Do I lose control when I freeze?

No — control is a design choice. Voting preferreds, trustee roles, and shareholder agreements routinely keep founders in control while value growth accrues to family.

What happens at the trust’s 21-year mark?

A deemed disposition of trust property. The standard answer is rolling shares out to beneficiaries before then — which is why the rollout plan belongs in the trust deed conversation, not in year 20.

Can my children buy the business with the company’s own money?

That is the s.84.1 minefield. The intergenerational relief pathways (immediate ~3-year or gradual up-to-10-year) make genuine family transfers possible — with strict conditions your tax counsel must certify.

Estate Freeze Estimator

Cap the estate’s tax bill at today’s value, multiply the LCGE across the family, and mind the 21-year trust clock.

★ CHAPTER BRIEF

An estate freeze exchanges your growth shares for fixed-value preferreds worth exactly today’s value — capping your estate’s tax bill at today’s number — while new common shares, usually held by a family trust, capture all future growth. The growth is taxed in the next generation’s hands, when *they* sell, potentially sheltered by their LCGEs.

The estimator compares the deemed-disposition bill frozen versus unfrozen on your growth assumptions, shows the tax shifted onto family-owned growth, and prices the LCGE multiplication across qualifying beneficiaries.

Two disciplines the book insists on: founder sufficiency — never freeze yourself poor; the preferreds must fund your life with margin (a partial freeze exists for exactly this) — and the 21-year trust clock, which forces a deemed disposition inside the trust and demands a rollout plan long before year 21. Family sales add s.84.1: the immediate (~3-year) or gradual (up to 10-year) intergenerational pathways must be met or the gain converts to a dividend.

★ KEY POINT

A freeze is not (only) a death-tax play: it is the share structure that makes LCGE multiplication, income location, and an orderly succession possible. It is Chapter 16 because it assumes everything before it.

⚠ CAUTION

Freezing at a defensibly-supported valuation matters — a sloppy valuation invites CRA price adjustment. And a freeze is hard to unwind: model the founder’s lifetime cash needs conservatively before signing anything.

Your numbers

Company value today (FMV)

Expected growth6%

Horizon (years)15

LCGE-qualifying beneficiaries3

Children/family through a trust — each can shelter up to $1,275,000 of growth on a QSBC sale.

Founder sufficiency check

Your annual lifestyle need

Years to fund30

Never freeze yourself poor — the frozen preferreds must fund your life first.

Estate tax capped by freezing today

$1,338,250vs $3,207,194 unfrozen in 15y

Frozen today, your estate’s tax bill on these shares is capped at $1,338,250 (today’s $5,000,000 value). Unfrozen, 15 years of 6% growth builds the value to $11,982,791 and the deemed-disposition bill to $3,207,194 — the freeze shifts $1,868,944 of tax onto growth your family now owns, taxed only when *they* sell. Routed through a family trust to 3 LCGE-qualifying beneficiaries, up to $1,023,761 of that future tax can vanish entirely on a QSBC sale. ⚠ Founder sufficiency fails: 30 years at $200,000 needs $6,000,000, $1,000,000 more than the frozen value. Freeze less (a partial freeze), or wait — never freeze yourself poor.

⚠ Founder sufficiency fails on these inputs — a partial freeze (freeze less, keep some growth) is usually the answer. Model it with your tax counsel.

Metric	No freeze	Freeze today
Founder’s taxable value at death	$11,982,791	$5,000,000
Estate tax (deemed disposition)	$3,207,194	$1,338,250
Growth owned by family/trust	$0	$6,982,791
LCGE shelter on that growth	n/a	$1,023,761

Figures as of July 2026 · Ontario basis · Educational illustration, not advice — confirm current rates with your CPA.

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Questions to ask your advisor

Ask your Tax counsel

Full or partial freeze on my numbers — and what does the trust deed say about the 21-year plan from day one?

Ask your CPA

What valuation support do we need for the freeze price, and how do my preferreds get redeemed tax-efficiently over time?

Ask your Advisor

Does the frozen value plus my other assets fund my life with margin — stress-tested, not hoped?

Continue in book order

From Chapter 4QSBC / LCGE Risk & Purification Planner From Chapter 15Transaction-Year Checklist From Chapter 17Success Squad Mapper

Educational illustration, not advice. This tool is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, accounting, or insurance advice. Results are estimates, not promises — hypothetical illustrations are projections only. Figures use Ontario rates as of the date stamped above; rates and limits change. Confirm current figures and your specific situation with a CPA, tax lawyer, and licensed insurance advisor before acting.