Professionals who spend decades building wealth through their corporations, investments, and practice equity need estate plans that are equally sophisticated. A professional's estate is more complex than a typical estate — it involves corporate shares, professional practice goodwill, multiple investment accounts, insurance policies, and often real estate. Without proper planning, up to 50% of your estate can be lost to taxes and fees.
| Component | Purpose | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Will and powers of attorney | Basic estate direction and incapacity planning | Immediate — everyone needs this |
| Estate freeze | Cap capital gains at current values | High — when corporate value exceeds $2M |
| Family trust | Income splitting, asset protection, flexible distribution | High — for families with children |
| Corporate-owned life insurance | Tax-free wealth transfer via CDA | High — for incorporated professionals |
| Beneficiary designations | Bypass probate on registered accounts and insurance | Immediate — often overlooked |
| Shareholder agreements | Business continuity and buy-sell provisions | High — for multi-owner practices |
An estate freeze is one of the most powerful tools for professionals with significant corporate value. By exchanging your common shares for fixed-value preferred shares and issuing new common shares to a family trust, you "freeze" your capital gains liability at today's values. All future growth accrues to the trust beneficiaries (your children), potentially qualifying for their lifetime capital gains exemptions.
For incorporated professionals, corporate-owned permanent life insurance creates a tax-free wealth transfer mechanism through the Capital Dividend Account. The death benefit flows into the CDA, allowing tax-free distribution to shareholders. This strategy is particularly powerful when combined with an estate freeze and family trust structure.
Estate planning requires coordination between your financial advisor, accountant, and estate lawyer. Explore our estate planning services or book a consultation to review your current estate plan.