Words Of Wisdom
Published in October 2020
In your efforts to create a smooth legacy transition for your loved ones and your business partners, you may want to consider some of these thoughts when doing your financial and estate planning:
Everything starts with the will. Fewer than half of Canadians have a will.
Just because someone has a will doesn't mean that it's current or signed.
What does the will say? What does the person mean when their will says "everything"?
If the owner's will passes everything to their spouse, has anyone asked the employees if they'd work for that person? Would the employees want to own the company themselves?
Most business owners are asset rich and cash poor. Their wealth is generally represented by their shares of a private corporation.
Life insurance can create guaranteed additional value to the liquidity of an estate plan. Never seen an estate that had too much cash.
Most people have not discussed their succession plans and overall estate plan with their children. A family discussion can provide the reasons behind the estate distribution plan that could eliminate or reduce hurt feelings.
To have documents completed in a timely manner, agree to a closing date.
Two tax changes over the past 25 years concerning corporate life insurance and dividends -- stop-loss rules and eligible and non-eligible dividend pools - have likely not been addressed in current shareholder agreement drafting.
You never really know someone until you share an inheritance!
*****
If you have questions or need a referral to one of our Legato business partners, just let me know. :-)
Based on an insurance industry article by Gary Clark in Edmonton.
Everything starts with the will. Fewer than half of Canadians have a will.
Just because someone has a will doesn't mean that it's current or signed.
What does the will say? What does the person mean when their will says "everything"?
If the owner's will passes everything to their spouse, has anyone asked the employees if they'd work for that person? Would the employees want to own the company themselves?
Most business owners are asset rich and cash poor. Their wealth is generally represented by their shares of a private corporation.
Life insurance can create guaranteed additional value to the liquidity of an estate plan. Never seen an estate that had too much cash.
Most people have not discussed their succession plans and overall estate plan with their children. A family discussion can provide the reasons behind the estate distribution plan that could eliminate or reduce hurt feelings.
To have documents completed in a timely manner, agree to a closing date.
Two tax changes over the past 25 years concerning corporate life insurance and dividends -- stop-loss rules and eligible and non-eligible dividend pools - have likely not been addressed in current shareholder agreement drafting.
You never really know someone until you share an inheritance!
*****
If you have questions or need a referral to one of our Legato business partners, just let me know. :-)
Based on an insurance industry article by Gary Clark in Edmonton.