Spring 2018

Digital property belongs in your will

“And to my beloved daughter, I give the leather-bound album of cherished family photographs.” Sure, that sounds right for the old days. Today the pics might be on your laptop. We’ve got all sorts of valuable items stored electronically, and it’s time we started treating them accordingly. What is digital property? Digital property is text, […]

Vacation property solutions for a taxing problem

The 2017 Royal LePage Canadian Recreational Housing Report showed healthy year-over-year price increases in many vacation property markets across Canada. The highest average price was $816,700 in Alberta, but even the national average was more than $400,000. Over time, the price increases can be staggering. Waterfront cottages on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario that sold […]

To save tax, get down to business

All of the speculation and discussion has turned into reality — the federal government is beginning to clamp down on tax-reduction opportunities for small businesses. With the new restrictions, it becomes even more important to take advantage of the tax breaks that remain. Here are three strategies to consider. Hire a family member Hiring a […]

Should you and your spouse retire at the same time?

For many couples, retiring together just makes sense, plain and simple. You share the pleasure of starting this new chapter of your life together, and you enjoy more time together in retirement. A synchronized retirement can be idyllic. But the picture becomes less rosy if one spouse makes a sacrifice to line up the retirement […]

The hardest thing to do in investing

Normally, you might be quite comfortable making regular contributions to your investment program. But then an extraordinary market event takes place — like the U.S. stock market’s remarkable bull run from 2009 and into 2018, when the S&P 500 Index climbed almost 200%. Even a disciplined investor may wonder if unusual times call for unusual […]