8 Reasons You Should Do Business Succession Planning in Canada

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Succession planning is essential for businesses worldwide, but certain aspects make it particularly important in the Canadian context. Here are eight compelling reasons why business succession planning is crucial in Canada

Understanding Taxes Payable at Death in Canada

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Discover how taxes impact your estate in Canada and explore strategies to minimize the burden. Learn how to manage earned income, deemed disposition, and withdrawals at death to preserve your legacy.

Strategies for Multi-Generational Planning

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The Sandwich Generation, coined by Dorothy Miller in 1981, describes adults caring for both aging parents and their own children. This dual responsibility is emotionally and financially draining. Effective financial planning is crucial, involving open discussions about family resources, life insurance needs analysis, disability and critical illness coverage, long-term care insurance, and drafting a living will. Addressing these issues can alleviate stress and ensure financial security for all generations.

Preparing Your Heirs for Wealth

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If you think your heirs are not quite old enough or prepared enough to discuss the wealth they will inherit on your death, you’re not alone. Unfortunately, this way of thinking can leave your beneficiaries in a decision-making vacuum: an unnecessary predicament which can be avoided by facing your own mortality and creating a plan. Avoiding the subject of your own mortality can also be an extremely costly to those you leave behind.

Network of Professionals

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As a financial advisor, my primary goal is to help you achieve financial clarity by accessing a network of dedicated professionals. Together, we provide personalized advice and services to help you make informed decisions and secure your future. Think of me as your financial coordinator, ensuring every aspect of your financial life works smoothly.

TFSA vs RRSP – 2024

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When looking to save money in a tax-efficient manner, Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA) and Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP) can offer significant tax benefits. The main difference between the two is that TFSAs are ideal for short-term goals, such as saving for a down payment on a house or a vacation, as its growth is entirely tax-free, while RRSPs are more suitable for long-term goals such as retirement. When comparing deposit differences, TFSAs have a limit of $7,000 for the current year, while RRSPs have a limit of 18% of your pre-tax income from the previous year, with a maximum limit of $31,560. In terms of withdrawals, TFSAs have no conversion requirements and withdrawals are tax-free, while RRSPs must be converted to a Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) at age 71 and withdrawals are taxed as income.

Can Probate be Avoided?

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Executors often find that the probate process can be both time-consuming and expensive. Planning strategies exist that may eliminate or reduce the requirement of having assets probated.

Estate Equalization for Family Business Owners

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In the planning of their estates, most parents might prefer to leave their assets in equal shares to their children. Often, the only complication in this scenario could be how to divide up the family home. For owners of a family business, however, the concept of treating the children equally can often be much more problematic. This can especially be the case where one or more children are active in the business while others are not.

Now May Be a Good Time to Review your Estate Plan

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It has long been an accepted strategy to provide sufficient estate liquidity to pay taxes due at death from the proceeds of a life insurance policy. In Canada we are fortunate to have permanent life insurance policies that insure an individual for their entire life with a premium that is guaranteed not to increase. It is feasible to be able to use these policies in an effective estate plan.

Estate Planning for Blended Families

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In today’s family, it is not unusual for spouses to enter a marriage with children from previous relationships. Parents work hard at getting these children to functionally blend together to create a happy family environment. Often overlooked is what happens on the death of one of the parents. In most cases, special consideration for estate planning is needed to avoid relationship loss and possibly legal action. Typically spouses leave everything to each other and when the surviving spouse dies, the remainder is divided amongst the children. The problem? Even with the best of intentions, there is no guarantee that the surviving spouse will not remarry and inadvertently disinherit the deceased’s children.