the estate protector october 2019 - richard weber · guaranteed basis and available when needed, to...
TRANSCRIPT
The Estate Protector
1
One thing apparent to me during my
career working with clients is they
often vastly overestimate (like my golf
tee shots go 300 yards…) the amount
of inheritance they expect to leave to
family. It seems they forget, or are
simply unaware, that a significant tax
liability related to many of their assets
will likely be triggered upon death.
They have accountants who
conscientiously prepare their annual tax
returns. However, too frequently
little, if any, attention is given by
people to their ticking financial “time
bomb” - the large tax bill that will be
paid to Canada Revenue Agency upon
death.
This tax cost can perhaps be
hundreds of thousands of dollars
or more, and typically increases
during lifetime as the value of
assets grows. So it may serve you
well to focus on this!
2
Another thing I have come to realize is
that many clients think they are
invincible, indestructible and will never
die (at least not for a very, very long
time). Unfortunately, you and your
spouse will indeed pass away one day and
CRA will share in your hard-earned
wealth. This CRA claim stands to
dramatically reduce the value of your
estate for your heirs or for charitable
purposes.
If you don’t own valuable assets, will
never die or don’t care about maximizing
the value of your estate you will leave to
family, you can stop reading and go back
to what you were already doing. I won’t
be offended. For the rest of you eager to
leave maximum wealth to loved ones, I
suggest you keep reading.
For example, an individual might have a
$400,000 tax liability owing to CRA upon
death. To finance this, the estate may be
able to borrow the necessary funds. Or,
Phone: 289-291-3905 Email: [email protected] Web: richardweber.ca
Please contact me so I can help develop a cost-effective strategy to provide sufficient funds, on a
guaranteed basis and available when needed, to pay your final tax bill and protect your hard-
earned wealth for your family.
October 2019
estate assets could perhaps be sold to
raise the necessary funds. Neither of
these options is likely ideal.
Borrowing would burden the estate /
heirs with debt and non-deductible
interest charges. The latter scenario
may require the sale of a cherished
asset (such as a cottage) or forced
liquidation of assets when the market
/ sale price is diminished.
For many clients I am able to
recommend and help implement
a better strategy, which does not
require the use of estate
property to fund the tax
liability.
The funding received through this
strategy typically significantly exceeds
the cost of participating in the
strategy. The result is more money
available for your family or charitable
initiatives.