Creating and Maintaining an Estate Plan
While uncomfortable to think about, effectively planning ahead for when you are no longer here can save your loved ones a great deal of time, money, and emotional hardship. Estate planning can be complicated, but there are some basic “must-do’s” that should be regularly updated and reviewed. Below is a simple checklist for making sure your estate plan is up to date.
The Duties of Being a Trustee
Trustees can be appointed for any number of reasons, but whatever the purpose may be, the duties of a trustee are typically to hold the legal title of an asset or group of assets for another person. Trusts are made up of four components: the settlor who creates the trust, the trust and its assets, the trustee who is responsible for the trust, and the beneficiaries of the trust. When a settlor creates a trust and appoints a trustee, they are in essentially “trusting” you to manage the assets appropriately for their beneficiaries. This may seem like an honor or a privilege, but in reality, being named a trustee is a huge responsibility and can be a stressful position to uphold.
Melting Down Your RRSP
The RRSP was designed to help you save for retirement by:
- Deferring tax on your contributions
- Allowing your contributions to grow tax-free within the RRSP
However, any withdraws are taxed like ordinary income. Additionally, RRSPs must be converted to RRIFs or an annuity by the end of the year you turn 71.
The Single Premium Insured Annuity
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Ease Your Retirement Worries with Immediate Annuities
The majority of Canadians work hard to accumulate a retirement fund and many are averse to exposing savings to unnecessary market risk after they retire. …
