Fraser Valley Estate PLanning Council

Blake Bromley, Benefic Lawyers

Fraser Valley Estate PLanning Council

Upcoming Events

  • Estate Administration Tax Issues 101
    19 Nov 24

    We’re excited to welcome you to our November dinner event featuring our own Bernice Kristoff-Trowell, Avisar and Kiran Dhesa, RBS Law.

    Presentation Overview: This session will provide estate planning professionals with an overview of post-death tax considerations from a legal and accounting perspective. Attendees will gain the tools to help clients organize their affairs for smoother estate administration and empower executors to make informed decisions with confidence.

    Speakers: Kiran Dhesa, RBS Law and Bernice Kristoff-Trowell, Avisar

    Kiran Dhesa is a lawyer with Richards Buell Sutton. Her practice is primarily focused on estate planning and estate administration. Kiran helps clients achieve their estate planning goals through the use of Wills, Codicils, Testamentary Trusts, Deeds of Gift, and bare Trust Agreements. She develops plans that will protect clients in the event of incapacity for financial, health, and personal decision making.

    Bernice Kristoff-Trowell CPA, CMA, TEPManager, Avisar Chartered Professional Accountants

    With over 29 years in accounting, Bernice has built a career grounded in expertise and empathy. As a Manager at Avisar in Langley, Bernice transitioned her private enterprise accounting and tax focus to estate administration in 2021. She is passionate about helping clients navigate the complexities of estate-related tax matters, driven by a deep compassion for those dealing with sensitive financial issues. Bernice’s dedication ensures that clients not only understand their options but feel supported throughout the process.

    Event sponsored by: RICHARDS BUELL SUTTON LLP

    TO RSVP: Register via EventBrite 

    Time: 5:30-8:00 PM

    Location: Sandman Signature Langley Hotel, 8828 201 Street Langley Township, BC V2Y 0C8

    Business Transitions to the Next Generation
    21 Jan 25

    We’re excited to welcome you to our January dinner event featuring Julia Chung, Steve Carreiro and Dawn Schooler.

    To RSVP, please register via Eventbrite

    Location: Sandman Signature Langley Hotel, 8828 201 Street Langley Township, BC V2Y 0C8

    Date and Time: Tuesday, January 21, 2025 – 5:30-8:00pm

    Speaker Bios

    Julia Chung, CEO and co-founder of Spring Planning, an advice-only financial planning firm, specializes in personal finance, multi-generational wealth, legacy, and succession planning. As co-author, she contributed to the ebooks “Women & Money,” “The Art of Delegation,” and “The Entrepreneur’s Survival Guide.” Julia is a Board Director at Family Enterprise Canada, Chair of the FEA Council, and co-founder and Board Chair of the Financial Planning Association of Canada.

    Dawn Schooler, MA, DBA, FEA, RCC
    With more than 30 years of experience as a coach, counsellor, facilitator, and teacher, Dawn is also a business owner who became focused on the unique challenges of Family Enterprise about a decade ago. Dawn’s background in Business, Counselling, and Psychology allows her to quickly understand the dynamics within systems and facilitate meaningful discussion and solutions for individual members of business and ownership groups, as well as the whole family. Her willingness to engage in difficult conversations creates a safe atmosphere in which to confront issues often arising in families who are in business together. With a natural inclination to engage in ways not commonly seen in traditional counselling settings, Dawn is continually humbled by every invitation into the inner workings of families who desire deeper reflection and connection in their work and their lives. She has recently completed research for her doctoral dissertation on “The role of gender across leadership, transition, and succession processes of Family-Owned Business in Canada” at Royal Roads University in Victoria, BC.

    Steve Carreiro, CPA is a Partner and leader of the KPMG Enterprise Tax practice in the GVA. He has more than 27 years of experience with the firm. He works exclusively with private businesses providing them with one-on-one personalized service addressing the financial, tax, business and compliance issues those private companies face.

    Steve advises many large private corporations and their shareholders on a broad range of taxation and business matters including corporate reorganizations, business and financing structures, disposition and acquisition transactions, estate and succession planning and employee/shareholder compensation.

    Steve is also the leader of the KPMG Family Office in the GVA and works closely with private businesses and their families to become their trusted advisor, and bring the depth and breadth of KPMG’s resources to them in order to address their concerns, risks and opportunities with the commitment of adding value every step of the way.

    Steve has successfully completed the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising the Family Business. This qualification is subject to the rigorous quality assurance procedures of Alliance Manchester Business School (Alliance MBS), a school of the University of Manchester.

    Presentation Synopsis

    As demographics shift in Canada, businesses are starting to change hands. Next generation family members need to be prepared for their new roles, and senior generation family members need to be prepared for the next stage in their lives. What might otherwise be a purely technical transaction becomes much more complex in a family. In this presentation, you’ll find out how family dynamics impact the approach advisors can take in supporting families through these transitions, and the steps you can take to help ensure both family and financial success.

    EVENT SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE! Email moc.c1731262443pevf@1731262443rotan1731262443idroo1731262443c1731262443 to reserve this exclusive sponsorship.

    How Does Life Insurance Fit Within Corporate Planning?
    11 Mar 25

    We’re excited to welcome you to our March dinner event featuring Brad Hyde. More details to follow!

    To RSVP, please register via Eventbrite

    Date and Time: Tuesday, March 11, 2025 · 5:30 – 8pm PDT

    Location: Sandman Signature Langley Hotel, 8828 201 Street Langley Township, BC V2Y 0C8

    Speaker: Brad Hyde BBA, CLU, CHS, EPC

    Director, Tax and Estate Planning, Western Canada
    IDC Worldsource Insurance Network Inc.

    Presentation: Understanding where Life Insurance fits in Corporate Planning

    Life Insurance is an extremely valuable asset of the corporation when applied correctly. You will have a better understanding of some of the ways clients are effectively using life insurance to minimize passive investment taxes as well as strategies to eliminate personal capital gains on shares owned in their private corporations. We will explore a few technical aspects of life insurance and then dive into some case studies to illustrate how it all ties together.

    EVENT SPONSORSHIP AVAILABLE! Email moc.c1731262443pevf@1731262443rotan1731262443idroo1731262443c1731262443 for more information.

Fraser Valley Estate PLanning Council

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