The basis is that each professional involved contracts as an independent business, separately.

Who to ask	Main role
Administrative scrivener (our office)	Support for drafting the burdened-bequest will and the trust contract
Notary	Making the will/trust contract into a notarial document
Lawyer	Claim for the amount of infringement of the legally reserved portion (Civil Code Article 1046), disputes among beneficiaries/heirs, the final legal judgment
Judicial scrivener	Registration of the trust where real estate is placed into it; registration of change of title after death
Tax accountant	Estimating inheritance tax and tax on gains from the gift
Real-estate agent (our company, a separate business)	Consultation on sale and use of inherited real estate

Where the way of passing property infringes the other heirs' legally reserved portions, a claim for payment of money equivalent to the infringement of the legally reserved portion (Article 1046 of the Civil Code) is at issue, and this is a field for a lawyer. When placing real estate into trust property, registration of the trust is needed, handled by a judicial scrivener. Where the sale of inherited real estate is involved, you may use the consultation desk for inherited real estate run by a separate-business real-estate agent. Our office contracts with each professional as an independent business, and we receive no referral fee from one another. The final judgment on validity or taxation is made by a qualified professional after a meeting.

FAQ

Q. Can I leave money directly to a pet?
A. You cannot. A pet is a "thing" in law with no legal capacity, so you cannot leave property to the pet itself or make it a beneficiary of a bequest or trust. You entrust the care of the pet left behind through a burdened bequest, which passes property to the carer and imposes care (Article 1002 of the Civil Code), or a pet trust, which entrusts property to a trustee (Articles 2 and 3 of the Trust Act).

Q. Which is safer, a burdened bequest or a pet trust?
A. It cannot be said in general. A burdened bequest is completed by will and is simple, but the money is managed as the beneficiary's own property, and the means of enforcement are a demand for performance and a request to revoke the will (Article 1027 of the Civil Code). A trust can manage the property separately as trust property and supervise continuously via a trust supervisor, but takes effort to structure. You choose according to the family and the property.

Q. What happens to money left over after the pet dies?
A. You decide in advance where the residual property goes. Without a provision, it is processed under the rules of inheritance or trust liquidation. When using a purpose trust with no definite beneficiary, you also design with the restriction that the duration cannot exceed 20 years (Article 259 of the Trust Act) in mind.

Q. How should I think about legally reserved portions and inheritance tax?
A. Passing much property to a particular person may raise a claim for the amount of infringement of the legally reserved portion by the other heirs (Article 1046 of the Civil Code), which is a field for a lawyer. Inheritance tax and tax on gains from the gift are for a tax accountant, and registration where real estate is placed into trust is for a judicial scrivener. An administrative scrivener supports the drafting, and you contract with each professional as an independent business, separately.

Sources (Primary Information)

• e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Justice, "Civil Code", Article 985 (time a will takes effect = from the time of the testator's death), Article 1002 (burdened bequest: the beneficiary bears the duty only up to the value of the object of the bequest; on renunciation, the person to receive the benefit of the burden may become the beneficiary), Article 1022 (revocation of a will), Article 1027 (demand for performance and request to the family court to revoke the will where the beneficiary of a burdened bequest does not perform the duty), Article 1046 (claim for the amount of infringement of the legally reserved portion) (accessed 2026-10-17)
• e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Justice, "Trust Act" (Act No. 108 of 2006), Article 2 (definitions of trust, settlor, trustee, beneficiary), Article 3 (methods of a trust = the three items of trust contract, will, and self-declared trust), Article 258 (a trust with no definite beneficiary can be set up by the method of item 1 or item 2 of Article 3; a definite beneficiary cannot be established by modifying the trust), Article 259 (the duration of a trust with no definite beneficiary cannot exceed 20 years) (accessed 2026-10-17)
• e-Gov Law Search / Ministry of Justice, "Civil Code", Article 969 (method of a notarial will); Japan Notaries Association, guidance on "notarial wills" (making the will/trust contract into a notarial document; keeping the original; probate unnecessary) (accessed 2026-10-17)

This article is general information and does not make the final judgment on whether a given will or trust contract is valid, or on what property should pass to whom and how. Because a pet is a "thing" in law with no legal capacity, the care of the pet left behind is entrusted to the carer through a burdened bequest or a trust. Support for drafting the will and trust contract is handled by the administrative scrivener of the Yotsuba group as an independent business; making the notarial document is by a notary; infringement of legally reserved portions and disputes are by a lawyer; where real estate is placed into the trust, and registration of change of title after death, are by a judicial scrivener; inheritance tax and tax on gains from the gift are by a tax accountant; and the sale and use of inherited real estate are by Yotsuba Real Estate Co., Ltd., a separate business, each contracted separately. Our office receives no referral fee. Individual judgements are made by a qualified professional after a meeting. Written by Joji Uramatsu, administrative scrivener and licensed real estate broker.