10 Things You Should Do Before Year End

The end of the year is a good time to get your affairs in order. Here’s a list of 10 items you should consider as we head into 2020:

1. Review your Will. A lot can happen in a year. People die, get married/divorced, have children/grandchildren, move out of the country. You should review your will annually to ensure the people you have named as your executor, guardian and beneficiaries are still appropriate.

2. Check your Beneficiary Designations. Have you designated a beneficiary for your registered accounts and life insurance policy? If you have, you should review your designations annually to make sure the person(s) you have designated are still the person(s) you want to receive the assets on your death. If you haven’t designated a beneficiary, you should consider doing so, as it can save your estate thousands of dollars in tax and get the proceeds to your beneficiary sooner.

3. Review your Powers of Attorney. Like your Will, you should review your Power of Attorney for Property and your Power of Attorney for Personal Care to ensure the people you’ve appointed are still appropriate to make financial and/or medical decisions for you.

4. Review your Insurance Coverage. You should review your life insurance and disability/critical illness policies to make sure you have enough coverage to protect your spouse and/or dependants in the event you die or become unable to work.

5. Create or Update your List of Assets and Liabilities. A comprehensive estate plan includes an inventory of your assets and liabilities. You should review this list every year and amend it as necessary to account for assets which you’ve acquired or disposed of during the year, and debts and liabilities which you’ve incurred or paid off.

6. Create a Digital Estate Plan. Most people focus on the tangible side of estate planning, but have you considered your digital assets? What should happen to your email accounts, social media accounts, and music/video/photo libraries when you die? Will your executor have the necessary tools to access your digital devices and control your digital assets? A digital estate plan consists of a list of logins and passwords and a direction to your executor regarding the use, control and destruction/preservation of your digital assets.

7. Complete Your 2019 RESP Contributions – If you utilize a Registered Education Savings Plan to save for your children’s (or grandchildren’s) post secondary education, make sure you get your 2019 contribution in before the end of the year. The Government of Canada will match your contributions by 20%, up to $500 a year for each child.

8. TFSA Withdrawals. – If you are planning on taking money out of your Tax Free Savings Account in the near future, consider making a withdrawal before Dec 31 so you can replenish your TFSA in 2020. If you withdraw money and re-contribute in the same year, you will incur penalties

9. Registered Retirement Savings Plan. Although the deadline for contributing to your RRSP for the 2019 tax year isn’t until March 2, now is a go time to evaluate your finances and consider how much money you want to contribute to your RRSP to maximize the tax benefits.

10. Begin Gathering Documents for Your 2019 Tax Return. The year may be coming to an end, but tax season is just around the corner. The holidays are a good time to begin assembling your documents, including tax slips, donation receipts, childcare receipts, medical/disability expenses, etc.