Succession Planning and Estate Planning

If you are a business owner, succession planning is an important part of your estate plan.

The goals of estate planning are simple:

1. Estate maximization - ensuring that your estate is as large as possible. This concept utilizes the strengths of permanent life insurance through:
   • the creation of a large, immediate estate value
   • a tax-free benefit at death
   • the tax-sheltered growth of cash value
   • reduced estate settlement costs if a beneficiary other than the estate is named
   • creditor protection if an appropriate beneficiary designation is made
2. Estate conservation - ensuring that the value of your estate is not eroded by taxes, probate fees and other costs of estate administration. Techniques for reducing the erosion of your estate by probate fees include:
   • joint ownership of assets;
   • designated beneficiaries under life insurance policies;
   • the use of intervivos trusts, and/or,
   • gifts made in anticipation of death
3. Will planning - is the heart of any financial plan. If you die without a will, provincial law decides how your estate should be distributed and that may be very different from what you want. Life insurance is also an important component of any estate plan and is usually the best method of funding your goals.

Talk to our advisors and you can develop a plan that is unique to your situation.