Many of your business-owner clients have corporate owned life insurance – an excellent and tax efficient way for your client to achieve their estate and succession planning goals. However, to avoid unintended tax consequences, it is critical that the beneficiary designations of the corporate owned policies be reviewed. Where the corporation is the owner and payor of the life insurance, the corporation (or a subsidiary of the corporation) needs to be the beneficiary of the life insurance – not the shareholder’s estate or members of the shareholder’s family! Why? Well, when corporate funds are used to provide personal benefits to shareholders and their family members, a taxable shareholder benefit will result, and the corporation does not get a deduction for the benefit. This results in double tax for your client! Continue reading “Corporate Owned Life Insurance and Beneficiary Designations” →

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Corporate Owned Life Insurance - Watch Those Beneficiary Designations!

You know this industry inside and out – you’re a pro! In fact, nobody else is as suited to provide sound, up-to-date and in-depth financial planning advice to your clients as you are. However, many prospects continue to seek answers to their financial queries online or even worse, simply forgo financial matters altogether because it is just too daunting to even contemplate.

We’re here to help with this short video outlining the many benefits of working with a professional advisor such as yourself. Be sure to share it with your prospects today to highlight how your advice is not only valuable but can help them achieve their financial goals for today and the future. Continue reading “INFOclip: The Value of Advice” →

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INFOclip: The Value of Advice

Before we dive into this interesting topic, let’s start with the definition of an estate freeze. An estate freeze is a common planning strategy for business owners to pass the growth of their company onto the next generation and cap the value that will be subject to income tax on the sale of their shares in the company or on their death.

The question of whether to freeze and when, is something your business owner clients should consider.  Many things come into play when deciding when to freeze, including the value of the company, age of the parents who are considering a freeze, as well as the ages of the children to whom the growth is to be passed. Additionally, in today’s market, there are many other reasons to contemplate freezing the value of the company now – has the pandemic caused the value of the company to decline? Speculation that the capital gains rate might increase from 50% to 75%, which would increase the tax liability on death for the shares, is another reason to look at implementation of an estate freeze sooner rather than later. Continue reading “To Freeze or Not to Freeze, That Is the Question” →

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Is an Estate Freeze Something I Should Consider for my business?

As an advisor, you know the many categories and variations that exist within insurance – all of it can be quite perplexing for anyone who is not familiar with the insurance world.

This video describes the difference between term and permanent insurance, as well as living benefits like critical illness, long term disability and long-term care in a way that is easy for clients to understand. Share the client-friendly link below with your clients to help them decide which insurance is right for them. Continue reading “SMART TALK… about choosing the right insurance” →

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SMART TALK… about choosing the right insurance

When it comes to life insurance, the process can be a little daunting, especially for those clients that don’t know what to expect. Needs analysis, the application and underwriting process, payment options… it’s a lot.

Watch this video, then share it with your clients to help them understand the process of purchasing life insurance. Continue reading “SMART TALK… about your insurance options” →

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SMART TALK… about your insurance options

You know how tumultuous life can get and insurance exists to provide peace of mind during the toughest of moments. If your client is faced with an unexpected illness, disability or even death, insurance can provide options to cover ongoing expenses or help to build and protect assets that can be passed on to heirs.

Watch this video, then share it with your clients to illustrate the many benefits of life insurance. Continue reading “SMART TALK… about insurance” →

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SMART TALK… about insurance

When you or your client are selecting an executor (or liquidator in Quebec), or when your client is deciding whether to act as an executor or liquidator, it is important to consider the duties and responsibilities that this would entail, and whether you or the person you are considering have the ability and desire to perform the functions. This decision gets more complicated where the assets in question include business assets or assets in other jurisdictions.

Beyond having the administrative duties that will be discussed below, an executor is a fiduciary who has moral and ethical duties to act honestly, reasonably and in the best interests of the beneficiaries. The executor holds the estate “in trust” for the beneficiaries and must be impartial, avoid conflict of interests, not comingle estate property with their own, or use estate property personally. An executor is typically expected to complete the administration of the estate within one year (often called the “executor’s year”), but this may not be possible for complex estates or estates subject to litigation. Continue reading “Duties of an Executor – What Your Client Should Consider” →

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An Executor Checklist – A Few Things to Consider

Did you know that life insurance premiums can be deductible? Yes, they sure can in limited circumstances.

We all know that life insurance proceeds are received tax-free on death, so it is commonly understood that the payment of the insurance premium would not be deductible. This statement is true for both personally and corporately owned life insurance polices except when the insurance is assigned as collateral for a loan.  Sounds great, however certain requirements must be met in order to receive the deduction, including that the owner and borrower must be the same person and the assignment of the loan must be a requirement of the lender and not just a mere accommodation. If all the requirements are met, then the lesser of the premiums paid and the net cost of pure insurance are deductible. Continue reading “Can Life Insurance Premiums Be Deductible?” →

Here’s a 6 step Estate Planning Process that will ensure you are able to provide your high net-worth clients with advanced planning, in-depth knowledge and experience, the ultimate in service and support, and customized insurance solutions. Continue reading “The 6 Step Estate Planning Process” →