Financial Planning

Whether it’s owning your own home, funding your children’s education, or creating a stress-free retirement, a financial plan is considered vital in working towards your goals. A well-grounded and effective plan goes beyond the realm of saving, budgeting, and investing. It also considers other elements of your financial picture, including insurance planning, tax planning, retirement planning, estate planning, and much more.

By understanding the role of financial planning in meeting your short, intermediate, and long-term financial aspirations, you’ll be better equipped to control your financial future.

Our Approach to Financial Planning

  • Discovering You: Our process begins with a consultative discovery meeting designed to learn more about you and your goals. This is also an opportunity for you to learn more about what we do, and see if we’re a good fit for your needs.
  • Strategy Planning: Once we learn who you are, we’ll start developing your personalized plan. Through our strategy-building process, we’ll create a set of personalized plans – for the short, intermediate, and long-term – that aim to fulfill your overall financial strategy. We use a consultative and iterative approach, so each session brings us closer to the financial objectives we set together.
  • Implementation: Whether it’s making the right investment decisions, choosing the right insurance plan for you and your family, saving to reach your retirement goals, or creating an estate plan that preserves your legacy; our financial professionals will be right there by your side as you take each step. Through foresight, encouragement, and professionalism, we’ll make sure each step of your plan is implemented.
  • Review and Support: We’ll laud you at every successful implementation of your financial plan, and help you stay on track to meet your objectives. Through plan reviews, we’ll consult with you and make modifications to your strategies and plans as needed.

Book an initial consultation with one of our financial professionals to create your personalized financial plan.



Financial Planning for Business Owners

When you are full of ideas for starting a new business, all you can see is what’s going to happen tomorrow. The thought of having their vision turned to reality often blinds new entrepreneurs to that all-important question: Does it all makes sense financially? While passion is key to turning vision into a functional business, prudent financial planning is critical to ensure that reality comes to fruition, and continues to survive and thrive!

Why Financial Planning is Important for Business Owners

Just as even the savviest of pilots can’t always fly blind all the time, so too is the case with business owners. Meticulous financial planning, for the short-term, in the intermediate period, and for the long-term horizon, is vital if a business is to succeed.

Without sound financial planning, even the best of business ideas will soon falter and perish. Business financial planning is the lifeblood for any venture to succeed, expand and flourish in the long run.

What We Can Do for You

Here’s how our Business Financial Planning solutions can help you:

  • Start-up financial planning: As you start up your new venture, you’ll need to finance its ongoing operations. Our experienced professionals can help uncover creative capital financing opportunities for you.
  • Business plans: To ensure the ongoing viability of your business, you’ll need help putting together a sound business plan – for the short, intermediate and long-term. We can help create that pan for you.
  • Contingency planning: Emergencies and unforeseen situations can arise anytime during the life of the business. It takes savvy financial advice to ensure you have the financial safety net to successfully weather the business through such events.
  • Taxation: Most jurisdictions offer a number of tax incentives to business owners, so that they might create, expand and continue operating in those jurisdictions. Unfortunately, many business owners are either unfamiliar of the tax-friendly nature of such incentives; or they underutilize them to the detriment of their business. Leave it to our experienced professionals to help you understand such incentives so you can apply them to minimize your business taxes.
  • Asset acquisition: Whether you choose to own an asset outright for your business, or ensure its use through other means, will depend on the financing options available to you. We can help you make buy versus rent, versus lease decisions that are right for you.
  • Debt management: Is it best to borrow against business assets? Or should consider refinancing? Or would it make sense to dispose-off some assets to finance debt? These are every-day decisions that we help business owners make.
  • Business expansion and diversification: When it comes to expanding and diversifying your business, you’ll find us right beside you when evaluating financial proposals and financing options to fund those initiatives.
  • Employee retention: No business is ever successful without satisfied employees. We’ll work with you to help offer attractive remuneration, compensation and benefits packages to your employees, that will motivate them to consider making a long-term career with you and your company.
  • Succession planning: What happens if something untoward happens to you? What if you wanted to step down, or take a less active role in the business? Is there someone groomed and primed to assume the mantle of leadership and succession?
  • Retirement, Estate and Legacy planning: And when it’s time for you to call it quits, we’ll be right there to ensure you are able to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Through careful planning, we’ll not only make sure you enjoy a comfortable retirement, but that your legacy passes seamlessly to your next generation of successors.

Contact us today to learn more about financial planning as a business owner.



Asset Management

You and your family (partner, spouse) work hard to accumulate assets over a lifetime. The hope is that, when the time comes for you to leverage those assets, they’ll be there for you to benefit from. Asset Management service is all about helping you manage YOUR financial assets using a prudent and conscientious approach.

Why Asset Management is Important

Individuals and families depend on the assets they accumulate over the years, being able to sustain them later in life – in retirement or in the event of an unforeseen need. However, not everyone has the time to monitor and manage those assets. And even if you do have the time, you might not have the skills and patience to do so. In not managing your assets diligently over your accumulation phase, you could leave them exposed to erosion, destruction or depletion. The result: You might not have those assets (or a significant portion of them) in times of need.

What We Can Do for You

  • Determining your objectives: Not everyone has the same, or similar, financial objectives as they embark upon accumulating their wealth. To manage your assets prudently, we first need to understand what your goals are for initially accumulating and subsequently using those assets.
  • Helping you choose your optimal asset mix: There are literally hundreds of asset-types that you can invest in, and as many ways to do so! Depending on your goals for asset use, we’ll help you choose the right asset mix that will most efficiently/effectively accomplish those goals.
  • Assisting you create a strategic asset allocation plan (SAAP) and tactical asset allocation plan (TAAP): Successful investing is all about successful planning. We’ll help create both long-term (strategic) and short-term (tactical) asset allocation and management plans in line with the recommended asset mix.
  • Building your portfolio: Today, thanks to DIY-investing, anyone can create a discount brokerage account and start buying assets and including them into a portfolio. However, that’s not the most efficient or effective way to create log-term wealth. Using the allocation mix agreed upon, we’ll build a results-focused portfolio of individual investments (Stocks, Bonds, Mutual Funds, ETFs, Alternate investments) that will help get you to your financial objectives.
  • Managing and monitoring the portfolio: Unless you have the time and patience to dedicate to portfolio management, it can’t be done effectively. We know you have other things to do – such as living your life, so we’ll watch over the portfolio for you, making sure it never strays from delivering the objectives you desire.
  • Measuring performance: We track the performance of your assets under our care, and constantly measure how they are performing against industry recognized benchmarks.
  • Managing risk: Our Asset Management strategy includes appropriate risk mitigation as part of this service. Where there are new risks to the portfolio, we’ll consult with you and propose timely and appropriate actions to manage and mitigate them.
  • Reviewing, reporting, recommending changes and revisions to the strategy: Our Asset Management service is based on constant and open communication and collaboration with our clients. Through regularly scheduled reporting and conversations, we ensure that your asset management plans are continually reviewed, revised and updated to meet your changing circumstances.

Contact us to learn more about asset management.



Retirement Planning

Everything you do – from planning the education and designations you’d like to acquire, to starting a career and managing your career progression – is done in the hopes that you and your loved ones can have a better life. But in all your planning, have you remembered to plan for life after work?

If you fail to plan for life after work, all the effort you’ve put into your working life may be jeopardized, and you may be left with more questions than answers. And an ill-prepared retirement is bound to be one filled with financial stress and chaos, instead of life-enriching experiences and freedom.

How We Can Help

Retirement planning shouldn’t start at retirement; it should start well before. We take a long-term view of your financial wellbeing to help create a life after work that is as well-planned as your life while working.

  • Understand your goals: Through an intensely personalized approach, we discover what your retirement goals are. Whether it’s travel, a new hobby, or spending more time with the people you love, we’ll help you strive for your ideal retirement.
  • Analyze your current position: To plan a meaningful retirement, you need to know where you currently stand. We’ll help you build an in-depth financial inventory to use as part of our retirement planning process.
  • Develop your plan: We’ll work with you to create a retirement plan that aims to address them. When we’re done, you’ll not only have a better understanding of your investments, and what you need to fund your retirement lifestyle, you’ll also be better equipped to handle any shortfalls.
  • Implement your plan: As you move closer to retirement, we’ll work with you to ensure the plans are implemented in a phased and orderly manner. The goal of our retirement planning approach is to make your transition to retirement as seamless and stress-free as possible.
  • Support you in pension and benefit decisions: We’ll be here if you need advice on Government or Employer pension and benefits: when to apply, how to apply, what to do with your funds, and much more.
  • Partner with you in retirement and beyond: A long and fulfilling retirement takes multiple facets of your financial picture into consideration: health care, long-term care, insurance, legacy planning, and charitable giving. Our financial professionals will be here for you when you need advice in any of these areas.
  • Provide ongoing reviews: We’ll continue to review your retirement plans, and consult with you about any changes or updates needed to address your evolving retirement lifestyle needs.

Ready to take the first step in creating your plan for life after work? Get in touch with one of our financial professionals today!



Succession Planning for Business Owners

When entrepreneurs start a business, the last thing on their minds is succession planning. Most business owners spend a lot of time – as they should – on Operations Plans, Marketing Plans, Capital-spending Plans, Maintenance Planning, Staffing Plans…and more. But what about Succession Planning? Wouldn’t you like an orderly “exit” from the business, once it’s time for you to take a back seat?

Why Business Succession Planning is Important

You’ve built your business through sweat, toil and tireless effort. For most entrepreneurs, their business operations represent a legacy that they’d like to leave to the next generation. And what would happen to the business in the event that you are suddenly incapacitated – is there someone reliable that can step into your shoes? Have you thought about the customers/clients that depend on the goods/services your company provides – who would service their needs if you are not around?

More importantly, given that many loyal employees count on working for the business long after the owner has passed, it makes sense to ensure someone with the proper vision for the business succeeds you.

Without a proper succession plan in place, family strife and internal (company) politics would threaten the future of the firm as a going concern. In some cases, companies without sound succession plans find themselves being pushed into bankruptcy or receivership.

There are far reaching repercussions for not having a well-thought-out succession plan. Unfortunately, all of them are not too pleasant for the business, the business owner, his/her beneficiaries and the employees working for the company!

What We Can Do for You

Simply put, our Business Succession Planning service provides business owners peace of mind – the kind that comes from knowing you are well-prepared to relinquish control of the business on your own terms. And we do that by ensuring that the stewardship of the business passes into hands that are designated and approved by you - the business owner.

But succession planning is not just about designating a particular individual or group to step in after you’re gone. Our Business Succession Planning team lays out a comprehensive process for identifying, screening, grooming, and ultimately transitioning ownership to your designated successor/s when the time comes.

Here’s a preview of what our Business Succession Planning service covers:

  • Strategizing succession: Helping you identify the ideal succession strategy based upon any number of “end game” objectives that you have in mind: Maximize sales proceeds. Minimize tax implications. Create a lasting legacy. Assure a comfortable retirement.
  • Building succession plans: We’ll consult with you about possible succession strategies: Pass the business on to your next generation? Hand it over to designated/trusted employees? Have professional management teams from outside step in and take over? Sell the business to a competitor and pass the proceeds to your heirs? Go public, leaving it up to the Board of Directors to deal with the company’s future?
  • Understanding the impacts: Together, our Succession Planning experts will walk you through all of the legal, financial and tax implications for each of the various succession scenarios proposed. This impact analysis will help you determine which of the succession approaches makes best sense for you and the business
  • Identifying successors: Depending upon which strategy you choose, we’ll work with you to identify a list of skills and qualities needed in your successor. This phase of our Succession Planning often results in recommendations for training or mentorship well in advance of your exiting the company
  • Multi-disciplined advice: In the event that the plan involves selling all or part of the business, our experts will work with a team of advisors, including Financial experts, Accountants, Insurance Agents, Realtors and Estate Planners to determine a fair and equitable valuation for the business
  • Relationship-building: Finally, we’ll work with you to establish a comprehensive timeline for key milestones within the plan. And because our service is based on a long-term relationship, we’ll continually monitor and consult with you as your succession objectives evolve or change

Contact us to learn more about succession planning for business owners.



Life Insurance*

A popular misconception about life insurance planning, is that it’s something to do with ensuring others (your policy beneficiaries) enjoy the fruits of your insurance once you’ve passed. While that is just one aspect of planning for the inevitable, if executed properly, life insurance planning can offer multiple benefits – even as you live to enjoy them!

Why Life Insurance Planning is Important for Individuals & Families

Death benefits pay-out for survivors is only one aspect of life insurance. If the policy holder passes, the cash value of the policy can help young families meet their financial needs, or can even help pay off a mortgage. However, there are other facets of life insurance that are equally important.

Most life insurance products allow policy holders to tap into funds as the value of their policy grows over time. In case you are looking for tax-deferred gains, a life insurance policy offers that too, because you are only taxed once you withdraw the money from your policy. With the right life insurance planning strategy in place, your policy can act as a great source of tax-free wealth transfer to your beneficiaries.

In retirement, a well-planned life insurance strategy can serve to generate additional retirement income, or it might even provide additional living health care benefits in your old-age.

What We Can Do for You

Not every life insurance policy provides you all of these benefits. Our experienced Life Insurance Planning specialists will discuss your needs in detail, and then customize a life insurance plan that meets those specific goals.

Some of the life insurance planning tools and products available to our advisors include:

  • Term Life Insurance: If you have a specific time-horizon over which you need protection, then Term Life Insurance policies are definitely worth considering. These policies are designed to provide short to intermediate term coverage at an affordable cost. For instance, if you have young children whom you wish to provide for until they are older – say 15 to 20 years – or if you have an unpaid mortgage that you want your family to pay off in the event of your untimely passing, then a Term Life policy is worth considering
  • Permanent Life Insurance: Permanent life policies not only provide insurance protection for life, but are also a great way to grow the value of your policy. The enhanced cash value might then be tapped subsequently, to meet future needs, such as funding college/university education of a child, or creating an additional retirement income stream
  • Participating (or Whole) Life Insurance: Depending on what your investment goals are, our insurance advisory team might recommend a Participating Life Insurance product for you. With these products, the cash value and death benefit payout of your policy can experience tax-advantaged growth within the policy. You might also be eligible to borrow tax-free funds (for any purpose you might deem fit) against the cash value of your policy
  • Universal Life Insurance: If you are in search of higher savings and earnings potential from your life insurance policy, then a Universal Life Insurance might be what our advisers recommend. These policies also offer great flexibility, as the amount insured can be changed, and premiums can be adjusted (increased, deferred, decreased), while enabling policy-holders to also withdraw part of the cash value
  • Indexed Universal Life Insurance (IUL): This is a type of permanent life insurance. It stays in force as long as you stay current on your premium payments or until you reach the maturity date specified in the policy. If the index has gained value, your cash value will rise. IUL policyholders are generally protected from a drop in the index because of a “floor.” The interest rate credited to the account will never be less than the floor, which is often 0%. So if your index lost 10%, 0% will be credited, and your cash value won’t lose 10%.
  • You can borrow against your cash value through a policy loan or withdraw cash value. When you die, your beneficiaries receive a death benefit, but the death benefit amount will be reduced by any loans not paid back or withdrawals you’ve taken from the cash value.
  • Variable Life Insurance: If you are someone looking to leverage stock market performance through your insurance policy, then a Variable Life Insurance product might be what you need. They provide policy-holders the option to invest their cash value in a host of insurer-recommended stocks, bonds, money-market funds and other investment products. Our insurance specialists will make you aware of the all the risks and opportunities associated with a variable insurance product

Contact us to learn more about life insurance.

* The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Before implementing a strategy involving life insurance, it would be prudent to make sure that you are insurable by having the policy approved. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life insurance. Policies commonly have mortality and expense charges. In addition, if a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications.



Financial Planning for Woman

From career-woman to wife/partner, and from caring mom to single-motherhood, separation and divorce – women go through more transitions during a lifetime than most of us realize. And through it all, women often juggle several balls simultaneously, doing the best they can, while often hoping for the best. However, LIFE HAPPENS, and that’s why we’re here to help women navigate through all of those transitions safely and securely.

Why Transition Planning and Support is Important

Women are often considered the more “resilient” of the sexes – and for good reason. But with so many different hats to wear – some of them simultaneously – there’s always the risk that you might make some missteps.

Whether it’s the challenge of starting a family, managing a career, paying for that new home, funding your child’s education, dealing with separation or divorce, or acting as caregiver to an aging parent – you need help as you transition through all of those roles. And that’s exactly what our caring, experienced and qualified professionals are here to provide you.

What We Can Do for You

Our multi-disciplinary teams come together to offer women the right type of transitioning planning and support. It could be sage advice through a Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA™), the measured wisdom of a Certified Financial Planner (CFP™), the knowledge of a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist (CMPS), the expertise of a Certified Estate Planner™ (CEP®), or the experience of a veteran Insurance planning professional. No matter what your needs are, we have the experience to help you through every transition in your life.

Here’s a preview of what our Women in Transition planning and support service covers:

  • Our experience, backed by statistical evidence, shows us that most women aren’t as “plugged-in” to the family finances as they ought to be. So, when the disability or sudden death of a spouse leaves women facing an unplanned transition into the role of family Chief Financial Officer (CFO) – most are ill prepared! Our trained and certified professionals will help you through these uncertain times
  • Women facing separation or divorce often face a crisis of identity, that’s compounded by the fact that they feel overwhelmed by the financial implications of this stage of their lives. Transitioning from married to single-again often results in financial challenges (some rather acrimonious!) that most women find stressful. Without the right professional advice, uninformed decisions can be made that could leave you and your dependent family members (children or wards) at a huge disadvantage for the rest of your lives
  • A woman transitioning into yet another phase of her life might need to consider moving house, downsizing, or taking on a second mortgage. Our loan and mortgage specialists can offer you a variety of ingenious options to address those needs
  • Women in transition have a whole set of financial challenges and needs that are unique only to women. But you don’t have to go it alone. From making investment decisions, to dealing with divorce and separation mediation, arbitration or litigation, to planning for life after widowhood, divorce or separation, to assuring a secure retirement on your own terms – our experienced team of women advisors are here to help!

Contact us to learn more about financial planning for woman.



Tax Planning**

It’s said that only two things are certain in life: Death…and Taxes! And while there’s not much you can do to avoid the former, with prudent planning and foresight, there’s a lot you can do to minimize the later. However, similar to planning that goes into living a happy and fruitful life, a well-planned tax strategy can yield great benefits – but only if it’s done professionally, and earlier on during your wealth accumulation cycle.

Our Tax Planning philosophy is not centred around tax avoidance, but rather on helping you structure your finances so you and your family aren’t overburdened by an undue tax liability.

Why Tax Planning is Important

Consider this fact: If you managed to shave-off just $250 from your tax bill each year, through prudent Tax Planning, and invested it at a 5% rate of return annually, you could have a tidy sum of over $15,250 waiting for you by the time you retire in 30 years!

Delayed tax planning is tantamount to leaving potentially savable dollars, of your hard-earned money, on the tax table for others to benefit from. The longer you defer tax planning, the more money you’ll end up owing and paying in taxes. That money could potentially have been saved, through a reduced tax bill, invested and grown, through the magic of compounding, over many years.

What We Can Do for You

We help our clients through long-term Tax Planning strategies – and that’s exactly how we’ll help you. Tax planning does not commence on the date of filing your tax returns. Prudent tax planning often starts long before – sometimes even before you make investment decisions that trigger a tax liability. We can help devise tax planning strategies that minimize taxes, maximize tax refunds and guide you to optimize your tax-friendly investment returns.

Here’s what we can do for you through our Tax Planning service:

  • While the best advice you can get is: Save. Save. Save…as much as you can. The next best advice is: Be careful how you invest those savings. Our Tax Planning advice will include considerations on whether you should invest with pre-tax dollars, or post-tax income. How you invest, and in what types of vehicles, can make a significant difference to the taxes you pay. Our Tax specialists can help you navigate through the various advantages and disadvantages of choosing one strategy over another.
  • When planning for tax impact on your income, we’ll also plan for the types of income that you might receive: Dividends, Interest, Annuity payments, Capital Gains, Inheritances, Employer or Government benefits. While all of these are potential income streams in retirement and before, each has different tax planning implications.
  • Our tax specialists will help you foresee impacts to your future net wealth. If left unplanned, your net wealth could be diminished due to likely claw-backs to benefits, and the possibility of erosion to your estate through substantial taxes.
  • We’ll help you mitigate possible tax impacts when it comes to your estate. A good tax plan will ensure that future generations do not bear the burden of taxes as a result of the legacy you leave them. But to ensure a tax-advantage inheritance to your beneficiaries, you need to put appropriate plans in place NOW – and that’s where our Tax Planning specialists can help.

Ready to take the first step in minimizing your taxes?

* Financial Advisors do not provide specific tax/legal advice and this information should not be considered as such. You should always consult your tax/legal advisor regarding your own specific tax/legal situation.



Tax Planning for Business Owners**

Business transactions are becoming more complex each year. And with that, the world of taxation grows in complexity as well. As the rules of doing business, within a single jurisdiction or across multiple jurisdictions, change, so does the need for assessing their tax impacts on specific transactions. As a business owner, you have other critical things to worry about – like running your business. Why not trust experts with the tax planning aspects of your business, while you focus on the rest?

Why Tax Planning is Important for Business Owners

As a business owner, it’s hard for you to be an expert in all matters - Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Accounting, Sales, Shipping, Procurement – and that’s why you hire the best talent to staff those roles. But many of those disparate functions have one thing in common: They have some form of tax element to them.

Business taxes can sometimes be a barrier to growth and profitability of your business. However, if planned correctly, the tax codes offer a number of valid opportunities that business owners can leverage to their advantage. Without savvy tax planning, you could literally be losing thousands of dollars a year in unclaimed rebates, benefits, charge-backs and deductions,

Whether it’s Income Tax, Employment Taxes, Estimated Taxes, Self-Employment Tax, Excise Tax, Provincial Sales Taxes or Goods and Services Taxes – the legislative environment for each of them is too complex for any single individual to master and navigate. So, when it comes to assessing and planning your business taxes, you need an experienced team of Tax Planning professionals to guide you.

What We Can Do for You

The objective of our Tax Planning service isn’t about avoiding taxes, but focused on the most effective interpretation and application of tax laws and statutes to defer, eliminate or reduce business taxes for our clients.

Our Tax Planning specialists provide invaluable advice and services to a range of business entities, including Sole Proprietorships, Partnerships, Limited Liability Companies (LLPs), Business Corporations/Incorporated Companies, Co-operative structures and Not-for-profit entities.

More specifically, we provide advice and services that include, but is not limited to:

  • Reviewing and advising clients on long-term impact to their business, of tax legislation and proposed amendments
  • Strategic tax planning advice to help you manage your effective tax rate
  • Planning and advice on Alternate Minimum Tax, including supporting you on all paperwork and other formalities to determine amounts owing – if any
  • Consultations on the tax impact on specific transactions (Sale of assets, M&A activity, Import/Export transactions)
  • Providing advise on the most effective tax structures for a specific type of business
  • Considerations on the most effective ways to minimize your tax burden
  • Preparation of Individual, Corporate, Trust, Partnership and Sole-Owner tax returns
  • Multi-state/inter-provincial tax planning advice, including compliance reviews
  • Electronic tax filing so you receive your rebates, refunds and deductions quickly
  • Providing tax advice to clients when dealing with Federal, State/Provincial tax authorities
  • Tax planning strategies and advice around Succession and Estate planning, to ensure that your exit from the company doesn’t trigger massive tax liabilities, or that your beneficiaries aren’t saddled with undue tax burdens from their inheritance from the disposal of business assets

Contact us to learn more about tax planning for business owners.



Estate Planning

If you wish to leave behind a meaningful legacy, be it for loved ones or a charitable institution, you need to put a well-thought-out estate plan in place. Without an established plan, the fate of your estate could be determined by the government, lawyers, or people that don’t have your interests and best wishes in mind.

Having an estate plan is paramount in ensuring your estate is handled according to your wishes. Together with your estate planning attorney, we can assist in drafting documents and reviewing your situation so your estate benefits the people and charities you care about most.

What We Can Do for You

  • Will education: We can help you understand how to structure your will so your legal team can create a document that reflects how you want your estate disposed of and distributed. From a simple will to a testamentary will, or joint wills and living wills – our team will help you navigate the complexities of this document so you won’t need to stress over specifics.
  • Creating Powers of Attorney (POA): Whether it’s to manage specific assets, such as investments, accounts, and real estate holdings, or to help others make health care decisions if you are ill or incapacitated, you need a POA in place to ensure your wishes are followed. A well-crafted POA will also smoothen how decisions about your final arrangements, and those related to your estate, are taken care of once you pass.
  • Choosing executors: The executors of your estate wield strong powers that determine how your estate is handled upon your passing. We’ll help you understand the importance of choosing an executor(s) for your estate, and what criteria you should consider when appointing someone to discharge this all-important role – especially if minor children/guardians are involved.
  • Designating beneficiaries: If you don’t choose beneficiaries for your assets carefully, your estate assets might end up in the hands of individuals that you never intended should benefit from them. A well-thought-out estate plan ensures the needs of your dependents are taken care of.
  • Minimizing estate taxes and probate fees: Taxes, fees, and other levies have the potential to erode a large part of your estate before your beneficiaries see a cent. Careful planning can reduce the impact taxes and fees may have.
  • Estate protection: Even after you pass, many of your assets – such as long-term investments and property – will likely need protection and management until they are disposed of and their proceeds are distributed to your beneficiaries. In the absence of an estate plan, your assets will likely not receive the type and level of protection those assets require.
  • Distribute your legacy: Our professionals can support you in synchronizing your estate plans and your will, so your assets are distributed in line with your final wishes.

Schedule a meeting with us to see what an estate plan can do for you.

* Our firm does not provide legal advice or services. Please consult your legal advisor or an estate planning attorney regarding your specific situation.



Divorce Planning

Relationships, like marriages or common-law spousal arrangements, are initiated with the best of intentions in mind and heart. However, the every-day stresses of life, and the toll that family-life can take on some unions, often leads to a rethinking of those original intentions. Luckily, counseling and other professional services are available for couples that find themselves unable to cope with the fallout of stress generated from such developments.

Why Divorce/Separation Planning is Important

Unfortunately, divorces and separations often follow. While many do not expect (or hope for!) such an outcome, it’s always prudent to plan for it. Where such life-altering changes are undertaken without proper planning, additional stress and wrong decision-making follows.

And that’s where our Divorce (and Separation) Planning service can help.

What We Can Do for You

Here are some of the highlights of this service:

  • Taking an asset inventory: When an intention/notice to divorce or separate is served (whether it’s as a result of your own initiative or initiated by your spouse/partner), we’ll help you make a full and verifiable inventory of all assets held in your and your spouses’/partners’ names. While this might seem like a relatively “straightforward” task, many find it one of the most challenging aspects of a divorce/separation – especially if they have largely been insulated from the day-to-day finances of the relationship
  • Assessing impacts of joint beneficiary/survivorship: In situations where couples have announced their desire to divorce or separate, the “normal” rules governing joint ownership assets may not apply. We’ll help you understand what your rights are, as survivor/beneficiary, and what you can do to best protect/enforce those rights
  • Disposing your assets: With everything going on in such trying times, you need someone to ensure all of the assets under review are disposed for the most fair and equitable consideration. Our experts can help!
  • Alimony, child-support and other assistance needs: Divorce/separation cases where children are involved, where spousal or child support may be payable or due, or those involving other forms of financial assistance, can be extremely complex. We’ll help you navigate the myriad of laws and statutes around such rights/responsibilities
  • Dealing with pension benefits, health plan coverage and other benefits: Our experts can help you make sense of other benefits that may accrue to you, or payable by you, as a result of your divorce/separation. Some of these might not be immediately apparent – but could have long-term impact on your or your partner/spouse’s financial life
  • Planning your future cash flow, income and spending: If you always played a minor role in managing finances during your relationship, it can be difficult doing so when you are divorced/separated. Let us help you create a new financial road-map for you
  • Settlement of debt: Even though you might not have full-say in the financial decisions during your association, you may be responsible for discharging the liabilities – like debt – arising from them in divorce. We’ll advice on the best way for you to deal with your share of such debt
  • Insurance considerations: Even though couples might soon be divorced, there may be longer-term implications from existing insurance policies or plans that you/your spouse/partner need to be aware of
  • Dealing with tax implications of separation: It’s important to assess what the total net worth of your joint assets is, what considerations you could inherit as a result of sale/disposition, and what the tax impact might be. Our experts will also review your past tax returns to determine the most tax-efficient way to structure a post-divorce/separation settlement
  • Establishing your independent identity (new bank accounts, separate credit history): Now that you will go your own way, you need to emerge from the shadow of your partner’s/spouse’s financial profile, and establish your own. We can offer you practical advice on how to most effectively and painlessly accomplish that

Contact us today to learn more about planning for separation.



Charitable Giving / Philanthropy

Everyone has their own reason for gifting their assets or a portion of their income to charitable organizations. Some find comfort in helping others who are less fortunate, while others simply want to share their good fortune. Many of the institutions of art, sciences and education are supported in large part by those who want to give something back in appreciation for their contributions to the community or the individuals themselves.

Presently, the tax code offers incentives for gifting of one’s assets or incomes. Tax deductions are given for current contributions and, for estate owners, charitable gifts can reduce the size of the estate to help minimize estate taxes.

Often times, an individual will designate a charitable beneficiary in their will to benefit the organization after the individual dies. By using charitable gifting techniques, a donor may be able to benefit the charity while living without having to sacrifice the income that an asset can generate. Understanding how properly structured charitable gifts can provide current benefits for both the donor and the charity could be important for the charitably inclined.

Charitable Remainder Trust

A remainder trust enables the donor to transfer an asset while retaining the right to the income it generates. The asset becomes the “remainder” which is owned by the charity. Remainder trusts, if properly structured, can qualify for a current tax deduction. There are three types of remainder trusts:

Unitrust: A unitrust the income the donor receives is based on a percentage of the current fair market valuation of a trust asset. Each year, as the asset is valued, the income is adjusted based on the new valuation.

Annuity Trust: Instead of a percentage of the asset value, the donor is paid a fixed amount annually.

Pooled Income Fund: Donors can pool their donated assets in a fund that is operated by the charitable organization. The donors then receive a proportionate share of income from the fund that is paid throughout their lifetime. Payments can vary each year based on the valuation of the underlying assets in the fund.

Charitable Lead Trust

Also known as an Income Trust this vehicle transfers the income rights to the charitable organization. Generally, the income rights are assigned for a specified period of time after which the remainder passes to the donor.

Charitable planning involves tax issues that should be discussed with a qualified tax or financial professional.

For more information on charitable planning, please contact us today.



Education Planning

Like Retirement Planning, which has to commence long before you enter into retirement, Education Planning (for yourself or your children) needs to occur well before mature learners or young scholars are poised to embrace higher education. Luckily, there are a number of government-encouraged educational planning tools that are available to individuals and families.

Why Education Planning is Important

It’s not just about understanding America’s higher-education landscape. It’s how individuals and families use that information, to navigate that landscape, that ultimately matters. Without a clear plan in place, chances are that a generation of eager learners will either not know which educational opportunities to pursue; or they’ll lack the financial resources to pursue an educational path that leads them to the career of their choice.

Without prudent educational planning, individuals and families are often left scrambling to manage and fund the higher-educational aspirations of their own or that of their families. Our experts have helped countless young men and women and their families make socially and financially-informed decisions about their education plans.

What We Can Do for You

We’ll help you take the guess-work out of planning for future educational needs – whether it’s for yourself or for a family member (child, ward, grandchild). We do this by creating a forward-looking financial plan of estimated education costs and expenditure. Our team will help you put tax-advantaged strategies in place that are in accordance with a myriad of Federal and State laws.

There are a number of Educational Savings Accounts (ESAs) and Educational Savings Plans (ESPs) available to Americans. And while some ESPs allow you to set up an unlimited number of accounts, not all expenditure incurred is “qualified” under every plan – the rules might differ. Our Educational Planning experts will help you make sense of some of those ESAs, including:

  • 529 Plans: Also called “qualified tuition plans”, these are state or educational institution-sponsored tax-advantaged savings vehicles meant to encourage individuals and families to save for the future education costs of a beneficiary (child, grandchild)
  • Prepaid Tuition Plans and Educational Savings Plans: These are two variants of 529 Plans that we’ll help you understand. While Prepaid Plans allow you to purchase credits or units towards future educational costs, Educational Savings Plans are like an investment savings account, but where funds are designated solely for future educational expenses.
  • Both variants of the 529 Plan have specific guidelines and rules that are sometimes difficult to understand and follow. Our experts will help you make sense of it all when deciding which of these are right for you and your family
  • Coverdell Education Savings Accounts (Coverdell ESA): These are educational savings that can be built over time using a custodial or trust structure. The sole purpose of such an account is for paying approved educational expenses on behalf of a designated beneficiary to the account
  • Navigating the ESA landscape: We’ll help you decide which of these ESAs are ideal for your needs. For instance, some contributions might not be deductible, while other ESA accounts are income-tested – you are only able to set them up based on income thresholds

Contact us to learn more about education planning.

* 529 College Savings Plans

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses associated with municipal fund securities before investing. This information is found in the issuer’s official statement and should be read carefully before investing.

Investors should also consider whether the investor’s or beneficiary’s home state offers any state tax or other benefits available only from that state’s 529 Plan. Any state-based benefit should be one of many appropriately weighted factors in making an investment decision. The investor should consult their financial or tax advisor before investing in any state’s 529 Plan.



Business Planning

Growing a business is a difficult undertaking today as business owners must confront a myriad of tax laws and regulations while trying to effectively create products or services, manage their employees, develop and cultivate clients, and do so profitably.

Often times business owners are too absorbed in their business to tend to their own financial needs, and they may also overlook key planning considerations that could help their business grow and prosper. Also, the livelihood of a business owner can be imperilled when unexpected events occur that adversely affect the bottom line of the business.

Business Owner Needs

Retirement

For many business owners, their business is their primary retirement asset. After many years of building a successful business they expect to convert it to an income for retirement by selling it. If they are relying upon the business as their sole means of retirement they run the risk that it may not attain the value needed to produce the needed income.

Businesses can fail. Businesses can lose value in certain economic cycles. The timing is not always right to sell a business. Many times the true value of the business lies in the talents and good will of the business owner who won’t be around to run the business after he retires.

Business owners today must prepare for retirement with the same level of diversification recommended for any retirement plan. Business owners have access to a number of qualified and nonqualified retirement plan options that can provide a cornerstone for their retirement income needs.

Business Succession

When a business partner dies, the business loses a valuable asset and could suffer in the short term. The long term issue for surviving business owners is whether the business can survive when the partner’s family members show up for their interest in the business.

For the families of business partners, the business interest is often their biggest asset and they become the rightful owner of that interest at the death of the partner. They will want to receive their share of the business, either in direct compensation or through their participation as an active partner in the business.

If the surviving partner does not have the capital to compensate the family for their share, their options are limited and not very attractive. A business succession plan can provide for the orderly transfer of the business interest from the deceased’s family to the business.

Key Employee Protection

One of the more devastating events a small business can suffer is the loss of a key employee. Often times it’s a key employee who brings a special talent to the business and is responsible for much of the success of the business owner. The loss of such a valuable asset could set the business back for a period of time, and at tremendous cost, while the business owner seeks to find a replacement, if one can be found at all.

In financial planning, we are taught that it our most valuable assets – our home, our ability to earn income, our cars – should be insured against an unexpected loss. It’s no different for business owners as the loss of a valuable business asset could imperil the business.

Buying life insurance coverage on a key employee makes good business sense. The amount of coverage should be enough to cover the costs of recruiting and paying a replacement, loss of earnings to the company, any redemption of stock or a salary continuation plan arrangement with the surviving family.

Executive Compensation

In a small business setting, it could take years to find or develop the executive talent needed to build the business to the next level. Executive talent is hard to come by, and it is even more difficult on the business when it walks out the door in pursuit of another opportunity.

When key executives are presented with a strong monetary incentive package, they are more likely to stay and utilize their talents where they feel appreciated and appropriately rewarded. Structured incentive plans can help keep key executives in place and motivate them to higher levels of performance.

Plans such as Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation, Executive Bonus, and Split Dollar Life Insurance are life insurance based plans that enable the business to offer current and future benefits to their key executives in exchange for their continued service for a specified period of time.

For more information on Business Owner Planning, please contact us today.



Small Business Retirement Plans

The creation of the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) and the Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees (SIMPLE) affords smaller businesses with a way to offer their employees a retirement plan. The SEP and SIMPLE were designed for businesses with less than 100 employees and y are less costly to administer than a 401(k). For the employees, they are both easy to understand and provide a convenient way to save for retirement.

As qualified retirement plans, SEPs and SIMPLEs enjoy the same tax treatment as other plans. Contributions by employees and employers are tax deductible or made on a pre-tax basis. The accumulation inside the accounts grows tax deferred. The many of the same restrictions apply as well. Withdrawals made prior to age 59 ½ may be subject to a penalty.

As with all defined contribution plans, the future retirement benefit is uncertain as it depends on the amount of contributions, how long they accumulate, and the rate of return on the account over that period of time. At the time of distribution, withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income with no allowance for 10-year averaging as is available through a 401(k).

Simplified Employee Pension (SEP)

A SEP is easy to setup even easier to administer. Each employee established their own SEP-IRA to which the employer contributions are made. Although the employer is not required to make a contribution each year, when one is made it must be contributed to all employees over the age of 21, part-time included, based on 25% of covered compensation. 1

The employees manage their own SEP-IRAs which can be invested in mutual funds, money market funds, or fixed investments. The funds are always 100% vested so they can be accessed immediately by the employee (subject to an early withdrawal penalty). Employees with SEP-IRAs can also invest in their own traditional or Roth IRA subject to some income limitations.

For employers, their only responsibility is to make the contribution by their tax filing deadline. There is no administration of the accounts and there is no forfeiture provision to manage.

SIMPLE Plan

In a SIMPLE Plan, employees establish their own IRA to which they can electively make tax deductible contributions. Employees who earn at least $5,000 during any two prior years as well as the current year are eligible to participate on a voluntary basis. The maximum amount that can be contributed is $11,500 or 100% of their compensation whichever is less. 2

Employee funds are 100% vested, however, in addition to the normal early withdrawal penalty of 10%, if a withdrawal is made within the first two years of participation, the penalty is 25% unless any exceptions apply.

The employer must match the employee’s contributions up to 3% of their elective deferral, or 2% of all compensation for all employees whether they defer or not. 3

There is another version of a SIMPLE called the 401(k) version which is structured much like the IRA version. The advantage of the 401(k) version to the employer is that it can establish stricter requirements for plan eligibility which could reduce the amount of matching contributions. The disadvantage is that the same ERISA reporting rules apply to a SIMPLE 401(k) as they do the regular 401(k), so it can be more costly to administer.

For additional information on small business retirement plans, contact us today.

1Contributions are limited to 25% of a maximum of $245,000 in 2010 or $49,000.
2$11,500 is the current maximum and the amount is indexed for inflation.
3 An employer may make less than the 3% contribution for two years out of five year period but it cannot be less than 1%



Employee Benefits for Business Owners

There is a direct link between business success and employee benefits. Some of the most successful businesses are those with satisfied employees. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that some of the most satisfied (and productive, dedicated and loyal!) employees are those that are content with the employment benefits provided by their employer.

But just as success doesn’t automatically happen in business — it takes dedication and hard work; putting together an equitable employee benefits package requires careful planning and foresight.

Why Employee Benefits Planning is Important

The very success of your company could actually depend on the types of benefits package you offer your employees. With so many of your peer and competitor businesses competing for good talent, it is often not the pay-rate that attracts good employees, but the complete benefits package they receive.

But there’s more to employee benefits than just enticing great talent to join your company. If your benefits package doesn’t keep pace with the industry you are in, chances are that your competitors will win over talented workers from you. All your investment in training and equipping them with business knowledge and skills will become an expense to be written-off – instead of an asset to capitalize on!

What We Can Do for You

While you focus on encouraging your clients and business associates to establish profitable business relationships with your company, our Employee Benefits specialists will help find a package of employee benefits that will motivate your workforce to work hard and stay committed to your ideals. Our emphasis is always on:

  • Finding personalized solutions, as opposed to cookie-cutter out-of-the-box plans.
  • Recommending solutions that help you reduce benefits management and administration costs across the company.
  • Offering benefits packages that are in line with what your industry peers are offering their employees
  • Proposing plans that are low on red-tape, and high on delivering real value to your employees: Targeted benefits. Quicker processing. Seamless and secure access. Transparent reporting.
  • Advising on plans that don’t just meet today’s needs, but that can continue to evolve as your business grows and matures.

Before we bring forward recommendations for an ideal Employee Benefits plan for your business, we’ll first understand what it is that you wish to accomplish from the package. We then review the existing landscape of employee benefits, and bring forward recommendations that will best meet the needs of your company.

Here are just some of the areas that our Employee Benefits team can assist you in finding a solution to help your business grow, and to keep your workforce motivated and committed:

  • Traditional group benefits plans
  • Employee / dependent Life Insurance coverage
  • Short-term and long-term disability insurance
  • Critical illness insurance
  • Staff / executive reimbursement plans
  • Insuring against accidental death or dismemberment
  • Prescription and non-prescription drug coverage
  • Professional medical services coverage, including Physiotherapy, chiropractic and psychological assistance
  • Dental and vision care
  • Hospital coverage
  • Healthcare spending accounts
  • Employee / dependent assistance programs (grief counselling, substance-abuse therapy, mental health advisories, elder-care counselling)
  • Emergency travel assistance planning

So, what does it mean for you and your business to have a great Employee Benefits plan? Better-quality employee attraction. Higher employee morale. Greater employee productivity. Stronger employee retention.

Contact us to learn more about employee benefits for business owners.

* The cost and availability of life insurance depend on factors such as age, health, and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Before implementing a strategy involving life insurance, it would be prudent to make sure that you are insurable by having the policy approved. As with most financial decisions, there are expenses associated with the purchase of life insurance. Policies commonly have mortality and expense charges. In addition, if a policy is surrendered prematurely, there may be surrender charges and income tax implications.

** IPFS, NEXT Financial Group, Inc., and their representatives do not provide tax or legal advice. Tax advice may be provided by a specific insurance carrier or CPA firm. These organizations are separate entities and not affiliated with NEXT Financial Group nor Innovative Premier Financial Services. It is recommended that Individuals contact their own tax professionals and attorneys to help answer questions about specific situations or needs prior to taking any action based on this information.