Allen and Marina began working with us in 2007. Allen worked full-time on the family farm while Marina raised their three children, two of whom began working on the family farm in their early 20’s. Allen owned 50% of the farm with his brother, who was looking to retire and sell his shares to Allen’s children. Unsure of where to begin with intergenerational wealth planning, we worked with the Smiths, their Accountant and their Lawyer to create a personalized wealth plan to address all succession planning issues.
During the wealth planning process, we addressed the following concerns: Estate equalization (ensuring that their daughter who isn’t involved in the farm is also taken care of once her parents pass Effective use of the capital gains deduction). Retirement income and order of withdrawal from their investment accounts Tax planning strategies Buy/Sell Agreements and Insurance
Understanding what they wanted to accomplish today, in retirement and their estate. We uncovered their goals and established the proper steps to ensure they were achieved.
Analyzing their personal and financial situation, as well as the inter-family relationships.
Working with our partners at BMO to develop a farming succession plan which transitioned the business to their boys and an equalization strategy for their daughter who was not involved in the family business.
Identifying opportunities within their existing estate plan to meet their goals, transfer their wealth in a tax efficient manner and equalize their legacy between their children.
Evaluating their options working with their other advisors in both the legal and accounting professions, we developed and implemented strategies to address the opportunities we discovered during the process.
Reviewing the plan in depth occurs annually with the clients. Any significant life changes that may affect the plan outcome are discussed during quarterly portfolio reviews.
Adjusting for change is a key part of any plan and with Allen and Marina and we continue to work with them to update their plan. Six months after the plan was complete and strategies were implemented, Allen decided to become an employee of the farm, working part time. We were able to adjust their plan to ensure that there were no major tax implications of this decision and we updated some of the strategies laid out as they were now able to meet their goals quicker than originally expected.