Tax Strategies

Neighbourly advice on tax-efficient income

Sooner or later, every homeowner is going to face the decision that my neighbour is about to make. She is of an age and life stage where it makes sense to sell her house and move into a home that requires less upkeep and physical demands. Of course, deciding to move is only part one […]

By Michelle Munro |August 3, 2011

6 min read

Dealing with mental incapacity

As advisors, you are probably meeting next generation relatives of your long-term clients. These new contacts may play an important role in your continued relationship with your client, as the client’s “representative” (the attorney appointed by a “Power of Attorney” in most provinces, or the mandatory appointed by a “Mandate in anticipation of Incapacity” in Quebec) for financial and legal matters if your client becomes mentally incapable.

By Carol Bezaire |July 26, 2011

4 min read

Double-check your returns

In matters of tax compliance, such as filing on time or ensuring you properly report all your income or ownership of foreign income-producing assets (where the cost amount is above $100,000), the penalties for not properly following the rules or for negligence are severe.

By Jamie Golombek |July 18, 2011

4 min read

Managing a financial windfall

What are the odds that you or someone close to you will enjoy a financial windfall during your lifetime? If you’re counting on winning a lottery, the odds are ridiculously bad. For example, the chance that you could draw the right six numbers out of a set of 49 in one of the big national lotteries is somewhere in the range of one in 14 million.

By Michelle Munro |May 17, 2011

4 min read