How wealthy are you? Typically, we think of financial wealth in numbers: our income, our net worth, or maybe how much money we have. But of course, wealth is much more than just dollars & cents. Wealth includes our health, the quality of the relationships we have with our family & friends, as well as our knowledge & experience. Being...
Your financial legacy will be mostly measured by how successful your heirs steward your wealth, after you’re gone. That’s why you should work diligently during your lifetime to prepare them for success. This post describes three ways to codify your legacy to better prepare the next generation for the responsibility of wealth management.
When working class entrepreneurs become wealthy, they bring a perspective about wealth much different from those who inherit it. Wealthy inheritors face unique challenges that require distinct approaches to wealth management. This post describes 5 challenges wealthy inheritors face and how to overcome them: Financial AwarenessLifestyle ManagementStewardshipSelf EsteemTrust in Relationships
A private foundation, sometimes called a “family foundation”, is a type of registered charity. Private foundations do not undertake charitable activities directly. Rather, private foundations simply fund other registered charities. Unlike public foundations, private foundations can be controlled by a single individual or connected groups of people. This post describes why investors may want to maintain a private foundation. This post...
Owning some or all your assets in joint ownership with your heirs (your spouse & kids) is common practice for many investors, particularly seniors. The main reasons to hold assets jointly is to avoid probate fees, make the administration of your estate easier/quicker, avoid certain taxes, and provide your heirs with a way to help you manage your finances. This...
Recently, I decided to sell my shares of 3M. I’ve been shareholder for over a decade, which made the decision harder. This post describes my rationale towards making investment decisions based on non-financial (environmental, values) criteria. This post also provides an example of a portfolio faced with a similar decision-making process.
Managing a holding company (“holdco”) successfully includes keeping accurate records and performing administrative tasks. Missing some details might mean your holdco fails to comply with tax laws. But also, failure to administer your holdco properly could mean you waste time in the future cleaning up messes or wasting time searching for information. This post describes how to manage a holding...
Life becomes different after you come into a big pile of cash. Whether you’ve just sold your business, received an inheritance, or won the lottery. Suddenly being rich also brings problems. This post will describe some ways to approach life after you cash in.
When someone dies owning private company shares, there is a risk of double or even triple taxation. A deceased individual’s estate owning private corporation’s shares may be taxed because of the deemed disposition at death of those shares (capital gains tax).There may be tax payable by the corporation when it sells assets to fund distributions to the deceased person’s estate (capital...
Canadians might be surprised to learn they may be exposed to US estate taxes. This post describes the risks to Canadian investors and how they might protect themselves.
