Trust & Estate Planning Accountant in Burlington, Oakville, & Hamilton
Protect your loved ones, your wealth, and your legacy with a comprehensive estate plan unique to your situation.
Whether you’re looking to reduce stress on your family in the future, manage taxes, or avoid any uncertainty around your estate wishes, our team can help coordinate with lawyers and other financial planners to build out an estate plan tailored for you.
Our trust and estate planning accountants and specialists can assist you with all of your estate planning needs.
What is Estate Planning?
Estate planning is a process to understand and manage your tax liability upon your death. It may involve structuring your Will and assets in a manner to assist your Estate in managing the tax burden while allowing for the efficient distribution of the assets in accordance with your wishes..
Estate Planning includes the coordination of:
- wills
- trusts
- foundations
- power of attorney
- executor support
- tax filings
Who needs estate planning services?
Anyone over the age of majority in their province can benefit from having an estate plan. However, an estate plan is even more important for high-net-worth individuals and business owners.
Every client has different needs and must comply with unique tax requirements. Our team of estate planning experts will take the time to discover your current financial status and goals, apply their industry knowledge, and develop a customized plan that suits your personal situation.
Start planning for your families future now
Speak to our estate planning experts to help build an estate plan tailored for you and your family.
What are the benefits of estate planning?
Being organized and proactive in your approach to estate planning can make the process easier. Knowing your loved ones are taken care of, the way you want them to be, will put your mind at ease.
Some benefits of estate planning include:
Passing on your wealth
Gain peace of mind knowing your family will be prepared to face the future with a comprehensive estate plan customized to your situation. It is a critical part of ensuring your estate will be settled according to your wishes.
Lessening your family’s burden
Minimize stress by providing your successors with a clear and concise estate plan that will help them ease through the transition and reduce tension and conflict during this difficult time.
Managing taxes
Maximize the value of what is passed on to your loved ones and reduce the tax burden on dependents, so they’ll have the funds required to settle outstanding debts.
Reducing government interference
Make sure your wealth ends up in the right hands. With a properly prepared will and estate plan, your executors will be less likely to face intrusive and costly government intervention.
Why Work with an Estate Planning Accountant?
Estate planning involves complex tax strategies, asset protection, and compliance with evolving tax laws. An estate planning accountant ensures that your wealth is structured efficiently, minimizing tax burdens and maximizing what you pass on to your beneficiaries.
Our accountants work closely with legal professionals to ensure your estate plan aligns with your financial and legacy goals, offering strategic tax planning, trust management, and succession planning services.
Corporate Tax Planning FAQ's
The answer is simple: as soon as possible. If you pass away without an estate plan, the language in a will won’t be enough to allow your family to take advantage of tax opportunities that are available to them. You’ve worked hard to build your wealth — proper planning with one of our CPAs ensures that your wealth takes care of your loved ones when you’re gone.
Step 1: Discover
We’ll meet with you and review the information that pertains to your estate — this includes your latest tax assessment, a list of your assets and liabilities, life insurance, and your beneficiaries. We’ll discuss your goals and what concerns you have about planning your estate.
Step 2: Plan
We provide recommendations on how to plan your estate in a way that reduces income taxes and estate administration tax when assets are passed on to your family and other beneficiaries. Our goal is to ensure that the value of your estate is maximized.
Step 3: Implement
Once your estate plan is approved, we implement it! Your estate plan isn’t a standalone plan — it will be integrated with your financial, succession, and retirement plans.
Your situation may change over time, and we’re here to help you adjust your estate plan as new circumstances arise. If you start a business, get divorced, or have kids, we’re here to adapt your plan.
You do not need a lawyer to write a will; however, engaging one can help you ensure you have covered important assets, family matters, estate concerns, and powers of attorney.
We strongly encourage you to work with a lawyer to draft your will. Our estate planning specialists are skilled in planning wills and can coordinate with your lawyer to ensure that your will is executed with tax efficiencies in mind.
Wills must exist as a physical copy in writing, signed by two witnesses who are not beneficiaries or executors, and you must be over the age of majority in your province and of sound mind.
A trust agreement outlines the rules you would like followed for property held in trust to your beneficiaries.
No, estate planning involves all the assets in an individual’s estate, whereas succession planning directly relates to the actual business.
You need an estate plan, whether or not you have a succession plan. Estate planning for business owners involves transferring personal and business assets to avoid any tax implications for survivors or shareholders. Since businesses are constantly changing, it’s important to have a succession plan in place, followed by an up-to-date estate plan.
SB Partners provides succession planning services to clients in Southern Ontario, including areas such as: Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton, Mississauga, Brampton, Guelph, Kitchener, Milton, Cambridge, Grimsby, St. Catharines.
Our Estate Planning Experts
Get in touch with us
Do you have a question for SB Partners? Need help to understand your business financials or value? We’re here to help with all of your accounting needs, please get in touch today.
Email us at help@sbpartners.ca or give us a call at 905-632-5978 or toll-free at 1-866-823-9990.
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