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As I write to you today, I remember reading that we've had more days above 30°C so far in 2010 than we did in all of last year!  Can we hope for a hotter, drier summer than the last two?  Perhaps, but volatile weather seems to be more common - with both an earthquake and a tornado in and around Toronto and surrounding areas last week - hmmm, parallels with the stock markets, perhaps???
 
Yesterday was the last day of school for our kids and there is a whole new energy in our house.  End of school always brings with it the excitement of our annual pilgrimage to the cottage.  All that remains is to pack the car, load the kids and off we go.

 
However, in this issue of our e-Letter, I want to highlight the fact that it takes planning to ensure that a cottage stays in the family from generation to generation.  For those of you who have not addressed the financial implications that occur when attempting to transfer the family cottage to the next generation, you'll be especially interested in our article "Keeping Your Cottage in the Family - Mistakes to Avoid". 
 
The article entitled "The Family Cottage: Helping Your Kids Foot the Tax Bill" will highlight the importance of an estate plan - a detailed document that provides you with an understanding of how much of your estate is going to be lost to taxation on your death.  But, understanding that we have solutions to ensure you don't lose a significant amount of your estate on death will provide you with some comfort - a little planning today will not only protect your wealth upon your death, but also protect your wealth during your lifetime.
 
Finally, "The Lost Decade" - a bad-news-good-news story.  It's a look at the last 10 years - what happened and how to work with its' realities on a go-forward basis.
 
As always, we hope you enjoy this issue.  Please feel free to share your comments with us.
 
Wishing you a happy and healthy summer!
 
Best regards,
 
Scott