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When you talk about legacy, I don't think that it's just after you're gone, what have you left? I think it's how you've lived your life the whole time.

The legacy that I'm the most interested in leaving is the one about having been responsible for what I was given, and doing the best job of making sure that those resources have been used in the best and most efficient and most effective and most impactful way. A part of that part is making sure that we're working with our sons to educate them, and get them ready to take over that part of that legacy.

My role has always been not only to manage their investments, but be a guide, help navigate through many financial choices they have. To do that successfully, it is important for me to be very knowledgeable about who they are, their family histories, their goals, their wishes, and their values. You need a plan that includes insurance, estate planning, business succession, charitable giving. You need other experts to contribute. And that is the role that Arnie, Jamie, and others play.

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As anybody who has children, you want to make sure that you're giving them the best values you can, especially with the responsibility and the challenges that come with large amounts of wealth.

We have tried as best as we can to be intentional parents in all aspects. Life is busy, and sometimes we've been less intentional than others. But in this area, we're trying our best to instill in them some responsibility with money.

We want to think about how we're living our lives now, and what we're being involved in, and the causes that we're supporting.

They're getting to the stage where they're making plans for what they're going to do after high school is over. And so we're working through how to make sure they remain motivated. So that's a bit of a challenge to thread that needle. And so that's something that I'm sure we'll be looking to Harp to give us some insights on as well. It's worth mentioning that Harp has brought us several resources over the years regarding training our boys with becoming good stewards of money.

I think actually when your kids are teenagers, they quite often prefer having other people than their parents give them advice and information. So it's a very good time for us to be bringing people into their lives who can give them advice and to just share some wisdom.

And it changes over time. In a 15-year-old, in a 17-year-old, there's different planning that needs to take place at that stage versus when they're getting involved in relationships. There is another type of planning that you want to look out for, so it's an evolving piece. It isn't just doing and going through a planning process, and now we're done.

So even if tomorrow morning, all is taken away, I'm confident that they'll have learned principles that would help them to avoid problems later in life, just because they've hung around and seen the advice that we've been able to get over these years.

RBC Wealth Management is Canada's leading wealth manager. Our approach brings the best of RBC to you. Our resources, solutions, and full access to our team of experts, through one single contact, your wealth manager. Simply put, there's wealth in our approach.

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When I was 14, my father was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors gave him six months to live and six months later almost to the day he passed away. My mother was my father's power of attorney and she was spending 7:00 in the morning until 11 o'clock at night every day, Monday to Sunday at the hospital with him. So then fell to my siblings to do that. I remember distinctly my siblings coming over and going through the bills and writing checks. This isn't about whether or not you're capable, this isn't about whether or not you have some sort of expertise as a financial professional or anything like that, it comes down to how you're going to use probably one of the most scarce resources, all of us have individually as individuals have. And that's our time. And if I had to be my mother's power of attorney, I would rather spend the time, that time with her. And I think that's the freedom that you get with the service.

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We're dealing with baby boomers that upto the stage of retirement, that are caught in the sandwich generation. Still dealing with the care of their parents, also still dealing with their children. And the concern they have is just the time management for the most part.

The sandwich generation is real. It is absolutely real. We want to be able to step in when that need arises and be available for families, to help them through what is probably the most difficult situation they're ever going to have to deal with.

Being appointed as an attorney is a huge responsibility. Because you need to make financial decisions, and look after the financial assets of that individual throughout their lifetime.

One of the things that a lot of people don't realize is that they are taking responsibility. And they have to do it properly. They have to do it efficiently.

But we're here to help, I am going to be your contact. And so we are going to work together as a team. You choose what you'd like us to do and will do it and maybe there's certain things you want to take care of yourself certain aspects of the administration, maybe you want to look after the taxation, but you don't want to have to deal with the audit administration. The payment of bills, dealing with pension department, going to the various financial institutions to have the assets collected and transferred. The benefits in appointing us is that you have qualified professionals with the expertise, we have the resources to provide the accounting, to provide the investment management, to do the tax returns.

For the individuals who entrust us with the responsibility of acting on their behalf, it's giving them time to then go and invest with that family member or that friend. And to create those memories that 20 years later, you're going to look back on and say I'm really, really glad I did that.

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Do you own all the shares of your business?

If so, you may be limiting yourself from numerous tax and business transition opportunities.

An estate freeze of your shares can help minimize taxes and provide you with more flexibility.

There are a few tax benefits of an estate freeze.

Current capital gain on your shares is frozen. Any future growth is then transferred to the next generation, limiting your taxes at death.

As well, lifetime capital gains exemption can be multiplied with family members upon a sale.

You may also be able to pay dividends to lower-income adult family members subject to “Tax on Split Income” rules.

For example, if your business is worth $5MM, an estate freeze would lock in that value in your name.

Any future growth above $5MM would then accrue to the next generation.

For tax reasons, an estate freeze should be set up at least two years in advance of a potential sale — so early planning is key.