Protecting What You've Built: The Coordination Strategy Most Business Owners Miss

You've spent years building your business. But is your wealth protection strategy actually protecting what you've built—or are there gaps you haven't considered?

By Laura Fitzsimons

"I have a will—my estate plan is done."

It's a common assumption among business owners. And it's understandable—a will feels like the cornerstone of estate planning. But for those with corporate assets, a will alone may leave significant gaps in your wealth protection strategy. Gaps that only become apparent when it's too late to fix them.

The Coordination Problem

Here's what many don't realize: your will governs personal assets, but insurance beneficiary designations, corporate structures, and shareholder agreements each operate independently—according to their own rules.

These documents were likely created at different times, by different advisors, for different purposes. Unless someone has deliberately coordinated them, they may not work together the way you assume.

When these pieces are misaligned, the consequences fall on the people you were trying to protect.

Questions Worth Considering for Your Will

Do your insurance beneficiary designations align with your will? Life insurance proceeds pass outside your estate—directly to named beneficiaries, bypassing probate entirely. If those designations are outdated or misaligned with your current wishes, your will can't override them. We've seen situations where this single oversight redirected hundreds of thousands of dollars away from the intended beneficiaries.

• Is there liquidity to cover the deemed disposition? At death, CRA treats all capital property as sold at fair market value—triggering capital gains tax that can reach 25% or more of your corporate wealth. Your will may clearly specify who inherits your business, but without proper funding in place, your heirs may be forced to sell assets at fire-sale prices just to pay the tax bill. The business you spent decades building—liquidated in months.

  
  

• Does your buy-sell agreement match your succession plan? Shareholder agreements often include insurance-funded buyout provisions. But if the coverage hasn't kept pace with your business value, the agreement may be impossible to execute when it matters most. Your partners may have the obligation to buy—but not the means.

  
  

• Has your corporate structure changed since your plan was put in place? A holding company, an estate freeze, new shareholders, a corporate reorganization—each of these can affect how insurance benefits flow and whether your existing arrangements still accomplish what you intended.

  
  

• When did you last review all the pieces together? Wills, insurance, corporate structures, and shareholder agreements need to work as a coordinated system. Reviewing them in isolation—which is how most reviews happen—often misses the gaps that cost families the most.

Why These Gaps Persist

Most business owners work with capable professionals—a lawyer, an accountant, a financial advisor. Each is excellent at their specialty. But coordinating across all these areas? That often falls through the cracks.

Your lawyer assumes the insurance is properly structured. Your accountant assumes the legal documents are current. Everyone assumes someone else is looking at the big picture.

These aren't issues a generalist advisor will typically surface. Identifying them requires someone who understands how insurance, tax, corporate structures, and estate planning intersect—and who reviews all the pieces together.

A Second Opinion May Be Worth Your Time

If any of these questions give you pause—or if you're simply unsure of the answers—a specialist review may be worthwhile.

Not to redo everything. Just to verify that what's in place still works the way you think it does.

Most of our clients are referred to us by their accountants, lawyers, and financial advisors—professionals who recognize the value of specialized expertise in this area. We work as part of your existing advisory team, not as a replacement for it.

The peace of mind that comes from knowing your affairs are properly coordinated—that your wealth protection strategy actually protects your wealth—is worth the conversation.

Next Steps

For more information or to schedule a personalized consultation, contact:

Laura Fitzsimons ︱ 416-792-2333 ︱ laura@lifecyclewealth.com

This publication contains the opinion of the writer. The information contained herein was obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by the writer, Mandeville or any other person as to its accuracy, completeness or correctness. This publication is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. The information in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute investment, financial, legal, tax or accounting advice. Many factors unknown to us may affect the applicability of any statement or comment made in this publication to your particular circumstances. Hence, you should not rely on the information in this publication for investment, financial, legal tax or accounting advice. You should consult your financial advisor or other professionals before acting on any information in this communication.