Cardinal Point Highlights Post-Mortem Tax Planning Strategies for Canadian Business Owners
New resource examines how planning in advance can help address potential double taxation, estate liquidity, and
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TORONTO, Ontario, Sept. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cardinal Point Wealth Management has published a new resource examining an often-overlooked challenge facing Canadian business owners and their families: the potential for the same underlying corporate value to effectively be taxed twice following the owner’s death.
When a Canadian business owner dies holding shares of a private corporation, Canadian tax rules generally trigger a deemed disposition of those shares at fair market value, potentially resulting in a significant capital gain on the owner’s final tax return. A second layer of tax may arise when corporate assets are subsequently distributed to the estate or beneficiaries.
Cardinal Point’s new resource on Post-Mortem Tax Planning explores strategies that may help reduce this duplication, including estate capital loss carrybacks (commonly referred to as step-up planning), pipeline transactions, and hybrid approaches.
“Post-mortem planning is about more than addressing a tax liability after someone dies,” said Kris Rossignoli, a Senior Private Wealth Manager at Cardinal Point Wealth Management. “The decisions made before and shortly after death can affect estate liquidity, business continuity, and how efficiently wealth ultimately passes to the next generation.”
The appropriate strategy depends on several factors, including the corporation’s structure and assets, the estate’s liquidity requirements, succession plans, and the family’s long-term objectives. Certain strategies also involve specific elections and timing requirements, making advance coordination particularly important.
For this reason, post-mortem planning is most effective when considered as part of broader Wealth Planning, alongside estate planning, corporate structuring, business succession, and insurance planning. Corporate-owned life insurance, for example, can provide liquidity to help fund tax liabilities or support business continuity, but it should be coordinated carefully with the overall post-mortem strategy.
For Canadian entrepreneurs, executives and families with significant private-company interests, these considerations may also form part of a broader Canadian Private Wealth Management strategy designed to coordinate investment, tax, estate, insurance, and succession planning.
The full article, Post-Mortem Tax Planning for Canadian Business Owners, provides examples illustrating how step-up, pipeline, and hybrid strategies can work and identifies common planning mistakes that may limit the options available to an estate.
About Cardinal Point Wealth Management
Cardinal Point Wealth Management is a cross-border financial advisory firm specializing in integrated planning for individuals and families with ties to both Canada and the United States. The firm provides comprehensive wealth management services, including investment management, retirement planning, and cross-border tax strategies. With deep expertise in Canada U.S. tax planning, Canada U.S. financial planning, and guidance from an experienced Canada U.S. financial advisor, Cardinal Point helps clients navigate the complexities of living and investing across borders with clarity and confidence.
Disclaimer: This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies (including product offerings, regulatory plans and business plans) and may change without notice. You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.
Media Contact
Company Name: Cardinal Point Wealth Management, ULC
Contact Person: Kris Rossignoli, Senior Private Wealth Manager
Email: info@cardinalpointwealth.com
Country: USA
Website: www.cardinalpointwealth.com
Media Contact Company Name: Cardinal Point Wealth Management, ULC Contact Person: Kris Rossignoli, Senior Private Wealth Manager Email: info@cardinalpointwealth.com Country: USA Website: www.cardinalpointwealth.com
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