Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - January 9, 2009, Winnipeg, Manitoba C m y k business editor Steve Pona 697 7264 business free press. My. Ca i financial Post b6 8 i Winnipeg repress. Com Friday january 9, 2009 b 5 a s promised in december we Are going to review some of the responsibilities involved with being an executor and some of the preparations you should be making now. First though a Little tax free savings account news for Manitoban. The province is introducing an amendment to the retirement plan beneficiaries act to allow Manitoban to name a beneficiary on their new Ofsa accounts. Although this wont take effect until the legislation receives Royal assent they have wisely written it so that a designation made now will be valid As soon As the legislation is passed As Long As the account Holder does not pass away before then. Kudos to the government for acting so quickly. By the Way do you need More information or advice on Tsas in this column How about the temporary Trif withdrawal rules that will be included in the Federal budget this month if you want me to write about those or any other topics just drop me an e mail. If someone named you As their executor you would Likely feel honoured and for Good reason. That person is nominating you As his or her personal representative to make decisions and use your judgment when they have departed this mortal Coil. However it is Likely not a Job to get excited about. It involves a lot of responsibility will be time consuming and can even result in personal liability although most modern wills absolve executors for actions taken in Good Faith and with proper care. Sometimes this is a Job Best left to professionals like Trust companies. However most people like to name an individual they know and Trust. Proper preparation on both sides can make the Job much easier. Be sure your executor knows they have the Job and have had a Chance to ask the questions they need to ask. Prepare a Complete inventory of All assets like Bank and investment accounts life insurance policies real estate group and pension benefits safety Deposit Box out of country accounts or properties everything and their locations. This is also a great organizational tool for you and one you will find valuable As you get older. Our company and most other financial institutions have family inventory forms that can help with this task. Make sure the location of your original will is known to your executor and let that person know if you move it. Ideally go Over the will with the executor to clarify any ambiguities. If your will leaves some things up to the executors discretion then prepare a letter or have a talk with that person to explain your thinking and feelings about those issues. This is especially True when setting up testamentary trusts that will last a number of years. If you Are named As executor for someone ask to get this information ahead of time. It will pay off later and also give you a better Chance to properly Grieve when the time comes. Here is a partial list of executor duties. Arrange funeral and burial. Obtain death certificate and copies. Locate and review original will. Locate and inventory All assets and liabilities. Meet with lawyer. Advertise for creditors of the estate. Submit application for probate. Pay probate fees. Locate and notify All beneficiaries including charities of their interest. Explain your role to beneficiaries. Notify spouse of entitlement under family Law and suggest Independent Legal advice. Assess the rights of dependents. Apply for All benefits and rights under government life insurance group pension and other programs. Cancel All credit cards sin memberships etc., and notify financial institutions of the passing All of that is before you Start managing the assets and the estate calculating taxes paying liabilities and eventually calculating and making distributions to beneficiaries. A proper executor checklist runs Many pages. When naming or accepting appointment As an executor prepare yourself for your task. In the meantime stay warm David Christianson is a fee Only financial planner and investment counsel with Wellington West total wealth management inc. His column appears fridays. You can e mail him at Christianson Well West. Ca executors Job an honour but can be hard work dollars and sense David Christianson w Hile Portage and main is getting the largest television set in the City staff at the its connect store in Polo Park Are sporting the smallest on their chests. The Winnipeg store is the first in the country to implement the latest in digital signage a 6.3 centimetre by 4.6 centimetre wearable digital display the size of a name tag. Staff at the store Are using it to help promote some of it Sis latest cellphone packages and handsets. While it can hamper the Standard social nicety of looking the person you re talking to in the Eye it definitely captures the attention of potential Consumers. We May lose the first couple of minutes of a conversation said store manager Larry Laker. But its a great ice breaker. People right away Are asking whats going on on your Chest and one thing leads to another and they see our new phone and a couple of plans that Flash up. The Polo Park store is owned by Advance electronics and its professional services division Advance pro is the exclusive distributor of the new technology in this Region. The Small video displays called audience. Tag use the latest television screen technology called organic Light emitting display oled technology. It provides vivid Bright images requiring Little Power allowing the devices to run for eight hours fully charged. Barry Olinyk general manager of Advance electronics said the devices have been Well received by staff and customers. He said he believes Consumers Likely will accept them even though they might be startlingly new. There is plenty of digital signage out there so that you could probably see this coming Olinyk said. First there was stationary Static images from billboards to name tags to Chalk boards at restaurants with to Days special. Everyone can relate As technology moves Forward it is 2009 this is the just that next step. Advance pro is already enjoying growth in the digital signage business it is the supplier of the Large screen to Crestin properties for can West place at Portage and main and its ownership association with the its connect store has Given it the distinction of being the first store in Canada to implement the wearable displays. Jim Vair vice president business development for capital networks ltd., the Toronto area maker of the devices said the company is primarily in software Content management servicing the growing digital signage business. This is something new and exciting he said. But its not just a Gadget or gimmick its a useful tool. The units which Are sold in 10 tag lots average out to about $ 300 each. With the proper software fresh Content can be downloaded easily from the recharging Docking station. We believe it is All about Content that is appropriate for the environment said Vair. As a technology retailer it is not surprising that Olinyk is especially keen on the technology. And Many expect that oled will be the next popular High end television screen technology. At the annual consumer electronic show now on in Las vegas several manufacturers Are showing off eve larger versions of to screens using the Classy but expensive technology. They May be pricey now but that will Cascade Down said Olinyk. Its not going away. Oled is a technology we Are going to get used to like plasma and cd. This is the next big thing. Martin. Cash free press. My. Ca tiny tag a High tech wonder device turns sales staff into walking signposts by Martin Cash audience. Tag with its name tag sized display above helps with. Instant engagement Between retail sales staff and customers. New product introductions and service launches. In store Brand and Media reinforcement. Dissemination of corporate news. What it can do farm leaders who have been counting on Ottawa to end the Canadian wheat boards Barley marketing monopoly say they re disappointed but not surprised that the Harper government seems to have temporarily shelved the project. Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz was quoted by the Western producer farm newspaper saying that plans to introduce legislation to open up Prairie Barley marketing were off the table for the Short term. Asked to comment on recent Cwb farm director elections in which supporters of the boards monopoly took four out of five available positions Ritzus response was Well the Farmers have spoken. Kevin Bender president of the Western Canadian wheat growers association said it appears Canadas economic woes and the conservatives tenuous hold on Power have caused the government to put agriculture and a few other things on the Back Burner. There is some disappointment there because we were really hoping that they were going to follow through on what they had committed to earlier and give Farmers the Opportunity to Market outside the Board Bender an Alberta Farmer said in interview thursday during the wheat growers annual meeting in Winnipeg which ends Friday. The wheat growers association is one of several farm groups who have loudly pushed Ottawa to loosen the cd bus grip on wheat and Barley marketing. But there Are other agricultural organizations such As the National Farmers Union who argue that Farmers have More clout in global markets with the wheat Board single desk. Opposition parties in parliament have opposed the Harper governments goal of ending the cd bus sales monopoly although some Farmers who attended the wheat grower meeting thursday expressed Hopes that new Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff might be More amenable than his predecessors in supporting changes to the wheat Board. If the liberals Are open to mending some of the Bridges that have been burned out Here in the West i think a voluntary wheat Board is probably More in tune with Liberal principles than a hard line monopoly said Morris Farmer Rolf Penner. Larry. Kusch free press. My. Ca wheat Board changes hit Snag by Larry Kusch Loewen windows a Steinbach based window and door manufacturer will receive a $ 10 million repayable loan from the province to help fund a $ 30 million factory overhaul. The secured interest bearing loan will be used for a factory redesign for the company which expects to double capacity and increase productivity by 30 per cent when the overhaul is finished. Loewen has been hard hit by the u. S. Housing Market slump in the past year. Last april the company Laid off about 100 manufacturing workers and in july it Laid off 70 office staff. The loan is offered through the Manitoba Industrial opportunities program. Window door maker gets Ottawa Calls and evidence of the $ 10 m loan need for fiscal stimulus continued to mount thursday with a major business think tank urging the government to go $ 40 billion into the red to support new spending and tax cuts and with one of the big Banks warning of a double digit plunge in Domestic Auto sales this year. Canadas 2009 Federal budget can accommodate $ 26 billion in initiatives Over the next four years to promote recovery the c. D. Howe Institute said. Accelerated infrastructure spending temporary i liberalization Relief for retirement savers and a time limited National investment tax credit Are among measures offering a Short term economic boost at controllable Cost it said. Spending and tax initiatives driving deficits totalling $ 40 billion Over the next four years could be consistent with fiscal sustainability provided the spending is matched by offsetting surpluses in the subsequent four years. The need for fiscal stimulus meanwhile was underscored by Bank of Canada Deputy governor Pierre Duguay who in a speech said the Economy has deteriorated significantly and is entering a recession and by a Scotia Bank analysis warning of further Steep drops in Auto sales Here and worldwide. Vehicle sales held up better in Canada than in other mature markets through october but Are now also being pulled lower by the global financial crisis that has spilled into this country said Carlos Gomes Scotia Bank economist. Purchases slumped by 21 per cent year Over year in december leaving full year 2008 sales at 1.64 million units virtually unchanged from 2007, he said. However we expect purchases to Post a double digit drop in 2009, falling to 1.475 million units the lowest level since 1998 As unemployment climbs to eight per cent. Global car sales have been in a severe fall off since september As the International financial crisis has led to a synchronized global economic slowdown and nearly a 30 per cent Yea Rover year slump in car sales in late 2008, Scotia Bank said. We expect the double digit Yea Rover year declines to continue through the first half of 2009, amid a simultaneous recession in North America Western Europe and Japan said Gomes the Banks Auto Industry specialist. Globally however sales should stabilize in the second half of 2009, limiting the slump in global car sales to an average decline of eight per cent this year though that will still be steeper than last years five per cent drop he added. The accelerated Pace of monetary easing by Central Banks around the world since Early october As Well As stimulus packages being introduced by Many governments should help buoy global economic activity by the second half of 2009, leading to some stabilization in vehicle purchases Gomes said. History indicates that growth in car sales normally resumes at the earliest about nine months after a Sharp drop in Short term interest rates he said explaining that employment and income growth Are the key Drivers of vehicle sales and they Are still declining. While demands for massive fiscal stimulus Here have been rising some analysts warn that the measures being touted could create skills shortages and other problems. Infrastructure projects Are frequently mentioned As a Way of offsetting the slowdown John Clinkard noted in an analysis published by construction Industry research firm Reed construction data. However Given the relatively Small Pool of underutilized workers in general and of construction workers in particular there is a significant risk that efforts to provide Short term stimulus to the Economy will face challenges in the form of skilled labour shortages. Can West news service $ 40b in deficits doable think tank later surpluses needed it says by Eric Beauchesne. Growth in car sales normally resumes at the earliest about nine months after a Sharp drop in Short term interest rates Mark Reimer / Winnipeg free press Barry Olinyk general manager of Advance electronics models new video display screen at its connect store ;