A Life Well Planned - Episode 5: Legacy and Love

In the concluding episode of "A Life Well Planned," we fast forward to the year 2033 to catch up with Megan and Josh as they navigate the challenges and triumphs of their life together. With their successful coffee business, Rose Coffee Company, flourishing and their children all grown up, the couple is contemplating their legacy and ways to give back to the community that has supported them.

As Charlotte, Rory, and Megan come together for a family dinner, they discuss their plans for the future, including the possibility of selling the business or passing it down to the next generation. The episode explores the dynamics of family, business, and love as Megan and Josh reflect on their journey and ponder the legacy they want to leave behind.

Meanwhile, Megan consults with their trusted Raymond James financial advisor, Andy, to ensure their retirement plans align with their desires to support charitable causes and secure their family's financial future. The episode delves into topics such as philanthropy, estate planning, and the intricacies of transitioning a family-owned business.

Join us for this heartfelt and thought-provoking episode of "A Life Well Planned," where the past, present, and future of Megan’s and Josh's family are intertwined with financial planning, love, and the pursuit of a meaningful legacy. Tune in for valuable insights into retirement planning, estate management, and the enduring bonds of family. Listen on your preferred podcast platform and discover the power of smart and savvy financial planning for a prosperous tomorrow.

  

 

Transcript

Opening music --

Narrator: Looking to pass down some of your hard earned wealth? Just beginning to invest and looking to provide the best possible life for you and your family, but don’t know where to start? Are you looking to create a road map to your retirement? Then you’re in the right place. Welcome to “A Life Well Planned,” the Raymond James podcast that follows a family just like yours as they plan out a smart and savvy financial path to a prosperous future.

Music Transition --

Narrator: Megan and Josh first began meeting with their Raymond James financial advisor Andy all the way back in 2000. Since then, the couple has taken a once in a lifetime inheritance from Megan’s grandmother and started a family, built a business, and planned ahead for a comfortable retirement. Andy has grown from an investment advisor to portfolio manager, trusted with the discretionary money management for his clients. The last time we checked in with Megan and Josh, they were celebrating their daughter Charlotte’s acceptance into UCLA with a scholarship for basketball. Their bustling family- owned business Rose Coffee Company, named after Megan’s grandmother, has grown from one shop in a quiet neighborhood into a name coffee brand, with stores all over Canada and their own bean roasting operation that is expanding distribution by the day. Today, we take a jump into the future, all the way to the year 2033. As they’ve seen the rewards of their financial planning start to pay off, the family is looking for ways to give back...

Channels changing --

Newscaster: Global leaders today gathered in Oslo to discuss the rapidly escalating climate crisis --

Newscaster 2 Vancouver announced a new immigration policy today to ease the path of those escaping warmer climates --

Newscaster 3 Financial markets are recovering from the collapse of a chain of mid-sized banks --

Music Transition --

INT. Megan’s home

The sounds of Megan (now mid 50s), Charlotte (early 30s), Rory (late 20s) cooking dinner.

Charlotte: Wow, Rory, you might want to rethink med school and become a chef because this is delicious already.

Rory: Thank you, thank you.

Megan: Charlotte, did Sharif call you about Whole Foods?

Charlotte: Yep, it’s looking good. We’ll have those beans in there by the end of the year.

Megan: Perfect. You know, I’m so proud of you guys. I just keep thinking of grandma Rose whose parents came all the way --

Charlotte: From Scotland, who started her own grocery store, we know the story.

Rory: You’re getting mushy in your old age, mom. You were never mushy.

Megan: Excuse me, old age?? I have many, many years ahead. You’re not getting that inheritance money yet! But seriously, I’m just proud is all!

Charlotte: I am too. I mean, it’s all because of you though. You and dad.

Megan: How is your dad?

Charlotte: He’s good.

Megan: Is he... is he seeing anyone?

Charlotte: I know you want the hot gossip but I really don’t know. Are you seeing anyone?

Rory: Yeah, what about that guy, Doug?

Charlotte: Ugh, Doug, the go kart king of British Columbia.

Rory: We really didn’t like Doug, if you can’t tell.

Megan: You made that very clear. I didn’t like Doug either, but sometimes it’s just hard to find someone....

Rory: Tell me about it.

Charlotte: Oh hey, I was thinking, remember that tree planting we did a few years ago?

Rory: Oh yeah, that was so fun. How did we even get into that?

Megan: Andy! Andy and his family are members of the Tree Planter Foundation. That’s what inspired us to set up our charity program for our employees. Andy helped us set that up. Great tax deduction.

Charlotte: I was thinking, what if we made our own foundation?

Megan: A foundation?

Charlotte: Yeah, a non-profit. It could be a way to give back. It could be something like, helping women start businesses.

Megan: Hmm...

Charlotte: We could help them find loans and investors. Give them advice. Expand on the things you talked about in your TED Talk.

Megan: You know they’ve asked me to do another one?

Charlotte: See?

Megan: I have been thinking it’s time to give back though. Maybe I’ll give Andy a call.

Charlotte: Hey, maybe you could date Andy. You do love a man who gives sound, reasonable advice.

Rory: Seems like you also love talking about dad, though.

Megan: What’s that supposed to mean?

Charlotte: Yeah, seems like you might have a crush on him or something.

Megan: Psssh... No!

Charlotte: Okay, okay! You know, I might be able to set you up, I hear he’s single.

Rory: And rich.

Megan: You know I’ve also been meaning to talk to Andy about my will, there’s still plenty of time to change it...

Charlotte: Not funny!

Music Transition --

INT. Andy’s office

Andy: Megan! Good to see you!

Megan: You too, Andy.

Andy: How’s things?

Megan: Busy as always.

Andy: I’m sure, after that viral TED Talk. I showed everyone that, got to brag about you even more.

Megan: Well, thank you Andy.

Andy: So what brings you in?

Megan: Well, I was talking with my kids and I think we’d like to do something to give back. Something like starting a foundation to help women led small businesses. I guess we’re really starting to think about our legacy, and what we want to leave behind.

Andy: Well you’ll certainly leave behind a booming business. But that’s a great idea! And you know how I feel about charitable giving.

Megan: I know, that’s why I thought you’d be the perfect person to ask. So how would we go about doing that?

Andy: Well let’s figure out what your goals are.

Megan: Well once we - I mean I retire I’d like to be able to keep doing charitable works even once the company is sold.

Andy: Great. I think the first steps are to set up a Donor Advised Fund. That’s basically a way to donate to any charity of your choosing. You can set one up for your own personal philanthropy, or you can set one up for the company. Right. You are sitting with some unrealized capital gains in some of your non-registered portfolios. And because we have a comprehensive portfolio in the framework, we’ve got the US accounts, the Canadian dollar accounts, and we hold respective country securities in each of those accounts, we could consider donating some of those unrealized gains to a donor advised fund. You would get the tax receipt today and 5 years to carry it forward, so you’d have an opportunity to be able to stagger and reduce your income over time. Charitable giving has a lot of different rules, but one of the things it does consider is if by donating the stock into a donor advised fund, I would still manage the money.

Megan: Well, that’s a relief.

Andy: You could then get your family or employees together and decide in a giving meeting on how you want to give the money away. I always tell people it's a great engagement tool for employees, and even a greater engagement tool for families. The family is one of the strongest connectors for intergenerational wealth.

Megan: And gives us a chance to remember where we started and figure out where we’re going.

Andy: Exactly.

Megan: Well that’s all great advice! I also wanted to talk to you about the will. You know, we’re not getting any younger. What’s the current state of our RRSP? I know we’ve planned ahead but maybe we can plan a little further out, just to make sure the grandkids are secure.

Andy: You had me at early planning. Also, grandkids? Did I miss an announcement?

Megan: Oh, no, not yet. But we think Charlotte’s going to marry her boyfriend Dave.

Andy: Do we like Dave?

Megan: Dave’s fine. No ambition, between you and me.

Andy: Ugh, Dave. She can do so much better.

Megan: I know!

Andy: Well I know we’ve talked about the three stages of retirement.

Megan: Refresh my memory.

Andy: There's the early retirement where you go and travel, and you have a lot of exciting fun.

Megan: Very much looking forward to the exciting fun.

Andy: There's retirement where you're staying at home, and you're really nurturing and enjoying your family. And then there's a late stage of environment where you may have some kind of incapacity.

Megan: Not looking forward to that as much.

Andy: You’ve got a great investment portfolio for all three stages, we just need to do a little bit more management to make sure that everything’s in place.

Megan: I did have that breast cancer scare back in ‘24, you never know what could happen. It was a good thing we were able to tap into that disability insurance and use that money to actually pay to have somebody come in and help out.

Andy: That’s right.

Megan: A lot to think about, as always Andy. Oh, one more question, kind of a big one actually. In the next few years we’re going to need to decide if we want to sell the business or give it to the kids... Is there anything we should be thinking about in particular?

Andy: I was wondering if selling might be on the horizon.

Megan: Well, Charlotte has been working with us the past few years and would be great. We would love to keep it in the family but I’m not sure if she wants it, and we don’t want to push her. And Rory’s going to be a doctor, so...

Andy: Well the real estate you own and all those assets will certainly be in the holding company.

Megan: It was a good idea to keep that separate from the operating company.

Andy: Yep. Do you think you would want to sell them both companies?

Megan: I’m not sure. Charlotte did have some real estate experience when she was buying her home.

Andy: That was the home savings account when that started in, what, 2023?

Megan: Right. We helped her save $8,000 into that FHSA every year. That was really transformative. She was able to turn $40,000 into $60,000. Also, thank God you advised her to sign that cohabitation agreement with Jeremy.

Andy: It can be a little awkward but always a good idea. So from a transition perspective, you can sell the company to Charlotte and it would be a private sale. You could also take advantage of the Canadian small business tax credit, so there’s a little tax planning we can do.

Megan: You know I’ve strangely started to enjoy that part.

Andy: You have no idea how happy that makes me to hear. We’d have to get the lawyers involved on how to best start that process. Generally speaking, most people take one or two years to prepare their business for sale. There’s a lot of different strategies we can employ. You know, I have a business evaluator that I work with who can figure out the most favorable way to sell to the kids, if that’s what ends up happening.

Megan: That’s why we call you the mayor. Okay we’re going to have to have a serious conversation with the kids about this soon. God, maybe after that I can finally take a vacation.

Andy: Denise and I took our first vacation without kids in years.

Megan: Was it amazing?

Andy: Incredible. So, can I ask how Josh feels about selling?

Megan: I think we’re on the same page. It’s been awhile since we’ve spoken about it. Or spoken in general. We mostly just see each other at board meetings.

Andy: Nothing like running into your ex at a board meeting.

Megan: Tell me about it.

Andy: I only ask this because it’s relevant to my job...

Megan: Of course. Are you going to ask if we’re planning on getting divorced?

Andy: I was.

Megan: I just don’t know. A year or so ago I would have said yes, but now... And obviously I know financially it wouldn’t be easy.

Andy: It would be complex, for sure, I won’t lie... You know, this part is probably none of my business.

Megan: Oh Andy, it’s been 33 years, you’re a part of the family!

Andy: That makes me so happy to hear. Well I was just going to say that my wife and I were separated also and eventually got back together.

Megan: Really? I would not have guessed.

Andy: Yeah. We just realized we were each other’s person.

Megan: That’s so sweet.

Andy: Yep. So, who knows!

Megan: A lot to think about, as always Andy. Thanks so much. I’m sure I’ll be calling again soon.

INT. Megan’s home.

A phone rings.

Megan: Hi, Josh? Is now a good time?

Josh: Meg! Yeah, sure, hey! I mean... Hey.

Megan: You’re not busy?

Josh: No, I’m not busy. I just got back from the warehouse. Wanted to make sure we’re going to be able to follow through on Whole Foods.

Megan: How’s it all going?

Josh: Oh, insane as usual. Exciting, though!

Megan: Yes, it is.

Josh: So what’s up?

Megan: Well, I wanted to talk to you about some things. Mainly about selling. Do you think Big Time Coffee is still interested?

Josh: I think they’ve still got their feelers out... I guess it’s time we need to talk to Charlotte about seriously taking it over. I’d much rather her take it than sell to those Big Time creeps.

Megan: Me too. I just don’t want to pressure her.

Josh: Yeah. I learned my lesson the hard way with Rory.

Megan: You just wanted the best for him.

Josh: Thanks, that’s what my therapist says too.

Megan: You’re in therapy?

Josh: Yeah.

Megan: Well, took you long enough. Kidding, kidding. That’s great though. Well, would you like to maybe get dinner sometime and talk things over?

Josh: Yeah... Yeah I would like to get dinner.

Megan: Great.

Josh: Great.

Music transition --

Narrator: Join us next time for the final episode of A Life Well-Planned! Will Charlotte want to take over the family business or will they sell? Will Megan and Josh rekindle their romance? And will they have enough to retire comfortably while being able to pass on their wealth to their family and to the community? Find out next time, on “A Life Well-Planned,” wherever you get your favorite podcasts!

End

About Raymond James

Raymond James Ltd. is regulated by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and is a Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. 3Macs, MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier and Raymond James Correspondent Services are divisions of Raymond James Ltd. Raymond James Ltd. is an integrated financial services firm. Its subsidiaries, Raymond James Investment Counsel Ltd., Raymond James Financial Planning Ltd., Raymond James (USA) Ltd., Solus Trust Company and Raymond James Trust (Québec) Ltd. are not regulated by CIRO and are not Members of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Please consult each subsidiary’s webpages for applicable corporate, regulatory or membership information.

© 2023 Raymond James Ltd. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only. Statistics and factual data and other information are from sources Raymond James Ltd. believes to be reliable, but their accuracy cannot be guaranteed. Information is furnished on the basis and understanding that Raymond James Ltd. is to be under no liability whatsoever in respect thereof.

It is provided as a general source of information and should not be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of any product and should not be considered tax advice. Raymond James Ltd. advisors are not tax advisors and we recommend that clients seek independent advice from a professional advisor on tax-related matters.

Securities-related products and services are offered through Raymond James Ltd. member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund. Insurance products and services are offered through Raymond James Financial Planning Limited, which is not a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund.

Certain services mentioned in this series such as mortgages are not offered by Raymond James Ltd. due to Regulatory restrictions and are provided for information purposes only.

Inspired by true events.