Special Report DAC 2009: Transitioning Wealth with Substitute Decision-Makers

	" People are getting older, and many will lose legal capacity. Make sure all of your clientsí- and their parentsí planning documents are in place. You will expand your market and grow your book - and make your clientsí lives much easier - by making this part of your regular client process."   David Christianson, speaking at the 2009 Distinguished Advisor Conference in Tucson, Arizona

The Need:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com🏢office" />

The majority of advisorsí clients are boomers, whose parents are aging.  As well, many advisors have a clientele made up increasingly of older, retired people for whom estate planning issues are becoming more and more important.

The passing of an expected trillion dollars of estate assets over the next 20 years has been well documented.  What has been largely ignored, however, are the issues of incapacity and diminished capacity planning.  Few advisors have either a plan or experience in dealing with substitute decision makers (SDMs), and these parties ñ family members acting as attorneys or committees ñ may be similarly unprepared for their tasks.  They need the leadership and the help of advisors who are properly trained and prepared.

Two million Canadians are caring for older relatives and by 2031, one in four Canadians will be over the age of 65.

The Risk:

Failure to prepare properly for the incapacity of clients can have the following negative effects: