Legacy · Succession · Permanence
Estate, succession and insurance planning for Ontario business owners and families.
Book a private consultation (opens in a new tab)The problem
Most estates are not lost to bad decisions. They are worn down by decisions that were never made.
At death, your assets are generally treated as sold at fair market value. This deemed dispositionWhen someone dies, the tax rules generally treat them as having sold their capital property at fair market value immediately before death, even though nothing was sold. Any resulting gain can be taxed on the final return. can create a tax bill on your final return before anything has actually been sold.
Without planning, the value in a private corporation can be taxed once as a capital gain at death, and again as a dividend when the money comes out to your heirs.
If no one has agreed who takes over or how they will pay, the business can lose value quickly, and the family is left to negotiate at the hardest possible time.
An outdated will, a missing power of attorney or the wrong beneficiary can send assets to the wrong place, through probateThe court process that confirms a will and the executor’s authority to deal with the estate. In Ontario it involves Estate Administration Tax, based on the value of assets that pass through the estate., or into dispute.
Two paths, one standard
The questions differ with what you have built. The standard of care does not.
A corporation, real estate, an investment portfolio. The more you have built, the more the rules at death matter.
Planning here aims to keep value inside the family, give the business a clear next owner, and plan for the cash the estate will need.
Recommended reading
A first home, a rising income, young children. What you put in place now shapes what your children inherit later.
Planning here helps protect the income and the home, and starts something permanent early.
Recommended reading
What every plan rests on
Shown for Business OwnerShown for Growing FamilyChange
What you built should outlive you and reach your children, not the tax bill.
For Business Owners & Families with Significant Assets
We map how your corporation, real estate and investments can be taxed at death, and plan the order in which value moves to the next generation.
For Growing Families
We start with what matters most: the right beneficiaries, a current will and guardianship for your children, prepared with your lawyer.
A clear plan for the business, the corporation and the family.
For Business Owners & Families with Significant Assets
A business needs a next owner, a fair price and the money to complete the transfer. We help design and fund it, alongside your accountant and lawyer.
For Growing Families
Succession is also who cares for your children, who manages what they inherit, and when they receive it. We help you decide deliberately.
Whole life insurance as the foundation that holds it together.
For Business Owners & Families with Significant Assets
Permanent coverage can provide cash at death, fund a buy-sell and, when owned by a corporation, may allow proceeds to reach the family through the Capital Dividend AccountA notional account a private corporation keeps to track certain amounts it received tax-free, such as the untaxed portion of capital gains and qualifying life insurance proceeds. The balance may be paid to shareholders as a capital dividend, which Canadian residents can generally receive tax-free when the election is filed correctly., subject to the tax rules.
For Growing Families
Permanent coverage bought early can stay in place for life. It protects the family while the children are young and can become part of what they inherit.
Planning readiness check
Answer yes or no. Nothing is stored or sent. At the end you will see which topics to read next. It is not a score, and it is not advice.
Consider each question. Where the answer is no, the related reading is a good place to start.
Question 1 of 8
Why it mattersA will written before a marriage, a separation, children or a business can direct assets in ways you no longer intend.
Question 2 of 8
Why it mattersIf you cannot make decisions, someone needs legal authority to act for you, including for your business.
Question 3 of 8
Why it mattersNaming a minor child directly can mean the money is held under court supervision until they reach the age of majority. A trustee may be more appropriate.
Question 4 of 8
Why it mattersWithout one, the family may have to decide who runs or buys the business under pressure, and without the funds to do it.
Question 5 of 8
Why it mattersPrivate company shares can be taxed on the final return, and the same value can be taxed again when funds leave the corporation.
Question 6 of 8
Why it mattersWhen one child inherits the business or the cottage, the others may need something of comparable value.
Question 7 of 8
Why it mattersEstates are sometimes forced to sell a business, property or investments at a poor time to pay what is owed.
Question 8 of 8
Why it mattersIllness or injury during working years can strain a family as much as a death, and for longer.
Your reading list
Based on your answers, these topics may be worth a closer look. This is a reading list, not a recommendation.
Plans still need regular review as families, businesses and tax rules change. A conversation can confirm that each piece still fits together.
Discuss your answers in a private consultation.
Book a private consultation (opens in a new tab)Your answers stay in this browser window. Nothing is stored or sent.
How we work
We learn what you own, how it is held, who depends on you and what you want to happen. We review your will, shareholder agreements, policies and statements.
We set out the options and the trade-offs in plain language. Where tax or legal structures are involved, we review them with your accountant and lawyer before anything is recommended.
We put the insurance in place, coordinate the documents your lawyer and accountant prepare, and review the plan as your family, your business and the rules change.
We work alongside your accountant and lawyer, never around them. They advise on tax and law. We design and implement the planning that supports their advice.
Begin
A first conversation is private and carries no obligation. We will listen, ask careful questions and tell you plainly what we see.
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