The Role of a Liquidator
Most Canadians have heard the term executor; it is synonymous with the Quebec term liquidator. But many remain unclear as to the exact responsibilities and limitations of a liquidator. Simply put, the liquidator handles a deceased person’s estate. The liquidator has to manage bank accounts and assets, distribute these to the deceased’s heirs, and file […]
Business Succession Planning
A business often represents a lifetime of work and vision. Yet, many business owners wanting to exit ownership barely have a formal succession plan in place. Leaving business succession to chance could allow someone else to decide what happens to your business, potentially at significant cost. Planning early helps ensure a smooth and successful transition […]
A Powerful Tool to Minimize Tax
What is a trust? Estate and trust planning is fundamental to the work we perform on behalf of the clients of TWM Group. Traditionally deployed as a way to minimize estate taxes, an astutely designed trust delivers several additional advantages in the context of a coherent estate plan. Fundamentally, a trust is a fiduciary device […]
Elements of a Plan
Succession planning does not take place in isolation from the larger issue of your overall financial security. An effective succession plan will examine all aspects of your financial situation. This includes: A) Distribution of Ownership If transferring ownership of your business, a shareholder agreement is a key tool that should be considered.
Six Steps for Building a Financial Plan for Ageing Parents
We have touched on the issue of caring for ageing parents in the past, but we’re revisiting it again because – for many if not most of us – it remains an inescapable fact of life. In a recent issue of Time magazine, writer Christopher Mathews offered some invaluable insights about the six basic financial […]
Helping Aging Parents Look After Themselves
Aging parents – distressing though it is to recognize – inevitably face declining capacities over which they have diminishing control. As a result, many of us are confronted with the unenviable task of managing the wealth, health and overall wellbeing of parents who can no longer adequately look after themselves. Before things take a turn […]
Business Succession Planning
A business often represents a lifetime of work and vision. However, despite almost three-quarters of business owners wanting to transfer control or exit ownership within the next decade, barely a third has a formal succession plan in place. Lack of a plan is the most common reason family businesses fail to survive first-to-second generation ownership. […]
Empty Nest
Estate Planning Now that your children have left home, it is probably time to revisit your estate plans. The most important aspect of your estate plan is your Will. Objectives change over time and your Will should reflect these changes to ensure that your estate is distributed according to your wishes. If your children are […]
Increase your Retirement Success
Studies show that investors who work with an advisor save at twice the rate and accumulate four times the assets of those who don’t. While there is a wide range of investment products out there specifically designed to help people prepare and plan for their retirement, there really is no substitute for sitting down with […]
Planning For a Long Life
Accumulation & Decumulation: facing the financial implications of a long life. Two frequently used terms in any professionally conducted discussion about retirement planning are accumulation and decumulation. The accumulation phase is the pre-retirement period when we work and save for retirement. Upon retiring, decumulation begins. When saving for retirement, the focus tends to be on […]
