Get a Plan
Why is Failing to Plan like Planning to Fail?

Getting A Plan

Reach out to get some direction with your financial and estate planning needs

Why Planning Isn't Just an Option, It's Essential

Life has an uncanny way of throwing curveballs. From unexpected opportunities to unforeseen challenges, the journey is rarely a straight line. While we can't predict every twist and turn, we absolutely can prepare for them, and nowhere is this more critical than in your financial and estate planning. The old adage, "Failing to plan is planning to fail," isn't just a catchy phrase; it's a profound truth that underpins a life of security, peace, and ultimately, the realization of your dreams. Without a clear roadmap, your financial future is left to chance, potentially eroding your hard-earned assets, burdening your loved ones, and leaving your legacy undefined. Imagine the freedom that comes from knowing your loved ones are protected, your assets are optimized, and your wishes are unequivocally clear, no matter what tomorrow brings. This isn't about rigid constraints; it's about empowering you to build a resilient future, ensuring your wealth serves your life's purpose and continues to care for those who matter most, long after you're gone.

Why is Failing to Plan like Planning to Fail?

In estate planning, silence is a choice and usually an expensive one. When you don't create a strategy, you aren't just "leaving it for later"; you are inadvertently choosing a default plan designed by the government, not by you.

Here are the top five reasons why a lack of planning is a "plan for failure":

1. You Plan for the Government to be Your Beneficiary

Without a strategy to minimize Estate Administration Tax (Probate) and capital gains, a significant portion of your wealth is "planned" to go to the Minister of Finance.

The Failure: Paying 1.5% in probate fees on assets that could have bypassed the estate entirely through simple strategic designations.

2. You Plan for "Intestacy" Laws to Choose Your Heirs

If you die without a Will (intestate), Ontario law dictates who gets what. Many people incorrectly assume their spouse gets everything, but the law often splits assets between a spouse and children in ways you might not intend.

The Failure: Common-law partners, step-children, and your favorite charities are often "planned" to receive nothing under government default rules.

3. You Plan for Your Family to Face a Legal "Waiting Room"

Without an appointed Executor, your family cannot simply walk into a bank and manage your affairs. They must apply to the court for a Certificate of Appointment, a process that can take months and cost thousands in legal fees.

The Failure: You are "planning" for your loved ones to face frozen bank accounts and mounting bills during their period of greatest grief.

4. You Plan for Conflict by Leaving Questions Unanswered

Ambiguity is the primary fuel for family disputes. When there is no strategy document explaining the why behind your decisions, it leaves room for assumptions and old rivalries to surface.

The Failure: You are "planning" for a legacy of litigation rather than a legacy of harmony.

5. You Plan for Crisis Management During Incapacity

Estate planning isn't just about death; it’s about life. Failing to have a strategy for Power of Attorney means that if you become ill or incapacitated, your family may have to go to court to get the right to care for you.

The Failure: You are "planning" to lose control over your own healthcare and financial decisions at the moment you are most vulnerable.

Is it possible to do effective retirement planning in the absence of legacy planning and estate planning?

Technically, you can create a "retirement plan" in isolation, but it is rarely effective because retirement, estate, and legacy planning are three legs of the same stool. Without the other two, the stool is unstable.

The logic behind this stems from the fact that your financial life does not exist in a vacuum. A decision made for retirement income often has a direct and sometimes negative consequence on your estate or your legacy.

The Logic of Interdependence

1. The Conflict of "Spend-Down" vs. Preservation

The core of retirement planning is "decumulation" meaning calculating how much you can spend without running out of money.

The Problem: If you don't have a Legacy Plan, you don't know how much of your capital needs to be preserved for the next generation.
The Risk: Without defining legacy goals, a retiree might be too frugal (dying with a massive, tax-heavy surplus) or too aggressive (leaving nothing behind but debt). Effective planning requires knowing the "finish line" for your wealth.

2. The Tax Efficiency Trap

In Canada, for example, your Retirement Plan might suggest drawing from your TFSA to keep your taxable income low.

The Estate Logic: However, from an Estate Planning perspective, it is often better to exhaust your RRSP/RRIF first. Why? Because an RRSP is fully taxable as income on your final tax return (deemed disposition), whereas a TFSA passes to heirs tax-free without becoming a taxable burden on your estate.
The Result: Doing retirement planning without estate tax logic can result in a massive, avoidable tax bill for your children.

3. The "Living Death" (Incapacity)

Retirement planning often focuses on market returns and cash flow.

The Estate Logic: Estate planning provides the Power of Attorney.
The Risk: If you have a brilliant retirement portfolio but no Power of Attorney, and you suffer a stroke or dementia, those funds may be frozen or mismanaged. A retirement plan is only "effective" if there is a legal mechanism to ensure the money is spent on your care when you can't manage it yourself.

4. The Family Harmony Factor (Legacy)

Legacy planning addresses the "soft" assets: values, the family cottage, or a business.

The Problem: You might plan your retirement income around selling the family cottage.
The Legacy Logic: If your children were expecting to inherit that cottage, your retirement plan just created a permanent family rift.
The Result: Effective planning ensures that your lifestyle needs (Retirement) don't accidentally sabotage your family relationships (Legacy).

Conclusion to the question: Is it possible to do effective retirement planning in the absence of legacy planning and estate planning?

It is not truly possible to do effective retirement planning in isolation because taxes, legal authority, and family dynamics do not wait until you are dead to impact your finances. An effective plan must account for the eventual transfer of wealth to inform the current consumption of wealth.

Strategy is the difference between a goal and a wish

We all have dreams for the future like potentially traveling the world, leaving a legacy for our grandchildren, or simply enjoying a worry-free lifestyle. But in the world of finance, a dream without a roadmap is just a wish.

A wish is passive; a strategy is active. While a goal identifies where you want to go, a strategy dictates exactly how you will get there, accounting for the roadblocks, detours, and tolls along the way.

Why "Wishing" is a Risk

Most people approach their finances with "hope" as their primary driver. They hope the market performs, they hope they have saved enough, and they hope their estate will be handled correctly. This passivity often leads to:

The Procrastination Gap: Waiting for the "perfect time" to start, which never arrives.
Inefficient Tax Shuffling: Losing significant portions of your wealth to unnecessary taxation because there was no proactive plan.
Executor Burden: Leaving a chaotic "wish list" for your loved ones to untangle instead of a clear, strategic map.

The Anatomy of a True Strategy

When we sit down to "Get a Plan," we move beyond spreadsheets and into the realm of intentionality. A true strategy involves three critical pillars:

Alignment of Assets: Ensuring your current investments and insurance are actually pointing toward your specific goals, not just sitting in a generic holding pattern.
Stress Testing: A wish assumes everything goes right. A strategy asks, "What if it doesn't?" We plan for inflation, market volatility, and health transitions.
Legacy Integration: As a Certified Executor Advisor (CEA) and Elder Planning Counselor (EPC), I look at the "finish line" first. Strategy means ensuring that what you build today is protected and transferable tomorrow.

Moving from Intent to Action

The "Get a Plan" process is about taking the steering wheel. We take your vision of the future and break it down into quarterly milestones, tax-efficient withdrawal strategies, and clear estate directives.

You don't need more "wishes." You need a blueprint that provides the confidence to spend your time living your life, rather than worrying about it.

Why You Should Do An Estate Planning Strategy Document

Most people mistake a "Will" for an "Estate Plan." While a Will is a vital piece of the puzzle, it is often a reactive document. An Estate Planning Strategy Document is proactive. It is the comprehensive blueprint that ensures your wishes are not just known, but are actually executable, tax-efficient, and protective of the people you love.

As a CEA and EPC, I have seen firsthand that the absence of a strategy doesn't just lead to paperwork, it leads to emotional and financial friction for your survivors. Here is why a formal strategy is non-negotiable:

1. It Minimizes the "Inheritance Tax" (and Probate)

Without a strategy, a significant portion of your hard-earned wealth can be eroded by taxes and administrative fees.

The Strategy Advantage:
- We look at beneficiary designations, joint ownerships, and gifting strategies today to ensure more of your estate goes to your family and less to the government.

2. It Protects Your Executor

Being named an Executor is one of the most stressful roles a person can take on. By creating a Strategy Document, you provide a roadmap that answers the "why" behind your decisions.

The Strategy Advantage:
- You reduce the risk of litigation and family disputes by providing clear instructions and organized records, effectively "mentoring" your executor through the process before it begins.

3. It Addresses "Living" Risks

Estate planning isn't just about what happens after you pass; it’s about protecting you while you are here.

The Strategy Advantage:
- A strategy prioritizes your care during potential periods of incapacity. You will want to ensure that Power of Attorney documents are in place and integrated into a plan that manages your healthcare and cash flow needs as you age.

4. It Preserves Family Harmony

Ambiguity is the enemy of family peace. When a plan is vague, assumptions are made, and old sibling rivalries can resurface.

The Strategy Advantage:
- A documented strategy provides transparency. It allows you to address "fair vs. equal" distributions and personal items that hold sentimental value, preventing conflict before it starts.

5. It Aligns Your Financial Reality with Your Legacy

Many people have assets scattered across different institutions and accounts. A Strategy Document brings these into a single, cohesive vision.

The Strategy Advantage:
- We ensure your life insurance, retirement accounts, real estate, and digital assets are all pulling in the same direction, ensuring your legacy is exactly what you intended it to be.