Often people confuse estate planning as planning for when one dies and that is not the case . How would you like to save tax throughout your life and at time of death ? Would you like to have a safety net to protect you ? Protect your family ? Guarantee continuity for your business ? How would you like to have a piece of mind knowing nothing has been left to chance ? Our objective is to build a team around you to create a estate plan which focuses on you . Remember , a series of seemingly good individual decisions when looked at as part of the big plan may be disastrous to your financial health . I invite you to look at the testimonials on our web and hear as well as see what others say about us , www.tkfg.ca .
While the rich have a lot of good reasons to do estate planning so do you ? It is estimated that 50 percent of Canadians do not have a will , do you ? Estate planning is not only for planning at death as some may think . Estate Planning can save you thousands of dollars while alive . How do you get a Estate Plan completed ? There has to be a individual to lead the process and we do this on a regular basis . We will put a team together from your existing professional advisors and bring other specialists when required . We are formulating a family office environment without the fees associated to that concept . You , your family and your business will gain value from working with us . Our discovery meeting will give us both a chance to get to know each other and see if there is a fit .
Insurance audit is a detailed analysis of your existing life coverages , review of your alternatives and a summary document for your executors . We have achieved great results in : giving people a comfort knowing they are properly protected , saved corporations from shutting down , enabled children to graduate from law schools , ,made widows financially secure , saved premium dollars and saved taxes payable on death to name a few . Think of what we can do for you ?
I have had occasions where US citizens working in Canada ,married to Canadians , did not fully understand the tax consequences for themselves , their children and their spouses . When we complete our discovery meeting we gather information to be sure all details are disclosed and living in close proximity to US it is paramount we ask about their citizenship . In Estate planning , having a US citizen creates a set of challenges that requires legal , accounting , insurance and investment knowledge which deals with non residents . Your one or two parents are US citizens but you were born in Canada , do you think you have ant ties to US beyond family ? Also you may have come to Canada from Great Britain , do you think there are any taxes owing to britain when your assets are disposed ? Get competent advice from professionals that specialize in this type of estate planning work .
There are many definitions of Estate Planning and each adviser has his or her own . My definition does involve completing a fact find , team solutions and lot's of conversation . It also involves bringing all advisor's into a single meeting and creating solution as a team rather then traditional way one silos at a time : accounting , legal , insurance , banking and investments . Some people will have you fill out a long questionnaire , feed the information into a computer and give you a report . While this does give you a snap shot of certain things it is far from being a Estate Plan . We are your personal financial architect !
With so many family businesses out there it amazes me how little or no planning is completed to : give parent's opportunity to enjoy retirement , pass business to next generations to come and protect the family members from arguments . When it comes down to understanding family dynamics and integrated planning there is a need for specialists who not only have experience but also are able to capture true desires of the family . Why would you not involve as many professionals in the process who bring their distinct values into the process ? You pay for services from all kinds of people in form or fees or commission from sales of various products you purchase . Create a new team of competent advisor's and some of your existing advisor's may not have a role to play in your Estate Planning or corporate reorganization .
When was the last time you had an audit of your financial affairs ? Yes a AUDIT ! MANY PEOPLE GET BUSY LIVING LIVES , RAISING FAMILIES , BUILDING COMPANIES AND FORGET TO PLAN THEIR OWN LIFE .We see weekly disasters waiting to happen because the planning people are doing or have done are in isolation . They buy product and rarely look at the effect it has on their big plan . Worst yet , people do not have a big plan . Yes we are paid to provide clients with products but we do much more then that . This week we were in a joint meeting with a group of professionals and one felt that he was a TRUSTED adviser . I explained whet my role is to the clients and it extends thousands of miles beyond simply placing a product . We wear many hats and have to me well rounded to provide you with advice .
I was just contacted by a client that I have been trying for over 10 years to complete a full Estate Plan in early January . Where does one start ? Take inventory of all assets / liabilities , investment vehicles , insurance contract , complete a questionnaire with me designed to ask questions to bring clarity and build a advisory team around my client . Who is part of that advisory team besides our firm ? Existing legal and accounting professionals , bring in other advisor's when necessary like Ken Andrews/Ron Prehogan from Equitas Consultants to deal with inter family issues and numerous other resources developed over my last 29 years in the business . We are what you would refer as a quarter back of many a Estate Planning projects as well as Business Planning sessions . Why ? Experience of working with individuals from which some are known here as well as internationally . I thank all my clients that allowed me to be part of their life and trusted me to always keep their best interest at heart .
