Our eLibrary for Professionals

Many Canadians have a profound desire to help others within their communities through charitable giving. Federal tax incentives exist to support this, and there are many ways to maximize the benefit of these incentives for your situation today and in the future.

Your business has three competing systems within it. Family, ownership and the business itself. Managing all three of these components in perfect harmony is a great challenge. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Corporate structures have numerous effective applications in financial planning. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Coping with an illness is not inexpensive. Recovery costs are significant; involving losses to personal wages, hiring replacement staff, paying business expenses, child care costs and costs for care and treatment. Critical Illness insurance is designed to help fund these costs so you don't have to worry about them. It provides you with a lump sum benefit if you're diagnosed with one of the covered illnesses.

• One in two men and one in three women aged 40 and under will develop coronary heart disease in their lifetime. 80% of heart attack victims admitted to hospital survive.
• One in four Canadians now suffer from stroke related illnesses. 75% of stroke victims survive the initial event.
• Almost one in three Canadian cancer cases occur under age 60. 72% of males and 67% of females who develop cancer survive.
• 50,000 Canadians suffer from multiple sclerosis, a disease that strikes primarily younger people.
• Source: RBC Financial Group

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For most Canadians, their mortgage represents the single largest debt they will incur during their lifetime. Add to that, other debts such as credit cards, bank loans and lines of credit and the monthly payments required can be a significant drain on monthly income. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Disabilities are random, yet surprisingly frequent occurrences. The risk of disability is real and the effects can be devastating to you, your family and your business. Where would you get the necessary funds to pay your living expenses, mortgage, utilities, clothing and taxes? What would the impact be on your business? Disability insurance is designed to provide an income when you are unable to work. It is a cornerstone for your financial plan. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Your business has three competing systems within it. Family, ownership and the business itself. Managing all three of these components in perfect harmony is a great challenge. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Your business has three competing systems within it. Family, ownership and the business itself. Managing all three of these components in perfect harmony is a great challenge. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Family trusts were commonly used in previous years for income splitting with family members, however restrictions in recent federal budgets have limited their use with children under age 18. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Financial Directions is the process we employ to ensure we provide you with a comprehensive review of your financial situation. It enables us to provide integrated solutions in all areas of your financial planning. Whether it's your business, your family, or your partnership. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Financial planning ensures you know where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Most people spend more time planning their vacations, than their financial planning. We follow a clear six step process to provide you with a concise roadmap to reach your financial goals, and work with you along the way to help you get there. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Where will your retirement income come from? What can you expect from government income benefits? We have prepared a clear and concise summary, outlining the core components of government income benefits. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Group RRSPs provide a win-win between employer and employee. They assist in attracting and retaining the very best staff. They are a convenient and cost effective method of saving for retirement. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Health benefits are a key component in ensuring your business attracts and retains good people. Planning in this area includes group life and disability insurance, extended health care, and dental insurance. Customized solutions ensure a plan fits your company's philosophy and budget. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Many health expenses can be paid by your company in a tax-effective manner. Whether it is a new pair of glasses, elective surgery, or orthodontics for a teenager, certain strategies can be put in place to provide tax efficiencies for payment of these expenses, for you and your employees. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

A Holding company can have a number of applications for tax planning purposes today and long-term estate planning for tomorrow. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Splitting income between your spouse and children is a key benefit in having your own business. It is a method of reducing your tax rate, by spreading income through other members of your family.

An Individual Pension Plan (IPP) provides a business owner, and/ or key executives with an excellent retirement savings vehicle, coupled with significant tax deferral. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Our goal is to help our clients build and preserve wealth over the long-term. The first step is to determine the desired risk tolerance and time horizon. Once this is done, we then apply our investment approach. We are committed to five guiding principles. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

All investment vehicles are in one of three forms of assets - "cash" - short-term interest bearing investments, "fixed income" - bonds, etc., with a long-term interest bearing investments, and "equity" - investments in capital assets such as real estate or ownership in specific businesses. To reach your goals, it is important to design the suitable balance between these three asset classes and take into account everything you own when doing so.

Disasters come in all forms. In the business world, the loss of a key employee can translate into corporate red ink. The most important element of a successful business is its people; more specifically, its most valuable people. A risk management plan makes good business sense. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Your net worth is the difference between all that you own (assets), and all that you owe (liabilities). Your assets may include your home, vehicles, bank balances and investment plans. Your liabilities may include a mortgage, credit card debt and bank loans taken for other large expenditures. One of the first steps in reviewing your financial situation should be establishing an understanding of your Net Worth. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Your business has three competing systems within it. Family, ownership and the business itself. Managing all three of these components in perfect harmony is a great challenge. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Do you know where your parents' important documents are located? Are they in a filing cabinet at their home? In a safety deposit box? As part of the process of reviewing your parents' affairs, it is critical you help them to organize their documents in a way that you could easily find your way, if they were gone. Important documents include; Wills, bank accounts, investments, income information, and a list of key contacts they deal with - eg accountant, lawyer, financial advisor. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Would your parents benefit from a review of their overall financial situation? Are they on top of their finances? We have a retirement and estate planning service which may be of interest. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

"Will I outlive my money?" This is a key question on many seniors' minds. Do your parents receive enough income from their investments and other assets? Is their home mortgage free? We find many of our clients are leading very frugal lives, even though they have assets from which they could receive a greater income. They may be doing this by choice, or because of a lack of information about their options. We can help, by reviewing their overall circumstances and giving them comfort about the income they receive.

At the later stages of life, it is important to integrate investment planning with estate planning. Ensuring the investment objectives coordinate with risk tolerance, income needs, and time horizon. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Preparing for the transition of one's assets is a very important part of financial planning. Having open and candid discussions with your parents on this subject would likely be very beneficial for all involved. We have a six step estate planning process that helps frame this important discussion and ensure advance planning reflects long-term wishes for parents and family. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Your business has three competing systems within it. Family, ownership and the business itself. Managing all three of these components in perfect harmony is a great challenge.

Many of our parents have significant sums of money in their regular chequing account at the bank. They are fearful to do anything else with it. They may be earning very little interest, or worse yet, be paying fees each month to the bank. We have found many of our elderly clients appreciate a high interest, short-term, liquid savings account for purposes such as this. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Will planning is a critical component of estate planning for your parents. It is essential to have an up to date document that reflects their current wishes. With a properly drafted will, you and your parents can have greater confidence their objectives will be handled in a clear fashion.

Relationships are complex. It is important to expect the best.and plan for the worst. A Partnership Agreement provides guidelines for the transfer of the business in different circumstances - death, disability, retirement, or disagreement. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

What would happen if you were incapacitated and unable to look after your affairs? A Power of Attorney gives authority to someone else to make decisions (and sign) on your behalf. This authority can be granted in a broad or restricted fashion.

What would be the impact to your family and business if you passed away prematurely? Most planning provides for debt elimination, payment of taxes and funds to replace your role in the business and the family. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Many families are fortunate to have a special place to go to. A place to relax, enjoy the outdoors, and family time. Families often want the cottage to stay in the family for many years (and generations) to come. Advance planning and some serious discussion with other family members will have a huge impact on the desired outcome.

A Registered Educational Savings Plan (RESP) is a government registered plan for families to set aside savings for their children's post secondary education. Contributions are allowed to grow tax-free and will also be eligible for a 20% grant from the federal government. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Retirement Compensation Arrangements (RCA's) are a method of supplementing your retirement planning with something similar to a non-registered pension plan. Tax planning is a key component here as well.

Today, we don't retire at 65 and stop working. Rather, most of us are interested in reaching a point of financial independence. Knowing we have the freedom to make choices. Having the option to slow down, be more selective about work, lead a more balanced lifestyle, enjoy time with family, volunteer work, or other hobbies and interests. As a result, retirement planning is all about planning ahead. It's about setting a course and monitoring it regularly to ensure you stay on track. We can help you map out your own course and work with you to measure your progress along the way.

RRSPs are one of the few tax deferral mechanisms still available for Canadians. They provide a vital tool for use in working toward your retirement accumulation goals. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Are you getting very little interest on the money you and/or your business have in the bank? Are the bank charges eating up any interest you do get? Is access to your bank savings really important to you? Are you concerned about locking your money up for a period of time? We have a number of solutions which may be of interest to you. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Business succession planning focuses on the owner, business and family. In order to best serve our individual client's needs, Arbutus Financial employs a succession planning process, which is comprised of six distinct steps. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

You have worked hard for years to build up something you can be proud of. You have great clients. A solid financial footing. You have a good team working with you. Finding the right person to take over your business is a huge challenge. We have worked with a number of our clients to assist them with developing the appropriate criteria and searching for the ideal successor. Once the successor has been identified, we work with the business owner to structure the purchase and sale arrangement with an eye to both financial and tax planning.

When you decide to sell, it is often very difficult to find a suitable buyer. You likely want someone who can carry on what you have built. Someone who will do well with your clients, work with your team of employees, and carry the business ahead into the future for many years. We have worked with a number of our clients to assist them with developing the appropriate criteria and searching for the ideal successor. Once the successor has been identified, we work with the business owner to structure the purchase and sale arrangement with an eye to both financial and tax planning.

It is always prudent to reflect on various tax planning strategies that may be of benefit to you.

Death and taxes are two certainties in life. Advance planning for the legacy you will leave behind you, can greatly minimize final taxes, such as capital gains and asset transfer taxes. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

A trust is a special planning tool, providing a great deal of flexibility. Trusts can be used for income splitting, tax planning, and controlling assets. They can be used in some cases for current planning, and often used in estate planning. CLICK HERE COMPREHENSIVE eSUMMARY

Wills are a cornerstone of financial planning. As you accumulate assets and responsibilities (eg children, business, etc.) this area of planning becomes more important. A Will should lay out your wishes with regard to the division of your assets and guardianship of your minor children.