By IG Wealth Management
Updated October 2024
Business owners are different. They’re unlike salaried workers: their primary goals are to grow their business and make it successful.
And they’ll happily do whatever it takes to achieve that; self-employed Canadians work considerably longer hours than the average Canadian, putting in around 54 hours per week. And they love what they do; so much so, that Canadian business owners typically retire several years later than private and public sector employees.
Given these differences, it’s no surprise then that estate planning for business owners is considerably more complex than for employed Canadians. Simply drawing up a will certainly won’t cut it. In fact, for most people a will is just one aspect of estate planning; for business owners, it’s the tip of the iceberg.
In this deep dive into estate planning for business owners, we look at five estate planning priorities that all business owners should consider.
While setting up powers of attorney should be a priority for everyone, it’s even more important when estate planning for business owners. It ensures that your wishes are carried out (by the people you’ve chosen) in the event that you’re unable to run the business (either temporarily or permanently).
IG Wealth Management
The people you name in your powers of attorney can not only make business decisions on your behalf (according to your instructions) but also make financial decisions for you and pass on instructions to health care professionals (in which case this is sometimes called a representative). Many business owners name a power of attorney to run their business and make financial decisions, and another to make health and personal care decisions on their behalf.
