Tax

Decorative pattern

An estate freeze can be a good idea

Many of you have clients who implemented estate freezes in previous years. The planning strategy involves exchanging company shares— whether a family business or an investment holding company— for fixed value preferred shares, and then having other family members, or in many cases a trust for those family members, subscribe for nominal value common shares. […]

By Gena Katz |June 1, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Tax preparation opens doors with clients

Some years I wonder why I do it? The long hours. The time away from my family. The last-minute procrastinators. Given that our fee-only practice specializes in comprehensive fi nancial planning for affl uent individuals with challenging Canada/U.S. fi nancial, tax and estate matters, for many of our clients tax season doesn’t end on April […]

By Terry F. Ritchie |June 1, 2009

8 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Business bonanza

Whether it’s because they’ve decided to leave the corporate world to venture out on their own, reenter the business world after taking some time to raise children, or just capitalize on their skills and talents, more and more women are entering the ranks of business owners. According to Statistics Canada, in 2006 women accounted for […]

By Gena Katz |May 29, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

How to minimize the U.S. estate tax

If you have a client who is married to a United States (U.S.) citizen or a dual citizen, you may need to advise the person to watch out for U.S. estate tax. U.S. estate tax is a wealth transfer tax levied upon death, on the fair market value (irrespective of any accrued gains in value) […]

By Nadja Ibrahim and Christopher Gandhu |May 19, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

RESPs and estate implications

Registered education savings plans have become the cornerstone for saving for a child’s or grandchild’s post-secondary education. With this increased popularity, you can expect that your clients will more often encounter RESPs during their administration of estates. And because of the larger RESP values, it is more likely that disagreements will arise respecting the administration […]

By Floyd Gradley |May 12, 2009

6 min read

Decorative pattern

Fewer miles to go

Just as tax season is about to come to an end, investment advisors should take note of a recent decision that may affect their own personal taxes as they fi- nalize their 2008 tax returns The case (Diaz v. The Queen, 2009 TCC 114), heard late last year, involved Aldo Diaz, a selfemployed, investment salesman […]

April 29, 2009

3 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

TFSA holders don’t understand death benefits

Although minor, the ability to tack a beneficiary designation onto tax free savings accounts is one of those small bits of advice that can differentiate an advisor from the herd. While most Canadians understand and appreciate the tax-free feature of the TFSA, a survey by Mackenzie Financial shows few are clear about the implications of […]

By Mark Noble |April 20, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

U.S. estate tax for Canadians

If you have Canadian clients who are married to a citizen of the United States or a dual citizen, you may need to advise them to prepare for U.S. estate tax. U.S. estate tax is a wealth transfer tax levied at death on the fair market value of property held by an individual. The top […]

By Nadja Ibrahim, Christopher Gandhu |April 17, 2009

5 min read

Decorative pattern

Estate Planning

Income splitting: Assets, prescribed rates and personal loans

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently announced that the prescribed rate, the rate at which your clients can lend cash or other assets to family members in order to sidestep attribution rules, is 1% for the second quarter of 2009, effective April 1, 2009. The prescribed rate is set each quarter and is based on […]

April 13, 2009

4 min read

Decorative pattern

Market Insights

Income planning case studies

Proper retirement planning requires planning for the worst, so deciding what to focus on in a retirement plan is no easy task. More often than not, financial planners think in terms of accumulation. But, once you switch from the accumulation stage to the distribution stage, the math is entirely different. While you can talk about […]

By Jim Otar |April 7, 2009

4 min read

← Previous 1 … 268 269 270 271 272 … 281 Next →