Financial Planning Resources

OUR FINANCIAL PLANNING PROCESS

Would you like to better understand the path to take to accomplish your goals and dreams? That’s really what financial planning is all about. It’s a process that empowers you to see where you are today financially and realize what you want to achieve over the long-term. Partnering with us will help you get there.

As we work through the process with you, we always consider your unique needs and stages of life so we can plan your future financial direction. Our unique total-picture approach sets us apart from other financial planners.

We believe it’s essential to review your plan annually with you and update it, if necessary, especially when a major life event occurs, such as a birth of a child or retirement. This will ensure we continue to meet your needs and goals. Remember, your needs define your plan – not vice versa!

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Our Financial Planning Process

Step 1. Understand Your Needs & Determine Your Goals

  • Analyze and get a clear sense of your current financial resources and obligations (cash flow, net worth, tax projections, etc.) through interviews or questionnaires
  • Understand your values, preferences, financial outlook and desired results
  • Determine your personal and financial goals, needs and priorities
  • Discuss the scope of our professional relationship with you
  • Explain the services we will provide and the process of planning and documentation
  • Clarify our responsibilities as your advisor
  • Agree on how decisions will be made
  • Identify any challenging areas and opportunities

Step 2. Develop Your Financial Plan

Every financial plan we develop is personalized to meet your unique goals and financial needs. As part of this process, we:

  • Tailor the plan to align with your objectives, values, and risk tolerance, while providing projections and recommendations
  • We then present the plan to you and map out a review process

Step 3. Implement Your Financial Plan

Now we’re ready to put the plan into action together with you! To implement successfully, Kudsia Leith Sanchez. will:

  • Review the recommendations we discussed
  • Implement the plan. This may involve contacting other professionals such as investment funds sales representatives, accountants, insurance agents and lawyers.

Step 4. Monitor Your Financial Plan

Keeping your portfolio on track is an ongoing practice we follow with great care and professional analysis. This is pivotal to ensure you are progressing toward your goals. To monitor fully and effectively, we do the following:

  • Contact you to review the progress of the plan and make adjustments, if necessary
  • Review your life circumstances and refine or adjust the plan in accordance with the full picture of your situation
  • If there are any changes to tax laws or your economic position, we will review and evaluate this impact and make recommendations

Self Employed

Running your own business whether with 100 employees or just as a sole-proprietor is full of both challenge and reward. You are part of the more than 2 million Canadians that are self-employed. Like most self-employed individuals you are an expert at what you do, and you spend your time and energy in your business and serving your customers.

Having said that, self-employed people often face the largest financial risks:

  1. If you are hurt or sick what will happen to your business? Do you have a contingency plan?
  2. How will you replace your income in the case of accident or sickness?
  3. What percentage of your family income is dependent on the success of your business?
  4. Are you properly planning for your personal wealth?
  5. Are you properly planning for the sale & transition of your business, and ultimately a stress free retirement?
  6. Are you planning for retirement, or semi-retirement, for when your business no longer produces an income for you?
  7. Have you considered creditor proofing your personal finances due to higher liability risk of owning a business?

Self-employed people are often the busiest people and most likely to neglect these critical issues. Fortunately we can help.

Contingency Plan

Having a Contingency Plan in place is vitally important to any business in which the owner plays an active role. Without a well thought-out game plan, the consequences to key stakeholders (family, clients and estate) in the business are dire.

The impact of your sudden and unexpected departure from the business due to death, disability or extended leave of absence from the business can be disastrous. As a professional, it’s your responsibility to make every attempt possible to ensure a plan is in place to protect everyone’s interest.

The objective of a Contingency Plan is to make sure your heirs know what you would like them to do with the business in the event you can’t do it yourself. It can involve negotiating something as simple as a letter of understanding or the drafting of a legally binding buy & sell agreement funded with life insurance. Whatever approach you choose, the main objective is to make sure there is a plan to follow if a triggering event occurs.

It’s also imperative in this process that you communicate the details of your plan with your executor or legal representative and include a copy with your estate documents.

Buy and Sell Agreements

A buy-sell agreement may be thought of as a sort of “premarital agreement” or “business will” between business partners/shareholders. An insured buy-sell agreement (agreement funded with life insurance on the participating owner’s lives) is often recommended by business succession specialists and financial planners to ensure the buy-sell arrangement is well-funded and also to guarantee there will be money when the buy-sell event is triggered.

In the sale of a business, a buy-sell clause (or Shotgun clause) preserves continuity of ownership in the business and ensures that everyone is fairly treated, the buyer as well as the seller. It is a binding contract between business partners or shareholders about the future ownership of the business. A buy-sell agreement is made up of several legally binding clauses in a business partnership or operating agreement (or it can be a separate agreement that stands on its own) that can control the following business decisions:

  • Who can buy a departing partner’s or shareholder’s share of the business (this may include outsiders or be limited to other partners/shareholders);
  • What events will trigger a buyout, (the most common events that trigger a buyout are: death, disability, retirement, or an owner leaving the company) and;
  • What price will be paid for a partner’s or shareholder’s interest in the partnership and so on.

Buy-sell agreement can be in the form of a cross-purchase plan or a repurchase (entity or stock-redemption) plan. For greater neutrality and effectiveness of the buy-sell arrangement, the service of a corporate trustee is recommended.