Book A Meeting

Careers

Advisor Portal Login

Contact Us

PROTECT MY ESTATE

You’ve spent a lifetime building it. What happens to it when you’re gone?

Estate planning isn’t only about writing a will.

It’s about understanding what you own, who you want to receive it, how it will get there and what financial or tax consequences could arise along the way.

A better question than:

“Do I have a will?”

is:

“If I died tomorrow, would everything happen the way I think it will?”

What happens when I die?

Different assets can be treated differently.

Your estate may include:

Your Home & Real Estate

Your principal residence, rental properties, vacation properties and other real estate can have very different estate and tax considerations.

Ownership structure matters.

So does who receives the property.

Learn about Real Estate & Your Estate →

RRSPs & RRIFs

Registered retirement assets can create a significant tax liability at death.

There may be exceptions or rollover opportunities in certain circumstances, but simply naming a beneficiary doesn’t necessarily make the underlying tax disappear.

Learn what happens to your RRSP when you die →

TFSA

A TFSA is treated differently from an RRSP.

Beneficiary designations, successor-holder designations where available, timing and investment growth after death can all matter.

Learn what happens to your TFSA when you die →

Life Insurance

Life insurance can create liquidity at exactly the time an estate may need it.

Depending on the circumstances, it can help fund taxes, replace wealth, equalize inheritances, provide for family members or create a legacy.

Learn about Life Insurance & Estate Planning →

Business & Corporate Assets

For business owners, estate planning can become significantly more complicated.

Shares of a private corporation, shareholder agreements, taxes, succession and corporate-owned life insurance may all need to work together.

Learn about Business Estate Planning →

Canada doesn’t have an inheritance tax. So why can death still create a tax bill?

Because the absence of an inheritance tax doesn’t mean every asset transfers tax-free.

At death, Canadian tax rules can result in income inclusions or deemed dispositions of certain assets, subject to available exceptions, elections and rollovers.

That can affect assets such as:

The important question isn’t simply:

“Will my children pay inheritance tax?”

It’s:

“What tax could arise before my estate reaches them?”

My RRSP is worth $1 million. Will my children receive $1 million?

Not necessarily.

The value shown on an account statement isn’t always the same as the amount ultimately available to your beneficiaries after taxes and other estate obligations.

That’s why registered assets deserve particular attention in estate planning.

Read: What Happens to Your RRSP When You Die? →

What about my TFSA?

The TFSA can be very different.

The value of the TFSA at death and what happens afterward can depend on the beneficiary designation and circumstances.

Spouses or common-law partners may also have planning opportunities that aren’t available to other beneficiaries.

Read: What Happens to Your TFSA When You Die? →

Who should be my beneficiary?

Beneficiary designations can be powerful, but they shouldn’t be made in isolation.

Consider:

The person receiving an asset and the person or estate responsible for the associated tax may not always be the same.

That can produce unintended results.

Equal isn’t always equitable.

Imagine leaving:

$500,000 of one asset to Child A

and

$500,000 of another asset to Child B.

It looks equal.

But if the assets have different tax consequences, the amounts ultimately received could be very different.

Good estate planning looks beyond account balances.

What if I want to leave something to charity?

Charitable giving can be more than simply writing a cheque during your lifetime.

For Canadians who want philanthropy to be part of their legacy, charitable giving can also be incorporated into an estate plan.

Depending on your circumstances, strategies may include:

Charitable gifts may also generate tax benefits that can help offset tax arising during life or at death, depending on the structure and applicable tax rules.

Can life insurance be used for charitable giving?

Yes.

Life insurance can sometimes allow a donor to create a charitable gift that is substantially larger than the premiums paid during their lifetime.

However, how the policy is owned, who pays the premiums and who is named as beneficiary can affect when and how charitable tax credits may arise.

That’s why charitable insurance planning should be coordinated with the charity and the donor’s tax, legal and financial advisors.

Learn about Charitable Giving & Life Insurance →

Your legacy can include more than your family.

For some people, estate planning isn’t only about what they leave to their children.

It’s also about supporting the organizations, communities and causes that mattered during their lifetime.

A well-designed charitable strategy can help make philanthropy part of the legacy you leave behind.

Where does life insurance fit?

Sometimes the objective isn’t to eliminate a tax liability.

It’s to make sure there is money available when that liability arises.

Life insurance can sometimes provide estate liquidity to help:

Whether it makes sense depends on your circumstances.

Your estate plan should answer one question.

Will what I’ve built reach the people I intended, in the way I intended?

Your lawyer, accountant and financial professionals may each have an important role in answering that question.

We can help you understand the financial side of the estate plan and identify areas that may require coordination with your other professional advisors.

BOOK AN ESTATE PLANNING CONVERSATION →