Insights & Tools
Real planning, and the tools to think it through yourself.
Client Case Studies
Situations that come up often. Pick the one closest to yours. Details have been changed to protect client privacy.
Business Owner
When a business becomes the family’s largest asset
Situation
A couple in their early fifties own a contracting company. Two adult children, only one working in the business. Roughly 80% of the family’s net worth sits inside the corporation.
The Question
If one of us dies, does the business have to be sold to settle the estate — and how do we treat both children fairly when only one of them works here?
The Planning
Corporate-owned life insurance to fund the tax liability at death, a shareholder agreement defining how shares transfer, and a personal policy sized to equalize the inheritance for the child outside the business.
The Outcome
The company can stay in the family instead of being sold under pressure, and both children receive comparable value without the business carrying the difference.
Retirement
Retiring at 60 with most of the savings in an RRSP
Situation
A single professional planning to stop working at 60. Most savings are in an RRSP, with a smaller TFSA and a non-registered account. No workplace pension.
The Question
Which account do I draw from first, when should I start CPP, and how do I avoid losing part of my OAS to the clawback later?
The Planning
Draw down the non-registered account and part of the RRSP in the years before 65 while income is low, defer CPP to 70 for the higher lifetime benefit, and use the TFSA as the flexible top-up that doesn’t count toward taxable income.
The Outcome
A lower lifetime tax bill, OAS kept intact, and a mandatory RRIF withdrawal at 71 that is no longer large enough to force income into a higher bracket.
Family Protection
A young family with a mortgage and no coverage
Situation
Two working parents in their mid-thirties, a new mortgage, a toddler, and only the basic group coverage from one employer.
The Question
If one of us couldn’t work — or wasn’t here — could the other keep the house and keep the household running?
The Planning
Term life on both parents covering the mortgage and the years until the child finishes school, critical illness coverage to replace income during treatment and recovery, and an RESP set up with automatic monthly contributions to capture the government grant.
The Outcome
The mortgage is covered under either scenario, a serious diagnosis no longer means drawing down savings, and education funding is building quietly in the background.
Newcomer
New to Canada, with assets still overseas
Situation
A family two years into permanent residency. Income has started in Canada, but most of their property and investments are still held abroad.
The Question
What do we have to report, how is overseas income taxed here, and should we be moving any of it?
The Planning
Establish the reporting obligations first, then build RRSP and TFSA contribution room into the plan as Canadian income grows. Coordinate with a cross-border accountant before moving anything.
The Outcome
No surprises at tax time, and the Canadian side of the plan starts building instead of waiting until everything overseas is settled.
Incorporated Professional
An incorporated professional with cash piling up in the company
Situation
A self-employed consultant billing through a corporation. Personal spending is modest, so retained earnings have grown well past what the business needs.
The Question
Should I pay this out as dividends, leave it in the company, or invest it inside the corporation?
The Planning
Draw enough salary to create RRSP room and CPP entitlement, keep the surplus invested corporately with attention to the passive-income rules, and use a corporately-held policy for the portion not needed for decades.
The Outcome
The surplus is growing in the right place, and the eventual route out of the corporation is planned rather than improvised.
Sandwich Generation
Supporting aging parents while still saving for retirement
Situation
A couple in their late forties helping one set of parents with living costs, while both children are still in school.
The Question
How much can we help without putting our own retirement at risk — and what happens if a parent needs long-term care?
The Planning
Set an explicit annual support figure so it doesn’t drift, keep retirement contributions automatic and ahead of discretionary spending, and price out long-term care coverage while the parents are still insurable.
The Outcome
Helping the parents is now a line in the plan rather than a drain on it, and the care scenario has a funding answer.
Planning Tools
Calculators for running your own numbers before we talk. These are being built now — if there’s one you’d find useful, tell me and it moves up the list.
Retirement Income Calculator
Estimate the annual income your savings can support, and how long it lasts.
In development
RRIF Withdrawal Calculator
See the minimum you’ll be required to withdraw each year after 71.
In development
OAS Clawback Calculator
Find the income level where your OAS starts being reduced.
In development
Inflation Calculator
See what today’s income is actually worth in twenty years.
Planned
Compound Growth Calculator
Compare what regular contributions become over different time horizons.
Planned
Corporate vs Personal Income
Compare taking salary, dividends, or leaving earnings in the corporation.
Planned