Tax & Estate Planning
Tax + Estate Planning
For high-net-worth investors, it’s crucial to have comprehensive estate planning, including wills and powers of attorney, to protect your wealth, estate and beneficiaries. This is especially important if you have multiple properties, dependents, a family business, blended families or other complex financial needs. A family trust can be a vital tool to reduce a large tax burden upon death and transfer your assets. Proper documentation and planning are essential to ensure your wealth is managed and distributed according to your wishes.
Our clients benefit from a panel of trusted external partners that specialize in complex tax and estate planning and trustee services. A member of our Avenue portfolio management team will be actively involved in those meetings and serve as an independent sounding board.
General tax
and estate planning
- Drafting a will to ensure your assets are properly distributed after death
- Designating Powers of Attorney to act on your behalf and handle your financial and healthcare decisions if you are unable to do so
- Selecting the Executor to help administer the entire estate upon death
- Setting up trusts for clients who own multiple properties, businesses, or have a large stock or real estate portfolio to avoid probate and minimize their tax burden in the transfer of wealth
How Avenue can
help tax-sensitive clients
Avenue is committed to building customized portfolio solutions to reduce your tax burden. If appropriate for the client, this can be achieved in the following ways:
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- Structure your portfolios to ensure interest-bearing securities are held in the correct accounts
- Build a lower turnover portfolio to trigger less capital gains
- Build a lower yielding portfolio to minimize your annual tax bill
- Administer individual pension plans (IPP) to accrue retirement income on a tax-deferred basis
- Refer clients to trusted tax and legal professionals to work alongside our team
Additional Resources
Learn more about Tax & Estate Planning, OAS Clawback and Retirement.
How Do Estate Taxes Work In Canada?
While Canada doesn’t have a direct estate tax, understanding the tax implications of estate transfers is crucial for effective tax planning and investment management. The Canadian tax system treats death as a deemed disposition of assets, triggering potential tax liabilities that require careful planning and management.
Reducing Taxes For High Income Earners
Tax planning and investment management work hand in hand to create effective income splitting strategies. Our approach focuses on legitimate, sustainable methods that align with current tax regulations.
Retirement Withdrawal Strategies
Creating a tax-efficient retirement withdrawal strategy requires careful coordination of multiple account types, government benefits, and tax planning techniques. The goal is to minimize your lifetime tax burden while ensuring sustainable income throughout retirement.
OAS Clawback
The Old Age Security (OAS) program provides monthly payments to most Canadians aged 65 and older, but for higher-income retirees, a significant portion of these benefits may be recovered through what’s known as the OAS clawback.