Posts in category: Life Changes

Try as you may, you are not able to control everything life sends your way. A major life-altering event like sudden job loss or serious illness can throw you and your family for a loop. You can’t prevent these types of things, but the one thing you can do is prepare financially so you are ready for any possible scenario. We have outlined the steps you should take when a life-changing event suddenly crops up:

Sudden Job Loss

The first step you need to take when receiving the news that you will be let go is to seek legal counsel. Contact your lawyer to confirm that the terms of your termination and your severance package are acceptable. You should speak to a financial advisor to see if any portion of your severance is eligible to roll over to your Registered Retirement Savings Plan. You should also consider the possibility that the taxable amount can be split between two years instead of one. If you are lucky enough to find a new job in a timely manner, your severance package becomes a windfall. If you are still seeking employment after a month or two, your severance could run out and you may need to start using your emergency fund along with your Employment Insurance benefits.

Disability

To protect yourself from the financial repercussions of a debilitating injury, disability insurance can help. This type of insurance replaces a portion of your regular income if an illness or injury prevents you from going to work. You may have disability insurance under your employer’s group benefits plan, but you will want to check the level of coverage. If their definition of disability is restrictive, or if the income provided wouldn’t be enough, you want to consider personal coverage to supplement it. If you are self-employed, you should consider purchasing insurance that will replace a percentage of your income.

Critical Illness

Similar to disability insurance, there is also coverage for critical illness. Disability insurance replaces your income, but critical illness insurance covers the expenses associated with your illness. Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are the most common conditions that are covered by critical illness policies.

If you want to make sure you’re prepared for any life-altering events, you should contact a financial advisor at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. Having the peace of mind that you and your family are protected from the unpredictable is invaluable.

The events that occur throughout each of our lives can provide both opportunities and hurdles in the forecast of our finances. There’s no way to predict the way our lives will unfold or the financial outcomes, so for these reasons, it is important to have some sense of guidance when it comes to unforeseen changes that can happen in regards to our financial planning.

There are many factors that are involved when it comes to the outcome of our finances. Here are a few examples.

Income

Income obviously plays a major role in the leverage of financial planning. But it also includes external factors such as family size, ability for your spouse to work, education for the children, and whether you make any initial plans for investments. Every element contributes to potential future outcomes for your finances, and it can be tricky to know exactly where you may end up.

Job Loss

These days, no one can predict what the security of our jobs are, or will be over the next 20 years. Things change fast. If the loss of a job in your household occurs without any sort of safety net or plan set in place to allow some wiggle room for securing another, this could cause much added stress down the road. Being unprepared for turbulent outcomes can throw a peg into the wheel that can shake up any future plans that have been set in place.

Inheritance

At some point in life, you may receive some family inheritance. This can give you an opportunity that didn’t exist before. Whether you choose to spend it on a fancy car or invest it, for example, in some rental property in order to ensure a more secure financial future, the option is clearly up to you. But remember that every decision will affect your future. Properly planning ahead requires discipline.

Dealing With Your Parents’ Health

It may come to a point where you or your spouse’s parent may require frequent care. This means unexpected financial hurdles. Placing your loved one in home care is something that may require significant time, money and planning. Without the proper financial planning, this could cause potential problems for providing education funds for the kids down the road or a safety net for the future.

The bottom line is that life is unpredictable, and things change fast. It’s impossible to always foresee life events and changes that may occur. This is why it’s imperative to have guidance in developing some sort of financial planning for when life does throw hurdles at you so that you can do your best to make the most out of each situation and turn those hurdles into opportunities.

For all your financial planning needs, The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. is on your side.

Any change in marital status is a significant life shift, and thus it should always be accompanied by a reevaluation of your financial health. Whether you are getting married, divorced, or have been widowed, you will have to update your will and adjust the beneficiaries of your pension plan and insurance plan. Additionally, any big change in life status presents a fitting opportunity to reassess your investments, family trusts, and estate planning.

Marriage

If you are planning to get married, you should evaluate your financial options long before “I dos” are exchanged. Marriage opens up a whole new realm of financial opportunities, whether you and your spouse will be combining incomes or a non-earning spouse needs financial protection. Your financial advisor from The Beacon Group at Assante Financial Management Ltd. can help you assess your options. Additionally, marriage is an opportunity to take advantage of beneficial tax planning strategies, like income-splitting and combined or transferred tax credits.

Divorce

At the other end of the spectrum from marriage is divorce, but it’s an equally important life event in terms of the financial implication. You must cope with a reduction in financial assurances, like adjusting to a single income. Whether you are the spouse who is receiving or paying a lump sum settlement, you must make arrangements to give or receive such a large sum. Finally, it would be wise to invest in disability or critical illness insurance in case you are ever forced out of work. The team at The Beacon Group of Assante Financial Management Ltd. will assist you in developing a comprehensive financial plan that protects the future of you and your children as you navigate this stressful life circumstance.

Remarriage

If you are getting remarried and there are children involved, you will need to update insurance coverage and possibly equalize education savings. Your financial advisor can also assist you with updating your estate plans, like creating a spousal trust. A spousal trust will provide for your current spouse until death, and be dissolved as assets for the children from your first marriage thereafter.

Widowed

When your spouse passes, it may be an overwhelming and emotionally trying time. Your financial advisor can help you navigate this difficult phase by managing the proceeds from investment funds, insurance, and your spouse’s estate. You can experience a sound financial future even with this often sudden and tragic change in marital status.

In order to ensure a stable transition should you experience a change in marital status, your best practice is to prepare in advance. Your financial advisor can help prepare you for a happy and financially secure future.