Tell us a little about yourself!

My name is Mark Halpern and I’m the CEO and Founder of WEALTHinsurance.com, an independent high-net-worth advisory firm specializing in Estate Planning, Life Insurance, Tax Minimization and Philanthropy.

“First and foremost, planned giving is not about disinheriting your family. It’s about adopting charity and disinheriting the tax department.” says Mark. “People don’t always realize that they have three possible beneficiaries: the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), family and charity. They can choose two of them.”

What makes you passionate about Humber?
Humber is a stunning hospital! But what really sets Humber River Health apart is the people who work there. Whether I’m talking to doctors, to people who work at the Foundation or to grateful patients, it’s apparent that people at Humber are passionate about the Hospital and the extraordinary care they are providing.

What led to your involvement with Humber River Health Foundation?
I never intended to be chair of the Planned Giving Advisory Committee, but when I toured the Hospital, I quickly realized just what a special place it is. I have realized that this is how medicine should be done and I feel an obligation to help and to get other people involved.

What is something you wish everyone understood about leaving a gift in their Will?
First and foremost, planned giving is not about disinheriting your family. It’s about adopting charity and disinheriting the tax department. People don’t always realize that they have three possible beneficiaries: the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), family and charity. They can choose two of them. Also, keep in mind that the government understands that it can’t possibly sustain all the social infrastructure and programs we need in this country. That’s why it makes it easier, through incentives, for people to donate. Finally, I’d like to reinforce that the least effective way of giving is cash, credit cards and cheques – which is how 96% of the population are currently choosing to support charities.

Donors are also not aware that charitable donations at death can mitigate 100% of estate taxes, including being used for the prior year too. That means for every $2 given to charity, it will save $1 of tax.  We have many ideas with life insurance to make this happen for pennies on the dollar or on a cash-flow neutral basis.  It just requires a conversation.  And there is no AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax) on death which makes this type of planning even more important.

What do you hope to accomplish on HRHF’s Planned Giving Advisory Committee?
I’d love to help Humber create hundreds of millions of dollars of planned legacy gifts. I’m determined to encourage the people who believe in Humber to make gifts—from doctors to patients and everyone in between.

What are some of your other philanthropic priorities? My passions include helping to raise the bar in my industry by sharing my experience, mentoring financial advisors, educating allied professionals, and doing my own philanthropic work.

Watch a webinar where two of our experienced Planned Giving Advisory Committee members, Mark Halpern, CEO of WEALTHinsurance, and Alan Naiman, Tax Partner at KPMG, discuss:

– Cost-efficient and tax-effective strategies for giving
– The most important Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) changes for donors to understand
– And any questions you may have about Planned Giving!

Do you have a question you would like answered by our experts? If you’d like to learn more about this type of giving, please contact Caterina Magisano at 416.242.1000 ext. 81516, cmagisano@hrh.ca.

This information does not replace advice from your professional finance advisor. Please contact them with questions about your specific financial life plan