Retiring in the U.S.?
Driven by a fierce desire to escape the harsh Canadian winters, many Canadian retirees are snowbirds who enjoy spending winters in the U.S. Even for dual citizens of the U.S. and Canada, retiring in warm climates such as Florida’s may be a long-held goal.
Are you considering making the U.S. your permanent home after you retire? Diana made that move, and here’s what that entailed.
Diana is a retiree who spent part of her early adulthood in the U.S. with her American spouse. Not all her children were born in the U.S., but they all decided to make that country their permanent home. Diana returned to Canada to be closer to family and friends. After many years of travelling back and forth between the U.S. and Canada, Diana decided she wanted to be a full-time resident of the U.S. and settle in Arizona.
Diana had amassed a fair bit of wealth and had trust structures in place to hold her assets in Canada. She consulted with her lawyers in Toronto and realized she needed to unwind her Canadian trust. She also learnt that she had to redo her wills and power of attorneys to be recognized in Arizona.
Diana then realized she would need cross-border tax advice, since giving up Canadian residency would trigger deemed disposition of her property. Her tax advisors recommended she speak with a financial advisor licensed in both Canada and the U.S. to help move her assets across the border.
That’s where we stepped in.
The Solution
Licensed in both Canada and the U.S. through Raymond James (USA) Ltd., we opened a U.S. trust account for Diana and helped with the transfer of assets in-kind from her various Canadian investment brokers into one account at Raymond James (USA) Ltd.
We were able to help Diana develop a disciplined investment strategy with her North America-wide assets, so she can achieve her financial goals. With the multi-currency platform, Diana can retain Canadian assets in Canadian currency and wait for a more favourable time to convert to U.S. dollars. She can also hold an IRA with us.
We performed an in-depth financial analysis, looking at her U.S. healthcare, long-term care insurance and various holdings. We were able to give her the reassurance that she would have more than adequate funds to care for herself, meet unexpected expenses throughout her retirement years and leave a decent estate for her family members.
If you, like Diana, wish to retire in the U.S., reach out to us so we can help you align the distinct pieces of your financial life with one another.