Tomasso is one lucky kitty.

The four-year-old Italian cat, who started life as a stray, is believed to have become the world's richest feline after "inheriting" $13.3 million from his recently deceased 94-year-old owner's estate.

We say "inheriting" because under Italian law, pets cannot inherit assets directly. American law, including the law in New York, is exactly the same in that regard. Since pets are not human beings, they are not capable of receiving assets by bequest.

But just because a gift left to a pet in a will is not legitimate does not stop people from trying. After all, a great many people really care for their pets, so it is only natural that they would try to make sure the pet is going to be taken care of after they are gone.

While leaving assets directly to a pet does not work, pet owners in Buffalo and anywhere else in the U.S. can provide for their pets in a different way. They could establish a trust and issue specific, explicit instructions that the trust's assets are to be used for the well-being of the pet. It accomplish largely the same end that leaving a pet a bequest in a will would accomplish, but it does not run afoul of our regime of estate planning law. Infamous New York hotelier Leona Helmsley, for example, left $12 million in trust for her Maltese, Trouble. Although the sum was eventually cut down to $2 million, it's still obvious Trouble is never going to want for anything in his life.

If you are interested in making arrangements to have your pet taken care of, you may want to speak to an estate planning attorney about how you and legally and successfully accomplish that goal.

Source: The Telegraph, "Maria Assunta of Rome bequeaths entire $13.3 million estate to former stray cat Tommaso," Dec. 11, 2011