Leave a legacy
Make sure what you built reaches who you meant it for.
Estates rarely fail because of tax. They fail because a beneficiary designation was never updated, an executor had no cash to work with, or nobody could find the paperwork.
- Named beneficiaries
- Usually bypass the estate
- Proceeds paid to a named beneficiary generally pass outside the estate, which can reduce delay and probate cost.
- Deemed disposition
- Applies at death
- Under current Canadian tax rules, capital property is generally treated as disposed of at death, which can create a tax bill the estate must fund.
- Beneficiary designations
- Override your will
- A designation on a policy or registered plan generally takes precedence over instructions in a will. This is the most common estate mistake we see.
What we work through together
We stay in our lane and work alongside your lawyer and accountant. Our part is the insurance and beneficiary side: making sure designations are current and consistent, and that the estate has the cash it needs on the day it needs it.
For families, business owners and anyone thinking about what they leave behind.
Beneficiary review
Every policy and registered plan, checked against your current intentions. Ex-spouses and deceased parents are still named on more designations than anyone would guess.
Estate liquidity
The tax bill and final costs arrive before assets can be sold. Insurance is often the cheapest way to hand the executor cash on day one.
Equalising an inheritance
When one child takes over the business or the cottage, insurance can balance the others without forcing a sale.
Coordinating your advisors
We work with your lawyer and accountant, and we tell you plainly when something belongs to them rather than to us.
Is this for you
When it helps, and when to wait.
We would rather tell you this is not your priority right now than sell you something you do not need. If the right-hand column describes you, say so on the call.
Worth a conversation if
- You own a business, a second property, or assets with a large unrealised gain
- Your family situation has changed — remarriage, blended family, a child with additional needs
- Your beneficiary designations have not been reviewed in several years
- You want one child to receive a specific asset without shortchanging the others
Worth pausing if
- You do not yet have a will — that comes first, and it is a lawyer's job, not ours
- You are being sold a permanent policy for estate tax you have not yet had calculated
Estate & legacy planning — questions
Good questions to bring to the call.
These are the ones that come up most on this topic. Yours is welcome even if it is not here.
Estate planning is not only about tax. Clear, current beneficiary designations and enough liquidity to settle final costs spare your family months of delay and expense regardless of the size of the estate.
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Replace the income your household depends on, for as long as it depends on it.
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Turn what you have saved into income that lasts, in the right order.
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Savings & investments
Match RRSP, TFSA and RESP to the goals and timelines they actually suit.
Everything on this page describes how these products generally work in Canada. Figures, terms, definitions and availability vary by insurer and by policy, and nothing here is a quote, a rate, or a guarantee of coverage or approval. Any strategy should be reviewed against your own situation with a licensed representative before you act on it.