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Success stories
Estate planning avoids financial calamity
Pat is a very busy, successful business owner. He knows he needs to do his financial homework but doesn’t have the time – or won’t make the time.
The flashing red flag in Pat’s financial scenario was that he had not updated his Will nor created a corporate Will since 1990 when his kids were just born. I had been hounding him to create these key documents because, with upwards of $60 million in assets and the tremendous complexities of running a large company, Pat’s loved ones would be sunk if he were to pass away without carefully crafted wills.
Without the provisions of a basic personal will and a corporate will, Pat would leave behind a big legal mess that would prove very challenging for everyone:
- There would be succession matters to decide – who will run the business?
- How would Les – and Pat’s other loved ones – get compensated for his business holdings?
- How much of Pat’s sweat equity would go to the Canada Revenue Agency that could have gone to Les and other family members instead?
The solution was clear: I brought in Scotiatrust® to solve Pat and Les’s estate planning problem. Seasoned Trust professionals provided experienced advice to walk Pat through the considerations of both his Wills. Scotiatrust® is now named as his Corporate Executor and will do all the heavy lifting. This brings the certainty that long-term continuity – Scotiatrust® will be around in 20 or 30 years when Pat is most likely to pass away. They will ensure everything is administered properly – administering large, complex estates that combine personal and corporate assets is all these guys do.
As the grieving partner, the last thing Les would want to tackle when Pat is gone are the intricacies of a large, sophisticated estate.
Steadfast saving + disciplined investing = early retirement
Maddy is a courageous, hard-working single female we have advised for almost 20 years. She has worked for a major financial institution for over 30 years and is now in her early 50s. About six years ago, Maddy had the vision to retire at the age of 58 and we did a very thorough financial plan to navigate her there.
When we refreshed Maddy’s plan this year, we discovered that her portfolio had done so well that she could retire at 53, five years earlier than her original plan. Nothing pleases me more than helping people retire early. How was she able to do this? She had saved steadily, had few expenses as a single woman with no kids, and stuck to her disciplined long-term plan, resisting common pitfalls many investors fall into, such as emotional decision-making or tracking her portfolio performance too often.
Most of us would be thrilled with the news that they can retire early, but Maddy went through a gamut of emotions, ranging from disbelief “This cannot be true! Is this for real? Will I have enough?” to curiosity “Have you factored in expenses, inflation, rising stock prices? How is this possible? Why is everyone else retiring so much later?” to fear “Will I be OK without a paycheque? Am I covered if any surprises happen? What if the market tanks?”.
“Mo proactively made sure my plan was on track, nurtured my accounts to exceed my goal, and was able to address my objections and concerns to put me at ease. He reminded me that everyone’s situation is different,” said Maddy. “Everyone always jokes about not being able to retire soon enough but it was hard to get my mind around the fact that I could suddenly retire within a couple of months! I must have driven him crazy, but he was great with me. I am confident that he’s made wise investments and getting excited about stepping away from work.”
Maddy added, “I’ve always been quietly saving – and it’s paid off. People on social media boast about all their possessions, but how are they affording those things? Their lives look perfect but perhaps they are in debt or overextending themselves to achieve certain benchmarks. I try not to worry about appearances, never borrow from friends and put away what I can each month.”
In her next chapter, Maddy wants to explore pursuits far from the competitive corporate financial space that she feels increasingly lacks emotional intelligence. She has a new set of benchmarks for herself – based on joy, fulfillment, friends, self-care, connection to nature, her love of learning, and her passion to make a mark on this world. The Vikrant Group has been proud to have helped Maddy enter retirement early to explore her phenomenal potential and live life the way she wants.