Preface – Peter J. Merrick
Introduction – Peter J. Merrick

BOOK I – The T.A.S.K – The Trusted Advisor’s Success Kit

Part I: The Call of the Trusted Advisor
Chapter 1: The Trusted Advisor’s Challenge – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 2: Defining the Role of the Generalist – Greg Paske
Chapter 3: Generalists and Specialists: Unravelling the Mystery – Fred Nickols
Chapter 4: What Makes the 21st Century Trusted Advisor Successful? – Norm Trainor, Herb Koplowitz
Chapter 5: The “Fee-Only” Approach: The Cutting Edge in the United States – How U.S. Advisors Prosper Outside of Wall St. by Putting Clients First – Christopher P. Van Slyke
Chapter 6: Let’s Talk About Your Evolution – Greg Pashke
Chapter 7: Beyond the Financials – From Product to People – Gilles Marceau
Chapter 8: The Mind, Method and Manner of Leadership – G. Scott Bowman
Chapter 9: The Generation Gap – Mentorship is The Answer – Peter J. Merrick

Part II: The Trusted Advisor’s Unique Value Proposition
Chapter 10: Collaboration and Building Sustainable Communities of Practice: When 1+1=11 or More – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 11: The Magic of Engagement – John Page, Matthew Asser
Chapter 12: Defining Your Message in the New Medium – Shay Schwartzman
Chapter 13: The “Write” Way to Defy Gravity and Move Your Financial Consulting Practice to the Top – David Leonhardt
Chapter 14: Broadcast Views: How to Shine in the Media Spotlight – Parminder Parmar
Chapter 15: Does Your Internet Presence Draw the Right Attention – Jon Stancer
Chapter 16: Tapping into the power of relationships: The evolution of business/consumer interaction in social media – Lisa Cintron
Chapter 17: Delivering Effective Seminars – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 18: Dealing with Possible Objections and How to Present the ICE Solution! – Peter J. Merrick

BOOK II – The T.A.G.S – The Trusted Advisor’s Guide to Solutions

Part I: Wealth Preservation and Succession Planning
Chapter 19: Assembling a Multidisciplinary Team for Business Succession Planning – Richard Jackim
Chapter 20: The Most Elusive Prize of All — $10 Trillion – Thomas Deans
Chapter 21: Succeeding at Succession: The Exit Planning Specialist – Peter J. Merrick, James Sbrolla, Charles Stanley, Lynn Mason
Chapter 22: Help Your Clients Unlock up to 74% of Their Business Value or Watch Them Lose It – Harish Chauhan
Chapter 23: The Nuts and Bolts of an Estate Freeze — Key Considerations – Corina Weigl
Chapter 24: Shareholder Agreements — Stuart Bollefer, Cecilia M. Moffat, David Malach
Chapter 25: Business Exit Planning and Preparations — Critical Legal Considerations – Jordan Dolgin
Chapter 26: Family Business Succession Planning — How to Be More Than a Tactical Practitioner – Grant C. Robinson
Chapter 27: The Importance and Role of Business Valuations and Exit Planning – Jason Kwiatkowski, Jeff Ambrose
Chapter 28: The Trusted Advisor’s Survival Guide — A Guide to Private Equity – J. B. Loewen
Chapter 29: Why Sale-Leasebacks?? – Allen Grinberg
Chapter 30: How a Trusted Advisor Can Assist In Managing a Corporate Divorce – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 31: Going on a Treasure Hunt for Hidden Assets – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 32: The Wealthy Entrepreneur -– Julie Cazzin

Part II: Family and Estate Wealth Distribution Considerations
Chapter 33: Are You the Shoemaker – Peter J Merrick
Chapter 34: Go Deeper for More Highly Satisfied Clients – Charles L. Stanley
Chapter 35: Trusts — “Cain and Abel”, “The Evil Stepmother” and “The Trustee You Can’t Trust” – Peter J. Merrick, Charles L. Stanley
Chapter 36: Family Law – Steve Benmor
Chapter 37: Family Law: Trusts, Estate Freezes for Adult Children Can Backfire During Separation, Divorce – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 38: Financial Planning for Families with Special Needs – Gary Sim
Chapter 39: Down to Earth Advice – Sheila M. Zister
Chapter 40: Modern Estate Planning — The High Price of Not Talking – Ian Hull
Chapter 41: Understanding and Resolving Estate Disputes – Jordan Atin
Chapter 42: Talking to Your Parents About Wills – Les Kotzer, Barry M. Fish
Chapter 43: Do You as a Trusted Advisor Go the Extra Mile? Six Steps to Helping Survivors Handle Financial Decisions Alone! – Peter J. Merrick, Charles L. Stanley

Part III: Philanthropy
Chapter 44: Are you Building Philanthropy into Your Practice? – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 45: Charitable Giving – Elena Hoffstein
Chapter 46: The Practice Of Strategic Philanthropy: Engaging Your Soul While Transmitting Business Principles – Jeffrey R. Solomon
Chapter 47: Tax Effective Strategies to Help Your Clients Give to Their Favorite Causes –Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 48: Money and the Meaning of Life – John Nicola

Part IV: Taxation, Accounting and Financial Planning
Chapter 49: Preparation Is the Key to an Audit – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 50: Common Tax Mistakes in Estate Planning – Michael Cadesky
Chapter 51: Accounting 101 – John Parkinson
Chapter 52: Are You Interested in Learning New Tricks of the Trade? – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 53: A Tale of Two Dentists: Is it the Best of Times or the Worst of Times? – John Nicola
Chapter 54: Canadians Writing Off Their Mortgages – How to Make Your Interest Payments on Your Mortgage Tax Deductible – Peter Merrick

Part V: Personal Risk Management and Maximizing Estate Benefits
Chapter 55: Get it While You Can – Life Insurance Might Lose A Lot of its Luster and it has a Big Luster – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 56: The ABCs of Personal Insurance – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 57: ABCs of Annuities – Cash for Life – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 58: The Last SANTA (Sanctioned Tax Shelter) – Richard Segal
Chapter 59: Underwriting the Insurance Wale Case – Peter J. Merrick, Richard Segal
Chapter 60: Fair Market Valuation of Life Insurance – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 61: ABCs of Structured Settlements – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 62: Corporate Debt Financing: Are You Being Called to Provide Expanded Expertise? – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 63: Private Health Services Plans: How Small Players Can Enjoy a Huge Tax Break – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 64: Premium Financed Life Insurance – Jerald Welch
Chapter 65: Insurance Law Primer – David Bertschi
Chapter 66: Creditor Protection 101 – Peter J. Merrick

Part VI: Money Truths
Chapter 67: The Principles of Money – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 68: Real Wealth Management – Evelyn Jacks
Chapter 69: Investment Philosophy – Christopher P. Van Slyke, Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 70: Investment Policy Statements, Asset Allocation and Regular Rebalancing of Portfolios – Peter J. Merrick, Christopher P. Van Slyke, Charles Stanley
Chapter 71: Practice Essentials: Through the Looking Glass: Insights into Indexing – Alan Grissom
Chapter 72: The “Safe Harbour” for Prudent Fiduciary Investing – Charles Stanley
Chapter 73: Socially Responsible Investing: Not a New Investment Trend – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 74: The Immigrant Investor Program — A Great Opportunity – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 75: The 21st Century’s Alternative to Investing in Stock — and the Best Guaranteed Investment – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 76: Quirks and Quarks and Missed Money Opportunities – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 77: Dispelling the Myths of Borrowing to Invest –Talbot Steven
Chapter 78: Is Your Client’s Time Worth Saving: The Predicament for the Average Investor – Zachary R. Lewis, Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 79: Avoiding These Money Blunders Can Help You and Your Clients Achieve Financial Independence – Peter J. Merrick

Part VII: Executive and Employee Benefits
Chapter 80: Severance — Employer Obligations and Benefit Analysis – Peter J. Merrick, Stephen Cheng, Andrew Duckman
Chapter 81: Capital Accumulation Plans — Making Individual Financial Plans a Core Employee Benefit – Peter J. Merrick
Chapter 82: Individual Pension Plans 101 – Peter J. Merrick, Brian Cabral, Trevor R. Parry
Chapter 83: Retirement Compensation Arrangements – Trevor R. Parry
Chapter 84: The Modern Health and Dental Plan – Laura Smith
Chapter 85: Comparing 401(k)s with Group RRSPs – Peter J. Merrick, Robert Keats
Chapter 86: Key Person Insurance – Growth for the Advisor’s Book of Business and Moneysaving Protection for Client Companies – Al Emid

Part VIII: Offshore Considerations
Chapter 87: Choosing Your Offshore Tax Haven – Andrew Rogerson
Chapter 88: The Canadian’s Best Tax Haven? Considerable Tax Relief May Be Closer Than You Think! – Robert Keats
Chapter 89: Offshore Investing May Be More a Pandora’s Box than the Panacea – Peter J. Merrick

Epilogue: Be the Master – Peter J. Merrick
Appendix: A & B
Contributors Biographies

Lead Author: Peter J. Merrick, B.A., F.M.A., C.F.P., T.E.P., F.C.S.I.

Peter Merrick, B.A., F.M.A., C.F.P., T.E.P., F.C.S.I., runs his own wealth management consulting firm. He is a professional financial writer, with over 400 published articles to his credit. His articles, writings and interviews have appeared in such magazines and periodicals as The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones, MacLean’s, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, The Toronto Star, CA Magazine, The Lawyer’s Weekly, The Bottom Line, Profit Magazine and numerous publications for LexisNexis Inc., Thomson Reuters and CCH Ltd.

Mr. Merrick is a full member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and holds the Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) designation. He has been awarded the prestigious Fellowship of the Canadian Securities Institute (FCSI), which is recognized as Canada’s highest honour in the financial services industry. As well, he holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation with the Financial Planning Standards Council of Canada.