While many Canadian families would be content with saving enough money for retirement and leaving behind something for their children, some Canadian families want to preserve their wealth for more than one generation.
If you are one of the growing numbers of wealthy Canadians that are seeking ways to ensure the wealth you accumulate lasts more than just one generation, you have come to the right place! In this article, we will discuss top tips and strategies that can help you preserve and protect your money from wealth erosion and more importantly keep your assets growing even decades after you are gone.
How To Make My Wealth Last For Future Generations?
When thinking about protecting your wealth for future generations you need to plan meticulously and take into consideration many different facets of wealth management. As your focus changes from wealth generation to wealth preservation you will likely have to deal with factors that you hadn’t thought of before.
First, you need to figure out a way to protect your wealth from the factors of wealth erosion, and then you will have to set up a framework whereby the wealth you leave behind grows rather than depletes over time. This is the only way to ensure wealth transfers or rolls over from one generation to another without being lost due to family disputes and mismanaged transfers.
How do you go about ensuring all of this? Well, you can start by following and understanding the steps below.
Develop A Financial Plan & Have Clearly Outlined Investment Goals
Without set goals and a sound financial plan, preserving wealth for future generations can become near impossible.
Create A Succession Planning Framework By Setting Up Trusts & Other Legal Structures
Many wealthy Canadians are using Trusts to help protect their assets and make their wealth last. Trusts are the best way to ensure that your wealth is being spent according to your wishes, even decades after you are gone.
By appointing a trustee, which can either be an individual or firm you can ensure that your wealth is directed towards investments and payoffs according to your wishes and not the wishes of your heirs or other blood relatives.
Having a trust can have many advantages for high-net-worth individuals, as it can not only help establish careful parameters about when, how, and to whom payouts are to be made but also protect assets for much longer durations of time.
Build A Diversified Investment Portfolio For The Long-Term
We have all heard the saying, “never invest all your eggs in one basket.” While this is cliche, to say the least, the saying does hold merit. The more diversified your investment portfolio the lesser the risk. Make investments in many different areas starting with RRSPs, TFSAs, ETFs, GICs, and mutual funds and moving to equities and other capital investments.
These types of investments don’t just help with retirement planning but can also be hugely beneficial as tools for succession planning and wealth transfer to future generations.
Keep Tax Efficiency & Tax Planning Strategies In Mind
Another factor that falls under wealth erosion is taxes. Taxes for wealthy Canadians is steep as it is without you having to worry about those taxes eating away at your wealth after you are gone. This is why as your focus turns towards wealth preservation you have to give careful thought to developing financial plans that are tax efficient and help you pay less tax on income.
Many tax planning strategies can help lower your taxable amounts, such as investing in certain GICs, and using income splitting strategies with your spouse on RRSP and TFSA investments can result in a lower marginal tax rate which can help save you thousands in taxes.
This means you are left with more disposable income which can be used to invest in different financial products, further diversifying your portfolio and helping you one step closer to your investment goals.
Set Aside A Legacy Plan
Inevitably, once you are on track to achieving your outlined investment goals, it is time to create a wealth transfer or legacy plan. This ensures that once you are gone your wealth is transferred over to your heirs harmoniously and transparently leaving your family just as strong, united, and whole.
There is a lot that has to be done to create a legacy plan. It will likely involve talking about sensitive family matters and making hard decisions for the greater good. This is why you must have trusted and expert financial and legal advisors to help guide you along the way.
Working With Professional Advisors Every Step Of The Way!
At Eastport Financial Inc., our financial advisors and Canadian tax planning professionals specialize in helping wealthy individuals leave behind a lasting legacy that ensures smooth intergenerational wealth transfers, tax efficiency, and long-term asset growth.
Our team of specialist financial experts can help with many aspects of wealth protection including estate planning, tax planning and wealth management. We also believe in actively being engaged with all family members by meeting with them and figuring out their potential priorities and concerns to build a comprehensive financial strategy that has your best interests at heart.
To learn more about how we can help, call us at 902-474-5433.
