ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
-- Taxman, The Beatles
In this second episode in our Wealthhard series, Brian speaks with Matthew Getzler, Partner and Co-Chair of the Private Client Services & Tax groups at Torkin Manes, about the practical tax opportunities still available to high-net-worth families and private business owners.
Matt picks up where Jessica Feldman Chittley left off in You Need a Will (our last podcast episode), and walks through will-related tax tools: avoiding loss of the spousal rollover, probate planning and using wills as succession vehicles, plus U.S. estate-tax traps. He then moves to active tax planning: estate freezes and refreezes, prescribed-rate loan strategies, and the pragmatic use of Canadian corporations to manage U.S.-situs exposure and defer tax. Along the way he explains the mechanics, the admin rules that can kill a plan, cross-border pitfalls, and real client examples so listeners understand when a strategy makes sense, and when it doesn’t.
Practical, technical and actionable, this episode is for families and advisers who want to keep more of what they build while avoiding common implementation mistakes.
Timestamps:
00:00:00 — Intro & Legal Disclaimer
00:03:54 — Guest Intro / Matthew Getzler
00:07:45 — Dying Intestate & Spousal Rollover
00:11:41 — Spousal Trusts & Control
00:14:01 — Probate & Probate-Planning
00:18:56 — Joint Ownership & Adding Children
00:21:41 — Succession for Business Owners
00:27:13 — Estate Freeze: The Basics
00:32:03 — When an Estate Freeze Makes Sense
00:35:15 — Control, Voting Shares & Practical Mechanics
00:38:32 — Wills & U.S. Estate-Tax Issues
00:41:34 — U.S. Estate Tax Overview & Stakes
00:44:16 — Trust-Based Solutions & Cross-Border Structuring
00:49:56 — Using Canadian Corporations to Protect US-Situs Investments
00:51:16 — Prescribed-Rate Loan Planning
01:00:01 — Investment Limits & “Kiddie Tax” / TOSI Risks
01:01:59 — Common Pitfalls & Implementation Risks
01:06:17 — Closing / The “Unlimited” Question
01:08:21 — Outro
