Finance Step 6: Identify causes you care about. Then, investigate them. It’s the second part of this point that tends to trip people up. Most of us have a list of causes and charities we care about − from helping sick kids, to helping animals find a better home, to helping the world get a little greener. And giving a little money to help the cause can be a noble and worthy goal. But always remember: there can often be a significant difference between the cause we wish to contribute to and the organization we contribute to. The simple fact of the matter is, not all charitable organizations are good choices when it comes to giving money. Some are bloated with bureaucracy − most of our donation will go to office costs, salaries and other “overhead” expenses. Others have big goals, but a poor record of actually executing those goals. And, yes, a handful of so-called charities are actually frauds. For all of those reasons, you should invest some time investigating whether the organization and the people you intend to leave money to are worthy of your donation. What is the organization saying about itself? What are other people saying about the organization? What kind of impact are they actually making “on the ground”? Is it possible to visit the organization, or one of their charitable projects, in person? If you’re planning on leaving a substantial amount of money, an interview with the CEOmight be a good idea. Maybe all of this effort isn’t exactly necessary if you plan on leaving money to a longestablished, well-known organization such as the United Way, the SPCA, or the local food bank. But for pretty much anyone else, it makes sense to take an “investment” approach to your charitable efforts: do your homework, ask questions and make sure that the management is competent before you write the cheque. Step 7: Complex estate? History of family tension? Think about a resolution process. Despite our best efforts to the contrary, it’s possible that some family members will end up disagreeing about the distribution of our wealth. Those disagreements might arise from the way in which the estate has been structured, if your estate has complicated trust provisions or other stipulations that are difficult for non-financial people to understand. Other times, the disagreement is really an argument about family relationships: who deserves what, and who doesn’t. If either of these situations applies to you, it might be a good idea to provide some guidance regarding how to resolve those conflicts, so that heirs don’t have to challenge the estate in court − an expensive and time-consuming process that often ends up exacerbating disagreements, rather than resolving them. There are many different strategies for accomplishing this. One of the simplest solutions is to pay a professional executor to be the manager of your estate − this can alleviate any suspicions of favouritism or “unfair dealing” between family-member beneficiaries. Another possibility is to use trusts to distribute assets before you pass. Or authorize your estate to hire and pay for a professional mediator in the event of a serious dispute. No, not everyone will need to go to such lengths to resolve estate-related conflict − proper planning and ongoing communication can go a long way toward resolving potential arguments before they occur. But for those families who do need such formal procedures, outlining those procedures now can go a long way toward cutting off acrimony at the pass. Step 8: Get professional help Some estates are simple: a house, a bank account, maybe a car. The value of said assets is modest, and they all go to a single beneficiary − a spouse, or a single adult child − who is also named as the executor of the estate. In such cases, it’s possible to take a “do-it-yourself ” approach to estate planning by writing a simple will, getting it notarized by a generalist lawyer or a notary public (if your jurisdiction allows it), and forgetting about it until it’s time. But let’s be honest: most estates are more complex than that. If you’re like most snowbirds, chances are that you have a home, an investment account, perhaps a vacation property (possibly in a different province, or in the states) and a handful of other assets. You probably also have a spouse, one or more children and likely some grandchildren. You’d like to leave something to all of them, and perhaps a cause or charity or two as well. If your estate falls into the latter category − as most snowbird estates do − then you’ll likely need some level of professional help with writing your estate plan. And the reason is simple: there is simply too much that could go wrong if you try to do it yourself. Wills require careful attention and proper wording − without professional oversight, your will could be legally challenged and your wishes thwarted. If your estate plan is vague, imprecise or ambiguous, it can leave your family bitterly divided, as children and other heirs argue about what mom or dad reallymeant. And if you neglect to minimize obvious taxes, other estate costs and fees, your heirs could wind up paying thousands more in tax than they have to. If you’ve got an operating business, or foreign assets, or some other complicated arrangement in your estate − well, all of those risks increase exponentially. Yes, professional guidance and estateplanning advice will cost you considerably more than a $29 software kit or a stack of pre-fab forms. But remember that old lesson your mom and dad taught you about getting what you pay for? Call it a cliché but, when it comes to estate planning, it really is the truth. Some final thoughts... Most of the time, with investing and other financial matters, the consequences of inaction are minor − indeed, sometimes inaction can be exactly the right thing to do. But that’s not the case with estate planning. The consequences of not taking responsibility and crafting an effective estate plan will be absolutely zero − for you, that is. For your heirs, the consequences will be enormous. If you remember nothing else from this article, remember this: preparing an effective estate plan takes time. It’s not something that you throw together on a rainy weekend, or jot down on a notepad on the way to the lawyer’s office. If you haven’t yet put a lot of thought into it, or if you’ve been avoiding thinking about it altogether, make it a priority to invest time in it. You’ll be thankful that you did. And so will your heirs. CSANews | FALL 2021 | 31
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx