Cross Border Financial Planning

You may have found us on your journey in demystifying "Cross Border" financial planning.

If so, read on!

Andrea's Story

I used to work on a cross border wealth management team, which had a traditional AUM-based fee structure. Often, Vikki and I would have prospective clients come to us to ask for our advice on many elements of their cross border financial planning, but they either did not meet our asset minimums, or they were not looking for an investment manager.

I thought, who is going to help these people? There is truly almost no service out there to assist anyone with these questions, most of which I can answer or assist with. I just don't have a way to offer them this service under the AUM structure.

From this need, Modern Cents evolved.

What is included in "Cross Border Financial Planning"?

Good question! Often, we have a wide variety of clients interested in our services, but who are unclear as to what

'cross border financial planning' truly means.

Here is a taste of what we do!

✅Investment planning for US taxfilers residing in Canada (think tax traps, DIY investor do's and don'ts, where to invest to get the right tax reporting, where not to invest, potential tax reporting obligations)

✅Retirement decumulation planning for Canadian residents with US assets, pensions and potentially citizenship/tax filing requirements in both countries

✅Integration of US domiciled accounts into a Canadian financial picture (what must stay in the US, what can move, how can it move, potential tax consequences)

✅Discussions on gifting - either to or as a US citizen / resident

✅Identification of red flags for estate planning issues and how to find the right estate planning options / legal requirements

✅Coordination with cross border CPAs and assistance with finding clients a new CPA

✅Ongoing planning support for US citizen clients who are DIY investors in Canada

✅Principal residence purchases - what accounts are appropriate, which may cause issues, and future tax consequences on sale (depending on ownership structure

✅Discuss access to Canadian debt as a new resident to Canada

Here is what we DON'T do..

🚫Work with non-residents of Canada, even if they are Canadian citizens (if you are a US resident, please refer to our cross border planning colleagues in the US, Retire Mtten)

🚫Manage investment portfolios for anyone

🚫Give advice on whether or not to relinquish US citizenship

🚫File US tax returns

🚫Give specific investment securities advice

🚫Determine someone's domicile or tax residency

🚫Assist with establishing permanent residency

Services Available

We assist cross border clients in a number of ways. You can explore our service options, such as:

Ad-hoc consultations - ideal for those with just a few questions that can be answered virtually

Modular or retirement financial planning - planning done project-style for those who have one or two specific pain points that they would like to focus on, such as retirement planning, investment planning, gifting, etc.

Comprehensive Financial Planning - establish your footing across all disciplines of financial planning and work with us to establish a full, complete financial plan. This is an engagement done over the course of a year and also focuses on building a relationship with your planner.

For clients who engage with modular or comprehensive financial planning, ongoing service models are also available at your discretion.