Tax

Decorative pattern

School’s in: Can your clients afford it?

Recent enhancements to RESPs, as well as the introduction of the tax-free savings account, mean rethinking education funding strategies for your clients. Let’s look at a few ideas. Maximizing RESPs With the annual RESP contribution limit removed and the lifetime maximum limit increased to $50,000, many clients wonder whether it’s better to make an initial […]

September 3, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Complement RESPs with in-trust accounts

Sometimes learning how to fund an education is an education in itself. The foundation for this exercise is the Registered Education Savings Plan, but with the cost of post-secondary education continuously rising, make sure your clients aren’t fooling themselves into believing that blindly maxing out RESPs puts their children at the head of the class. […]

September 1, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Ensure legal soundness when rearranging mortgages

It’s been just over eight months since the Supreme Court of Canada effectively blessed the plain vanilla debt swap strategy, often known as the “Singleton shuffle,” in the now- infamous Lipson decision, involving the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR). Advisors will recall in the Lipson case, Earl and Jordanna Lipson wanted to buy a home. Jordanna […]

September 1, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Can kids handle the inheritance?

Wealth is rarely instantaneous. As advisors, we assist many of our clients with putting in a great deal of hard work, sweat equity and time to build up savings and create a legacy for their families. And the greatest fear many financial advisors face is seeing a son or daughter – unprepared to deal with […]

By Paul Gleeson and Warren Miles-Pickup |September 1, 2009

5 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

How to appoint the right executor

Picking an executor is one of the most important decisions when your clients draft a will. Generally speaking, the executor implements your client’s last will and testament – his instructions and wishes. More specifically, this includes identifying and collecting assets; determining and paying liabilities, preparing and filing tax returns; paying taxes on time; and communicating […]

By Danny Dochylo |September 1, 2009

5 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Multiple jurisdictions might mean multiple wills

When advising clients on making a will, it isn’t uncommon to discover they have assets in foreign jurisdictions. That being the case, advisors need to know how to deal with issues that may arise from having overseas wealth. Consider the following scenario. Mary is a Canadian citizen who lives in Ottawa but spends her winters […]

By Akua Carmichael |September 1, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Help clients take advantage of education deductions

Is it the growing competition in the workforce, the sluggish economy, or just plain inertia? Whatever the reason, kids are spending more years in university, many of them pursuing expensive graduate studies overseas . For many parents this means outlays for education are higher and longer than originally anticipated. And with these high costs, it’s […]

By Gena Katz |September 1, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Understanding offshore investments

It is fairly common to come across a person with a plan that allows them to avoid paying Canadian tax by directing funds to an offshore tax haven country. However, if this plan sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you are considering directing client funds to an offshore investment or plan, […]

By Bruce Harris, LLP |August 19, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Bequeathing the family cottage

In my last column, I discussed the two most basic elements of estate planning — wills and powers of attorney — and how they affect the intergenerational transfer of wealth that your clients must eventually deal with. Now let’s look at one of the more common intergenerational asset transfers — the family cottage. Many of […]

By Michelle Munro |August 5, 2009

6 min read

Decorative pattern

How to overfund UL

“What?” you might say, “I didn’t know universal life insurance (UL) had an expiry date!” Relax. You’re right. UL doesn’t come with an expiry date. As long as you pay the premiums on time, you’re covered. “But if lifelong payment seems like a long commitment, universal life has a clause—quick-pay UL insurance—that allows the insured […]

By Jim Otar |August 1, 2009

3 min read

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