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Life insurance is vital for providing for your family's financial security. But it is also a powerful financial planning tool that offers significant tax advantages for you and your family.

1. Pre-funding final taxes
If you own a cottage, a business, non-registered equity funds, or stocks, substantial tax liabilities may come up on the death of the second spouse. In addition, your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) or Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) savings will be subject to tax after the death of you and your spouse. Depending on the province you live in, up to half of your assets could go to pay the taxes. Joint life insurance, payable on the death of the second spouse, is an affordable way to pre-fund the tax bill.

2. Avoiding probate
A personal life insurance policy pays proceeds to your beneficiary tax-free, with no probate fees or estate settlement costs. Your beneficiaries will have more money at their disposal to
be used for vital estate planning needs: replacing income, paying a mortgage and other liabilities, providing for the children's education, covering estate expenses, and leaving a secure inheritance.
If you have universal life or participating whole life insurance, the value of the death benefit may increase substantially over time and that growth can be passed on to your beneficiaries.

3. Building savings through tax-deferral
Certain life insurance policies have both an insurance and savings component. A universal life policy allows you to meet financial protection needs and build savings on a tax-deferred basis for key goals, such as education or retirement. As with an RRSP, the benefits of tax-deferred compound growth increase with the length of time invested, the amount deposited, and the return generated. Most plans offer a wide range of investment accounts, including guaranteed interest, equity, and bond index accounts. Policy fund earnings will be exempt from tax while in the plan as long as
it remains "exempt" under specified rules. You can make cash withdrawals from the policy earnings at any time, but some or all of the withdrawals will be taxable.

For more information on tax-smart uses of life insurance, give Giroux Financial a call.

Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc. is registered as a Mutual Fund Dealer, or its equivalent, with the provincial securities commissions and as such our Advisors are entitled to sell mutual funds and other approved securities as permitted under our registration. They may also be able to provide other services or products to you through their own business. As a member of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA"), Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc. is obligated to disclose to you that you may be dealing with companies other than Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc. when purchasing services or products from your Associate (remuneration to your Associate may also come from various sources depending on the services or products purchased). For example, your Associate may offer any one or more of the following through a separate business, which would not be the responsibility of Manulife Securities Investment Services Inc.:

* Deposit Instruments: GICs, Canada Savings Bonds;
* Fee for Service Financial Planning; * Estate Planning;
* Tax Planning or Income Tax Preparation;
* Insurance: Life, Accident, Sickness, Disability, General.

Please be sure that you have a clear understanding of which company you are dealing with for each of your services and products. Your Associate would be happy to provide any clarification you require.

The information contained herein is for Canadian residents only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation in any jurisdiction in which Manulife Securities or its Advisors are not appropriately licensed or registered or where any Product or Service is not eligible for sale. Details are available on request.