One of the biggest trends in the financial world today is the transfer or sudden wealth within families. Sudden wealth is occurring more often as a result of a number of extraordinary circumstances – sale of principal residence, vacation or rental properties, death of a spouse, inheritance or sale of a business. These large financial transactions often come with a variety of new investment, tax, legal and emotional aspects. Below we talk about some of the “Sudden Wealth” events that you may be faced with. Bastion Wealth Advisors Group has many years of experience in helping individuals and their families effectively deal with their “Sudden Wealth”. We encourage you to contact our team to allow us to help you make these important and often emotional financial decisions.

Real Estate over the past 20 years has been a strong driver of wealth for many Canadians. As the Canadian population ages, many individuals and their families will look to reduce their real estate holdings in order to downsize their personal residence. They may also take profits that they have gained in personal, recreational or investment property. The sale of one’s principal residence can be the most simple of the three transactions as it would result in no capital gains taxes being triggered. Often people will consider investing the net proceeds of any gains once they have established where they will reside. The other two real estate transactions, sale of recreational or investment properties can be more complicated, often having the potential for tax issues. Here we work with clients to minimize the potential tax impact of the sale while looking to help maximize the tax-efficiency of their investment and financial plans going forward.

The loss of a spouse is likely the most emotional and difficult of all the events we encounter and any decision can be overwhelming. We advise our clients to take time to deal with their emotional well-being first and foremost before making any financial decisions. Some decision will need to be made quicker than others i.e. immediate cash flow, taxes and other urgent needs. Decisions for the medium to longer term plans involve us working with our clients to uncover needs and educate them on any financial decisions.Often one partner is more involved in the day-to-day financial decisions than the other and we aim to make the transition as smooth as possible.