KBH Financial

The first time my sisters and I tried to have the conversation with our dad about someday leaving his home, we thought the cottage would be the right setting. Softer surroundings, familiar faces, a quiet moment.

He listened patiently, looked at us the way only a parent can, and told us that what came next was another cold beer.

Not exactly a success.

We eventually installed grab bars in his shower and beside his toilet. That was the extent of our home renovations, and they helped, for a few years at least, before a fall while he was home alone forced our hand. And his.

I share this because I know this conversation is not easy. Some families are already in the hard version of it. If that is where you are right now, this article is not for that moment, and I say that with genuine respect.

This article is for the family that still has time.

Nine in ten Canadians say they would prefer to stay in their own home as they age. And yet the gap between that preference and an actual plan is, for most families, still wide open. Wanting to stay home is a feeling. Staying home successfully is a plan.

In this week's article I cover the renovations that make the biggest difference room by room, the two federal tax credits most Canadians have never heard of, one worth up to $3,000 annually, another worth up to $7,500 as a refundable credit for multigenerational living. and the financial conversations worth having before the need becomes urgent.

There is also a section on the five questions every family should ask before making any decisions. They are not complicated questions. But most families never get around to asking them.

The best time to plan for aging in place is always before you need to. This is a place to start.

👇 Read it below.

Most Canadians Want to Age in Place. Few Know How. - KBH Financial Services A plain language guide to aging in place in Canada. The renovations, the government tax credits, and the conversations worth having before you need them.

The lawyer's office was quiet the way that rooms get quiet when something important is about to happen.

Two siblings sat across from each other at a long table. The will was read. Everything divided equally, just as their parents had always promised. The cottage in the Laurentians went to the older sister. Her brother received the cash equivalent, a fair and reasonable valuation, signed and certified.

He looked at the number on the page. She looked at him. Neither of them said anything for a long time.

He had learned to swim in that lake. He had proposed to his wife on that dock. No number on a page was going to feel like an equal trade for that. And they both knew it.

Their parents had tried to be equal. They had succeeded, technically.

But equal and fair are not the same thing. And the families who understand that distinction before they need to are the ones who tend to come through the estate process with their relationships intact.

In this article I look at two Canadian families — the Tremblays and the Martins — and what happened when equal wasn't the same as fair. I also cover the practical tools that exist to make fair possible, even when the assets aren't.

Life insurance as the great equalizer. Letters of wishes. Buy sell agreements for farm and business families. And the one conversation most parents quietly avoid, and what it costs when they do.

Equal is a number. Fair is a feeling. The families who get this right understand that both matter.

👇 Read it below.

The Will Was Equal. The Family Never Recovered. - KBH Financial Services When a will divides everything equally, it doesn't always divide things fairly. KB Henry explores why equal and fair aren't the same thing...

It happens quietly.

A Sunday morning. Coffee in hand. You open your banking app and transfer $500 to your daughter's account. You and your spouse exchange a glance across the kitchen table. Neither of you says much. You both know. And you're both glad you could help.

Millions of Canadian parents are doing exactly this right now. Some have welcomed their adult children back home. Others are quietly covering rent, car payments, daycare costs or credit card balances, without ever having made a conscious decision to do so.

It comes from love. And in most cases it is the right thing to do.
But it is worth understanding what it costs.

A parent contributing $500 per month to an adult child's expenses is spending $6,000 per year. Over ten years that is $60,000 in retirement capital quietly leaving through a door that was never formally opened.

The most common financial fear I hear from Canadians approaching retirement is not losing their money in the market. It is outliving it.

In my latest article I look at why the Bank of Mom and Dad is busier than ever in 2026, what the invisible drain actually looks like on paper, and what a thoughtful plan looks like for families who want to be generous without compromising their own security.

There is also a conversation in there that most families never have. But probably should.

👇 Read it below.

KB Henry
KBH Financial Services

The Bank of Mom and Dad Is Open But Is It Hurting Your Retirement? - KBH Financial Services More Canadian parents than ever are quietly supporting their adult children financially, and many don't realise what it's costing their retirement.

Writing has always been how I make sense of things. Whether it's financial strategies or family stories, putting words on a page helps me think more clearly.

This Easter I'm working on some new writing that I'm genuinely excited to share with you in the coming months. More on that soon.