Guaranteed Investment Funds also known as Segregated Funds are a good Estate planning Tool.

1. Guaranteed Investment Funds
Segregated Funds
Here are some very important benefits of Guaranteed Investment Funds.
A great Estate Planning tool.
• Guarantee of capital at death
• Guarantee of capital after ten years
• Resetting privileges to lock in growth
• Protection of assets from creditors
• Probate protection
One example when to use GIF’s.
John and Mary are in their late 70’s and want to move into a retirement home or assisted
living facility. They want to sell their home to take advantage of this real estate market. They
can invest their funds in a Seg. Fund and assign the kids as beneficiaries. Now the kids don’t
have to wait weeks to probate the will and then make arrangements to sell the property. 100%
or the current value (which ever is higher) of the funds are released to the beneficiaries
bypassing probate fees on these assets.

2. Estate Planning with
Guaranteed Investment Funds
The reason this makes more sense for someone much older is that it isn’t unreasonable that a 79 year old
will pass away in less than 10 years. This shorter guarantee period, along with the ability to lock in a
new minimum until age 80, and the ability to take bigger investment risks with little downside is a
powerful combination for estate planning purposes. For this situation, you don’t want a safe investment.
This is where you should be aggressive given the safety net of the guarantee.
Despite a segregated fund being an insurance product, there is no health test or physical required. If
someone is 70’s and has an illness that will shorten their remaining life expectancy, they could shift
some of their investments into segregated funds with a 100% death guarantee (which means that they
either gain or get their money back over a short time period) and avoid probate fees.
Carlo Carpino
Life and Living Benefits Insurance Advisor
RBC Insurance Company
647-406-8137