Simplicity and clarity key when discussing estate preservation: Expert

By Art Melo | March 30, 2004 | Last updated on March 30, 2004
3 min read
  • Are you concerned?
  • Are you willing to re-allocate money into an environment you’ve probably never even heard about before, which is universal life insurance?
  • Are you insurable?

    Once accepted by the client, the concept of re-allocation easily leads to taking inventory of the estate assets to be preserved, he said. Haisman created the strategy The Canadian Estate Planning Organizer to fulfill a need for clear information on estate planning.

    “I created this specifically because I grew very frustrated with the nonsense I hear from life insurance companies… all about product, product, product,” said Haisman, adding that advisors and clients both wanted clear and understandable materials.

    R elated Stories

  • Passing on: An estate planning toolkit for financial advisors
  • Roadblocks to family wealth planning and their solutions
  • Don’t over-insure when you can over-fund
  • As well as checklists of assets, the book contains lists of relatives, explanations of legal documents such as the power of attorney, a guide to funeral pre-planning and other information up to and including care of family pets after a client’s death. “Who’s going to look after the cat?” he asked. “They’re very concerned about the cat’s well-being.”

    Notwithstanding the care and feeding of felines, estate planning appears to be one of the fastest growing areas of consumer finance in Canada and an area in which many advisors could profitably increase their income while providing invaluable assistance to clients. In 1999, the most recent year for which figures appear available, 44% of Canadians did not have a will and 42% of Canadians had not done any estate planning, according to a Decima Research report to the Canadian Bar Association.

    However, as with other services and products, history may repeat itself. Independent advisors may find themselves increasingly competing with major banks for client loyalty in this area. The Bank of Nova Scotia has recently been broadcasting a television commercial also focusing on providing for dependants and estate preservation.

    Art Melo is a Toronto-based investment writer.

    (03/30/04)

    Art Melo

    • Are you concerned?
    • Are you willing to re-allocate money into an environment you’ve probably never even heard about before, which is universal life insurance?
    • Are you insurable?

    Once accepted by the client, the concept of re-allocation easily leads to taking inventory of the estate assets to be preserved, he said. Haisman created the strategy The Canadian Estate Planning Organizer to fulfill a need for clear information on estate planning.

    “I created this specifically because I grew very frustrated with the nonsense I hear from life insurance companies… all about product, product, product,” said Haisman, adding that advisors and clients both wanted clear and understandable materials.

    R elated Stories

  • Passing on: An estate planning toolkit for financial advisors
  • Roadblocks to family wealth planning and their solutions
  • Don’t over-insure when you can over-fund
  • As well as checklists of assets, the book contains lists of relatives, explanations of legal documents such as the power of attorney, a guide to funeral pre-planning and other information up to and including care of family pets after a client’s death. “Who’s going to look after the cat?” he asked. “They’re very concerned about the cat’s well-being.”

    Notwithstanding the care and feeding of felines, estate planning appears to be one of the fastest growing areas of consumer finance in Canada and an area in which many advisors could profitably increase their income while providing invaluable assistance to clients. In 1999, the most recent year for which figures appear available, 44% of Canadians did not have a will and 42% of Canadians had not done any estate planning, according to a Decima Research report to the Canadian Bar Association.

    However, as with other services and products, history may repeat itself. Independent advisors may find themselves increasingly competing with major banks for client loyalty in this area. The Bank of Nova Scotia has recently been broadcasting a television commercial also focusing on providing for dependants and estate preservation.

    Art Melo is a Toronto-based investment writer.

    (03/30/04)