We provide you with strategies tailored to meet your individual needs. These strategies can help ensure that you have the opportunity to minimize or eliminate taxes on your estate, and to organize the orderly transfer of wealth to your beneficiaries. Some of these strategies include:

Wealth Preservation

By working hard and investing carefully, you have achieved a degree of financial success accumulating investments. Some investment assets accumulate sizeable tax liability that will continue to increase. After using a variety of registered and non-registered investments to build your wealth, there are alternative strategies to consider to cover your tax liability and to complement your savings. The tax-advantaged cash value component of life insurance can help reduce your tax liability and generate a significant amount of wealth for your family's next generation compared to taxable investment income. A permanent life insurance policy allows for the accumulation of cash value inside the policy, within certain legislative limits, on a tax-advantaged basis. If a policy is purchased with enough coverage to pay off tax liabilities today, and has the flexibility to grow well into the future, your beneficiaries will remain financially stable after your death. The life insurance policy's cash value remains completely accessible and in your control while you are alive in the event that you do require additional income.

Estate Equalization and Transfer

The estate of most individuals is worth more than just money. A family business, a summer cabin on the lake or an antique car collection may be part of a legacy, rich with family history, that your client wants to pass on to his or her children and grandchildren. The challenge is to develop a plan that satisfies your client's desire to pass along specific assets to certain individuals, while making sure each family beneficiary is treated fairly and equitably. Individuals are often unaware of what the potential planning needs are and may not see the hidden stresses involving distribution of family assets, both tangible and intangible. These assets may not be easily dividable, may have fluctuating values and lack liquidity, as well as potential tax liabilities. The goal of an estate plan that involves estate equalization is to balance the desires of the parent(s) making bequests to certain individuals and the desire to maintain an equitable value to each heir.

Estate Preservation

Upon your death and that of your spouse, your estate could be subject to a variety of liabilities. This includes capital gains tax, Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) tax, Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) tax, probate (does not apply in Quebec) and other costs. The result could be an onerous bill for your heirs that could erode the value you intend to pass on to them. By incorporating estate preservation strategies, you can fund the costs that could result after your death. Estate preservation safeguards your wealth to secure the standard of living that your family enjoys now. One of the most effective ways of dealing with future tax liabilities lies in the use of today's innovative life insurance products to pay the tax bill when it comes due. In fact, this insurance can be structured to pay out exactly when the taxation occurs. This eliminates much of the guess work associated with this aspect of the planning process. If assets are to be passed to your beneficiaries upon death, the cost of life insurance should be seen as an investment on behalf of these beneficiaries so that the estate assets pass in the most cost-effective way. These products are not the traditional insurance plans most people are familiar with, but a new and broad range of innovative products.

Retirement Income

You have accumulated significant wealth in registered and non-registered investments to meet future retirement needs. The annual income generated by these assets typically attracts annual taxation. The retirement income enhancer strategy provides opportunities to reduce taxes payable today by replacing fixed income investments with a permanent life insurance policy which can provide tax advantaged growth within the policy and increase income during retirement.

Business Succession Planning

If you are a business owner, your business likely comprises a significant portion of your estate. Professional advice concerning business succession can be an important step towards ensuring a smooth transition to new ownership and can help preserve the value of your business.