Reading Time: 5 minutes You’ve worked hard your whole life and lived within your means. Now, you want your estate to help the future generation succeed — not create problems or heartache for your family. But if you want your estate to create a legacy of positivity, you’ll have to proactively communicate your wishes through an estate plan. Like […] Read more
How to talk about your farm succession estate plans
Summer Series: Estate planning is never easy — and more difficult still is the conversations you need to have with your family. But these conversations can be a great opportunity to teach the next generation about money, family relationships and how to make decisions together
Deciding on a charitable giving plan
Donation, bequest, endowment? Farm families can achieve a huge amount of good with their generosity, but be sure to plan it carefully
Reading Time: 6 minutes As more farm families get further into their transition and succession planning, charitable giving is becoming a critical part for many to incorporate into their plans. On more and more farms, in fact, questions surrounding meaningful donations and how to create impact are becoming cornerstone conversations for the family. “Farmers are deeply rooted in their […] Read more
A novel approach to estate planning
Guide Books Review: To your accountant, the target is to cut estate taxes. Your goal, though, can be to make your prosperity last for generations
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Naked Opus: Growing Your Family Wealth for the Long TermBy Chris Delaney This is a great read, tackling one of the most difficult topics every farm must face. How can a family build a future that lasts for generations instead of frittering away what it has worked so hard to achieve? So let’s start […] Read more
Have a plan in place before it’s too late
What every farmer needs to know about health care directives
Reading Time: 5 minutes When the topic of estate planning comes up, the first notion that pops into our heads is how we will divide our assets after we’re gone. That’s important, of course, but an estate plan also include important documents like a health care directive that might be essential while you’re still alive. A health care directive […] Read more
Estate planning when you have no heirs
These strategies ensure your hard work in this world creates a meaningful legacy when you’re gone
Reading Time: 5 minutes If you’ve put off writing a will, you’re in good company. A report from the Angus Reid Institute has found that more than half of Canadians have no estate plan. Canadians who don’t have a will typically blame it on the high legal costs, but Bud Arnold, CPA and tax partner with Baker Tilly Canada, […] Read more
Five new trends in estate planning
It’s easy to feel like everything is under control. After all, you signed your will years ago. So everything is great, right?
Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada is in the midst of a massive intergenerational transfer of wealth with the owners of trillions of dollars in assets thinking they’ll pass all that wealth on to their children. Despite this historic handoff from one generation to the next, the Investment Planning Counsel reveals that few Canadians have discussed their investment plans with […] Read more
Tips on planning a lasting legacy
Seven things you need to know about including charitable giving in your estate plan
Reading Time: 5 minutes When retired farmers Scott and Laura-Lee Lewis of York, P.E.I., shared their plans to bequeath $500,000 from their life insurance policies to two local charities, their generosity made national headlines. In a 2019 article in The Charlottetown Guardian about their planned giving, the couple said, “As business owners, we felt giving an insurance policy was […] Read more
Estate planning and the legal system: Part 2
Does your will protect your wishes?
Reading Time: 3 minutes In an age when contracts are often the size of phone books and legal battles are fought over the fine print, people often question whether the old-fashioned handshake or verbal agreement still exist. The answer is yes. In fact, not only do oral contracts still exist, but they have the power to displace written contracts, […] Read more
Smart farm strategies for charitable giving
New tax laws and innovative financial strategies give you new ways to make donations with real impact
Reading Time: 5 minutes With fewer farmers facing an insatiable number of organizations needing time and money, the decision of how much to give to whom is getting tougher. What do you want your money to do? How much should you give and when? What are the tax benefits? For many farmers, there’s also the question of how best […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
