The Globe & Mail (Sponsored Content)
William Fowlis is quoted in The Globe and Mail’s Family Business Report:
Running a family business involves intricate teamwork by a group of family members collaborating in lockstep for the good of the entire enterprise. It also requires advisors working together to address tax, legal, financial planning, insurance, governance and other issues to ensure success.
This choreography is best achieved through a planning team that includes Trust and Estate Practitioners (TEPs), qualified professional advisors who can offer guidance and provide expertise on everything from estate planning and philanthropic activities to business succession.
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Adds William Fowlis, a TEP who is a tax lawyer and partner in the Calgary office of Miller Thomson LLP: “You’re giving objective, independent, frank advice to family business members in a holistic way.”
The planning team should be aware of and sensitive to the company’s vision and mission, Mr. Fowlis says, as well as to the objectives of individual family members when it comes to matters such as succession.
Rather than each expert providing independent views, “it’s important for the team to operate as a team,” he says. On trust and estate matters, “you want to have skilled, knowledgeable professionals” who are TEPs, which can help the family avoid “traps” in the future. He notes that TEPs in Canada can also draw on the resources and expertise of the worldwide TEP network.
