Tax Shock Adds to Family Heartbreak

Last month the sad story of an Ontario family who suddenly lost both parents in 2024 was shared in Burlington Today.  The tax outcomes were just as shocking as the two deaths from unrelated causes.  There was a cottage, a large RRSP and a big tax bill.   Some of the outcomes could have been mitigated with some planning.   I sat down with CTV’s Pat Foran to discuss the outcomes – with a message important to family planning.  

There is always someone who believes they’re smarter than everyone else and that the law doesn’t apply to them. The problem is that (aside from the fact in this case that tax evasion is illegal) there is always going to be someone smarter.

Father’s Day is coming up. It’s a perfect time to reflect, cherish and remember the financial wisdom your father instilled in you and how it shaped your life.

How important are a tax and financial advisor’s “soft skills?”  Having deeper conversations about many life components, other than finance, can be an important first step in improving your clients’ lives. 

The old adage says that “money can’t buy happiness.” This is now statistically true.

Millennials (ages 18 to 35) are confident in their abilities and fairly optimistic about the future, but they have greater stress levels than any other generation before them. Why? Despite their many traits for success—ambition, drive and the ability to work hard—it is difficult for them to find opportunities to prove themselves.

Summer is here and it’s moving season. Exciting yet stressful, this life event can be lucrative from a tax viewpoint.