In February 2019, renowned German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld died at the age of 85. The administration of his estate is still in process and the details of his plan are not yet known. However, there are rumors that Lagerfeld left much — or even all — of his estate to his beloved cat, Choupette. He’d had the Birman cat since she was ten weeks old, and she quickly became part of his life and entourage. She traveled with Lagerfeld, inspired a new shade (Choupette blue) for Chanel, was the subject of a photo book released in 2018, and even had her face featured on a line of handbags.

Since his death, fans of the deceased Chanel designer have been abuzz with questions about the location and welfare of the rumored feline heiress. According to the head of communications for the Karl Lagerfeld brand, Choupette lives with and is cared for by a nanny in Paris. The famous 8-year old cat is apparently thriving and has become something of a celebrity, as she has her own agent and an Instagram account.

Until Lagerfeld’s estate has been settled, talk about Choupette being the heir to his fortune is largely speculative. It will be interesting to see the details when the dust settles.

Here in California, you cannot leave your estate directly to your pet. But you can create a “pet trust” if that’s something that is important to you, to provide for your pet’s care after you are no longer around to provide that care. To learn more about this type of estate planning tool, see our previous blog post.

If you have not finalized your estate plan yet, or if you have but it’s time to review and update your estate planning documents, we can help. Contact us today!