Death is not a subject any of us want to think about but having important conversations with your family about their wishes (plus yours as well) and ensuring that if you are responsible for settling your estate being prepared is critical. This article will give you some important things to consider and also provides some additional tips for end of life planning. As my client, I ensure you stay on top of your important priorities. Each month in my #AskMelanie column, I address those burning questions so that you can maximize your time on growing your business and not worry about taxation issues. As a CPA accountant serving the Milton and GTA community, I am excited to have recently opened a bright and beautiful location in downtown Milton so please feel free to drop by and address your needs with me in-person.
#AskMelanie: Have you thought about your taxes and estate planning considerations?
This content is courtesy of
The Blunt Bean Counter. If you died tomorrow, would your family and advisors know where your assets are and what assets you owned?
I would suggest the answer in 50% or more cases would be a resounding no.
If you have answered no, take this one step further; consider the havoc you will cause your family and executors. They will be distressed having to deal with your passing, now you are compounding their stress by forcing them to deal with an estate when they have no clue what assets you own, what debts you have outstanding or where the assets are held.
Most likely they will not have a duplicate safety deposit key or even know where your safety deposit box(es) is/are.
Whether you are just negligent or lazy, your actions are selfish and you should immediately take steps to rectify the situation.
All this can be averted very simply. Take a weekend and complete a personal information checklist (there are several on the Internet) and then put a reminder in your phone or Outlook calendar to review this checklist each year to ensure there are no changes.
Once completed, consider providing a copy of the checklist to your spouse, your accountant, lawyer or trusted third party. In any event, at a minimum, put a final copy in your safety deposit box and ensure either your spouse of another person is aware of the location of the safety deposit box and the key.
I have on many occasions seen the aftermath of situations where a spouse has not provided a list of assets. It is not pretty and I am sure if you take a moment to ponder this, you do not want to leave your family in a similar situation. So, get to it and make a list!
#AskMelanie’s Tip: Ensure that someone has authorization on your CRA account – spouse, accountant, etc. It allows the executor or authorized individual to deal with the estate properly and in a timely manner. Sometimes estates can take years to settle.
I provide a wide range of professional accounting, income tax preparation and consulting services including:
• Financial statement preparation
• Accounting and bookkeeping
• Personal Income tax preparation
• Estate returns
• Corporate Income tax preparation
• CRA audits and assistance
• HST and sales tax
• Business succession and valuations
• Business Start-ups
Let’s get started in three easy steps:
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Get more advice from Melanie on her blog and connect with her on Facebook and Twitter as well!
