Latest Posts

Are life insurance premiums tax deductible?

Are Permanent Life Insurance Premiums Deductible?

August 18, 2021 10:56 am Published by

A common question I will get during a review of permanent life insurance options is whether the insurance premiums paid are deductible for tax purposes.  For those unfamiliar with permanent life insurance benefits, please review my article: https://mgfadvisory.ca/news/2016/12/06/3-hidden-benefits-of-permanent-life-insurance/   Seek Tax Advice Below I’ve overviewed some of the general rules surrounding deductibility of life insurance premiums for information purposes.  However, please be advised before continuing in this article that only a public practice accountant should be provided you advice on whether any premiums paid by you or a related entity are deductible for tax purposes. As part of my service...

View Article

Three Reasons to Invest in Life Insurance

May 19, 2021 8:59 pm Published by

Three Reasons to Invest in Life Insurance If you were told you could buy an investment that could grow tax-free, that could be used during your lifetime to acquire other investments without impacting its own growth, and that could help you both now, at retirement and on death with significant tax savings, would you be interested? That is exactly what those who invest in permanent life insurance are experiencing today.   People who have accumulated significant wealth are now making alternative investments in the life insurance space. This isn’t the traditional life insurance you may be thinking.  Most life insurance bought...

View Article

The Three D’s: Building A Strong Financial House

December 12, 2019 8:48 am Published by

Ask any child about the lesson they learned from the ubiquitous fable “The Three Little Pigs” and they’ll invariably tell you, “build a strong house!” While that may seem obvious to most of us on a literal level, we often neglect to heed this advice on a metaphorical one. Indeed, while we no longer fear the Big Bad Wolf and his machinations, the lupine specter emerges in the form of the contingencies of life that affect our financial well-being. The Strong Foundation of Insurance Building a financial plan is tantamount to building a financial house, and a strong foundation is...

View Article

Hope for The Best; Plan for The Unknown

May 9, 2019 12:49 pm Published by

Lately, I have receiving a number of calls expressing concerns about a possible future recession. To be clear, I’m not attempting to predict a recession.  But with the “recession” word being used often on newscasts, I’m finding myself offering advice to those concerned.    My general advice is not too different from the advice I give to anyone who is concerned with their future financial stability. The truth is that the future is never certain. Unforeseen layoffs, health issues and, yes, recessions, are all but a few possibilities. The good news is that most people who prepare for the future...

View Article

The Advantages of Critical Illness Coverage

February 28, 2019 1:06 pm Published by

Some Facts and Stats Everyone aspires to live a long and healthy life, and most of us do what we can to ensure that this is the case; nevertheless, contracting a critical illness, such as cancer, heart attack and stroke can still occur. Unfortunately, the statistics don’t lie: Cancer Learn More Source: The Canadian Cancer Society • 1 in 3 Canadians will develop cancer in their lifetime • 1 in 9 women will develop breast cancer • 1 in 3 women and 1 in 2.5 men will develop cancer in their lifetime Heart Attack Learn More Source: The Heart and...

View Article

Life Insurance for Charitable Giving

January 27, 2019 1:24 pm Published by

We have had many clients who are interested in leaving a large gift to their favorite charity. Traditionally, their preference has been to plan a larger legacy gift through their Estate by way of their Will.  However, many professional advisors in this space have found that chartable gifts by Will are fraught with complications due to recent tax changes and family law applications.   Alternatively, more and more are reviewing and recommending the use of permanent life insurance to fund a client’s charitable gifting strategy.  Using life insurance for charitable gifting can result in both a more efficient gift to the...

View Article

How To Prepare For a Paramedical Visit

November 12, 2018 10:15 am Published by

Paramedicals and Pre-Screening In some cases, in order to complete your insurance pre-screening process, a paramedical may be sent to complete a blood and urine test. While we understand that the word ‘paramedical’ may have some negative connotations, the truth is that the process is relatively innocuous, simple and no cause for concern. In most cases, the paramedicals will even visit you are your home or office, making the process as pragmatic and convenient as possible. There are some cases which require that you visit their office to complete a stress test; however, those are usually performed for larger asset...

View Article

Underwriting Demystification – The Benefits of Pre-Underwriting

October 24, 2018 9:22 am Published by

The Underwriting Process There are several reasons why people want to use their life insurance more strategically. Some want to protect a dependent; others may owe money, personally or through their business, and want to use their life insurance as an asset (IFA). While these are good strategies, before you can move ahead with them, you have to go through the life insurance underwriting process. Underwriting Uncovered In essence, the underwriting process is an insurance company’s opportunity to look at the insurance application and certain attributes of your financial and personal health in order to decide whether to ensure you...

View Article

corporate estate planning

The Importance of a Professional Corporate Estate Plan

August 23, 2018 3:31 pm Published by

    My neighbour used to pride himself on being handy when it came to working on his car. He would eschew the professionally trained auto mechanics and spend hours in his garage “fixing” his beloved BMW–until it caught on fire and burned up in the parking lot of Safeway. The point of this rather dramatic anecdote? Sometimes a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. This applies to corporate estate plans.   A Cautionary Tale Cathy’s husband, Bill, was an active business owner who ran his corporate operations and took care of the accounts. Bill moved his after-tax earnings...

View Article

asset transfer

The Asset Transfer Strategy Making sure the CRA is Not One of Your Heirs

August 16, 2018 12:52 pm Published by

  In most cases one has very little control over what happens after death; however, from a financial standpoint, there are certain actions you can take now that will help control what happens to your assets after passing, lift potential burdens from your family and loved ones and, most importantly, keep the CRA from becoming one of your heirs.   Deemed Disposition Upon one’s passing, the Canadian Tax Act deems an individual must dispose of all assets at fair market value, with the exception of rolling them over to a spouse at cost. However, the deemed disposition will presumably occur...

View Article