Estate Planning
What is an Estate Plan?
An estate plan is more of a checklist than a formal plan and all of my clients will go through this process with me at some point.
The goal of an estate plan is to make sure that when a person passes away, their assets are passed on to the people they want to leave them to, in a smooth and tax efficient way. It is also meant to ensure that loved ones are protected from financial instability through life insurance, when needed.
An estate plan will include a discussion around:
- What will happen to my assets when I die?
- Will my family have enough to carry on living with the same lifestyle?
- Do I need life insurance?
- Are my beneficiaries up to date? (Important to do after a death or divorce)
- How do I divide my assets equally between my children?
- How will capital gains affect the transfer of a family cottage?
- In kind donations to manage capital gains.
The greatest gift you can give loved ones is an organized and well planned estate. A good estate plan is easy to manage and will ensure your assets are distributed to the people you intend to leave them to, in a tax efficient way.