By Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Once a family is approved for the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), the real planning work begins. Finding somewhere to hold savings without jeopardizing benefits is rarely the hard part. The harder part is finding the means to fund that wealth accumulation to begin with, so it is important to make every effort count. Well-intentioned support from family may solve a cash flow problem in the moment but can have seri

By Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner The Canada disability benefit and the child disability benefit both require the disability tax credit. The first is a monthly amount for working-age adults, tested on family income. The second rides along with the child benefit for a child who qualifies, and it arrives without a separate application once the DTC is approved. The Registered Disability Savings Plan is a registered account focused on long-term wealth accumulat

By Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Introduction The T1 return is not one calculation. It is a sequence of them. Income gets added up, deductions come off, tax is figured on what is left, and then credits discount the tax owing on that income. The order never changes, and the order is the whole point. Two words come up constantly in that sequence, and folks use them as though they mean the same thing. They do not. A deduction reduces the amount of income you

By Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Income taxes in Canada started as a temporary measure to help pay for the First World War. It seems the term “temporary” was used quite loosely, and we now find ourselves navigating a rather complex system. As is common in many developed countries, Canada uses a self-assessment system, which means the responsibility to report the income and calculate the tax sits with the taxpayer, not the government. That sets up a perpetu

By Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner There is a whole layer of credits and deductions available to a person living with a disability and to the people supporting them, and almost all of it must be asked for. None of it arrives on its own. This discussion is focused on the tax return and is meant as an introduction to know that a thing exists. Not to list all the eligibility criteria, planning considerations, and admin processing of the thing. The Federal Disab

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, CEA Do you have concerns about leaving large amounts of money to someone only to have it affect their existing benefit programs? A Henson Trust is a way for families to leave money or property for a loved one with a disability without accidentally causing them to lose important government benefits. It is often used by parents, grandparents, or other relatives who want to make sure a beneficiary is cared for after they are gone, and ce

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Introduction What would life look like if you suddenly lost $2,700,000? That number is based on a simple idea. National average salary in Canada is about $67,700 a year. Over a 40-year working life, that adds up to roughly $2.7 million of income. For many families, their future earning power is one of the biggest financial assets they will ever have. Living benefits are designed to help protect that asset while you are aliv

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Introduction The K&A Pathfinder Program is built around a simple concept: When life goes into transition, money goes into motion, and planning for those transitions is important for so many reasons beyond the scope of this discussion. Your first job, first home, children, career changes, retirement, aging parents, and estate transitions all require foresight and preparation, along life’s journey. Living with a disability doe

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, CEA The idea of buying a first home can be, well, overwhelming to say the least. The financial commitment, the legal jargon, and the overall lifestyle change of home ownership can make people second guess their decision to buy. For many achieving the down-payment required and the thought of having a debt so large leaves a feeling of being out of reach. This paper is written for those people who have a basic desire to own their first h

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI, CEA Keill & Associate- Senior Wealth Advisor/ Portfolio Manager When people talk about the economy, they often imagine one big trend line- either green in colour and slopping upwards displaying better times or they view a red line sloping downwards showing things getting worse. In reality, economic recoveries don’t always move in one direction for every one. That’s where the idea of a “K-shaped economy” comes in. “The rich get richer

by: Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA,FCSI, CEA Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Advisor Introduction As I wrote in Part 1 of this 2-part paper- many things have changed over the years, but some things remain the same. We all still want to buy a home, educate our children, pay off debt, and retire comfortably. The concept of retirement is a fact of converting our cashflow from ‘man at work’ to ‘money at work’. For many this change is a change in their identity, their daily a

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Post-secondary education is getting more expensive, and the workforce is much more competitive. Additionally, the ever-increasing cost of living is stretching existing budgets paper thin and forcing post-secondary education further out of reach for many families. To incentivize early education planning and savings, the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is designed specifically to assist with saving for post-secondary

by Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA, FCSI Keill & Associate- Senior Wealth Advisor/ Portfolio Manager If your goal is to live forever, congratulations, so far so good. Of course, it goes without saying if history is any indication: the wheels are going to fall off your forever buggy and you are going to die. This is the truth and as the saying goes, you can't avoid two things: death and taxes. This Serious Money Paper will look at the essence and the benefits of having a well

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner RDSP - Special Circumstances While we originally provided a Serious Money Paper illustrating Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) basics, this Paper is designed to build off the original and provide answers to some specific questions that tend to come up quite regularly with RDSPs. There is a lot of conflicting information surrounding the RDSP. Some of the conflict is from well intended, but ill-advised folks. However,

by: Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA,FCSI Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Advisor As children, we would search for answers using the Magic Eight Ball. Of course, that is a foolish method for adults to seek answers, as it arbitrarily guides the user without reason, compassion, or purpose. Trusting what President Donald Trump says is much the same, as the answer you get one day will be different from the next. You don’t really know which answer he gives will be the truth, an

By Jeffery A. Keill CFP,CIM,FMA,FCSI, Senior Wealth Advisor and Portfolio Manager- Keill and Associate Advisory Team How often our Wealth Advisory Team have conversations with clients around this confusing topic. The ability to manage ones affairs with autonomy weighs heavily on many Canadians. This is sometimes at odds with the fear of incapacitation of the physical limitations on taking care of daily banking needs. Reasons to consider these tools can be many but most often

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD,CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Going back through history, when misfortune struck a family, it was common for others in the community to collectively aid in an effort to manage through a crisis. Through time, it became evident that when the degree of risk could be estimated, it was possible to share the risk of economic loss. Starting in the 1500's, experts have continued to collect and analyze data to develop more effective tables of mortality. As mortali

by Geoff Sgarbossa, CD, CFP, RIS, Financial Planner Why Seek Professional Advice? I’m too embarrassed with the state of my finances. I don’t have any money to invest. Every time I talk to my advisor, I’m committing to another payment of some sort. I’ve heard of all sorts of scams out there and I don’t know who I can trust. I only work with a fee-for-service, or fee-only-advisor to avoid biases. I prefer to do it myself. Fees are too high. What do all these comments have in c

by: Jeffery A. Keill, CFP, CIM, FMA,FCSI, Portfolio Manager and Senior Wealth Advisor With the stroke of a Sharpie- turmoil. President Trump recently signed the Executive Order to initiate tariffs on several countries. Then within days both Canada and Mexico successfully negotiated a delay in their implementation. This has caused some panic and far reaching reactions globally. Though the opportunity is often there to do so, we seldom feel compelled to address economic short-

by Stacey Knechtel, Professional Organizer Quitter’s day. What is that you may ask? It’s a day marked on our national calendar that falls on the second Friday of January, it’s the day most people have already quit on their New Year’s Resolutions. Did you make resolutions this year? Perhaps you set out to be more organized and less overwhelmed in 2026? Well if you did you are not alone. Being disorganized makes everything harder! Your work day. Your home life. Your personal re