Family matters: Is supporting your children or parents part of the plan?

Your family is a key consideration when retirement and estate planning

TORONTO, June 23, 2011 /CNW/ - Hoping to spend your sixties on the ski hills or golf course? Or relaxing at home with family and friends? While your retirement dreams can certainly become a reality, there's one thing you may not have considered: you may be spending your golden years caring for your parents, children or both.

The work may not stop when you stop working
The challenges associated with caring for family, whether it's parents and/or children, don't appear to diminish with age finds the recent TD Waterhouse Canadians and Retirement Report.

Forty-one per cent of retired Canadians aged 55-70 still have at least one living parent, and 30% find it challenging to balance the needs of their own families with that of their parents or in-laws. Twenty-two per cent are financially supporting their children while 14% are supporting their parents, either financially (7%), or their parents are living with them (7%).

"Caring for family can be a major constraint on both your time and finances. It's important to plan ahead and consider different contingencies, including caregiving or financial support for parents and children," says Reg Swamy, Vice President, Private Trust, TD Waterhouse.

Planning now for your family's future
The majority (77%) of retired Canadians plan on leaving an inheritance for their children, family members or others after they're gone.

To ensure your legacy dreams come true, a comprehensive estate plan should be considered, as well as an official, updated will, advises Swamy.

"Estate planning often involves more than most people consider. All assets, income and liabilities of the estate must be taken into account, including how you would like your assets to be distributed, and the tax implications of your estate. If you want to leave assets for your grandchildren, you may need to set up a trust."

Ways to simplify the complex
You may be planning to spend your retirement travelling, or at home with friends and family, but when you add in the complexities of managing both your parents' finances and your own, it can become overwhelming.

"Working with a professional can help alleviate some of the stress and take some tasks off your plate," says Swamy, who points to the Financial Care and Management service at TD Waterhouse Private Trust, which can look after the management of assets and all aspects of an individual's or their parent's, day-to-day finances. "A professional can take responsibility for managing investments, paying bills, planning and preparing tax returns, and providing advice on complex issues such as tax and estate planning. This can help make managing finances more convenient, and increase your peace of mind."

About the 2011 TD Waterhouse Canadians and Retirement Report
The results for the 2011 TD Waterhouse Canadians and Retirement Report were collected through a custom, online survey conducted by Environics Research group from April 2-28, 2011. A total of 1,006 surveys were completed by retired participants aged 55-70.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group (TD). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves more than 19 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Insurance; Wealth Management, including TD Waterhouse and an investment in TD Ameritrade; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 7 million online customers. TD had CDN$630 billion in assets on April 30, 2011. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

TD Waterhouse represents the products and services offered by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. (Member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund), TD Waterhouse Private Investment Counsel Inc., TD Waterhouse Insurance Services Inc., TD Waterhouse Private Banking (offered by The Toronto-Dominion Bank) and TD Waterhouse Private Trust (offered by The Canada Trust Company).