My name is Mark Goodfield. Welcome to The Blunt Bean Counter ™, a blog that shares my thoughts on income taxes, finance and the psychology of money. I am a Chartered Professional Accountant. This blog is meant for everyone, but in particular for high net worth individuals and owners of private corporations. My posts are blunt, opinionated and even have a twist of humour/sarcasm. You've been warned. Please note the blog posts are time sensitive and subject to changes in legislation or law.

Monday, January 18, 2016

How Not to Plan Your Estate!

Over the years, I have been involved with or been asked to assist with some "messed up" estates.  I often ponder how anyone who loved their spouse and/or children could ever leave their estate in such disarray?

So what is a "messed up" estate? Typically it involves:
  • an outdated will
  • transfers of family property in contradiction of the terms of the deceased's will
  • terrible recording keeping
  • investments in the wrong name
  • missing tax information
  • family members or second spouses, either threatening litigation or already having commenced such
Since so many people seem to ignore estate planning advice, I thought I would take a different tact and write an article on How Not to Plan Your Estate. My hope being, that if you read about the financial and emotional stress you can place upon your loved ones, you may take action.

I wrote this article during the Christmas holidays. I then asked Roma Luciw, The Globe and Mail's personal finance web editor, if she had any interest in this topic. She did and on January 15th, the article was published in The Globe and Mail business section under my byline.

If you did not read The Globe and Mail on Friday, here is the link to the article (The Globe changes the title for the online version if you were wondering). Thank you Roma for your editorial assistance and help in getting the article published in the paper.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

2 comments:

  1. I only get into the Globe as subject matter, but congratulations on your article.

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    Replies
    1. Thx, that is because you are such an interesting subject that matters :)

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