Scantlebury Wealth Management

A cancer diagnosis is inherently life-changing. It comes with so much: having to make hard choices, experiencing immediate emotional stress, dealing with medical uncertainty, and having to choose between difficult treatments. However, that same diagnosis brings an unexpected, systemic side effect that few families are fully prepared to face: profound financial hardship. According to research published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) an estimated 33% to 40% of cancer patients in Canada experience severe financial distress after a cancer diagnosis. The reason for this is simple. While basic medical treatments (surgeries, hospital stays, and in-hospital drugs) can be covered by provincial healthcare, Canadian cancer patients shoulder various costs. This could include out-of-pocket expenses like medicines, loss of wages or financial missed opportunities. Sometimes, these expenditures are avoidable. However, other charges - like car payments and mortgage payments - are se...

The field is quietest just before dusk, when the long shadows of the goals stretch across the grass. For Sarah, that patch of green had always been a sanctuary. It was where she had out-sprinted her anxiety during final exams, and where, during a fierce co-ed match in her university days, an accidental collision led to an apology, a post-game coffee, and eventually, a wedding band. Now, that same love of the game lived on in the frantic, joyful energy of her two sons. Watching them chase the ball from the sidelines, she could still hear the precise, familiar thwack of a perfect strike. Sarah’s life had been defined by that kind of momentum. She possessed a quiet, unstoppable drive, earning her Bachelor of Science and started her Masters, before pivoting and securing her doctorate. As a researcher at a major medical facility, her days were spent unweaving complex human puzzles, dedicated to finding answers that would save lives. She was successful, fulfilled, and deeply grounded by the ...

  It is one of the ultimate ironies of modern adulthood: we willingly insure our cars, our homes, and even our smartphones against accidental drops, yet we routinely ignore the protection of our most valuable asset—our life. For the vast majority of people, purchasing a life insurance policy sits firmly at the absolute bottom of the to-do list. It is the classic "tomorrow problem." But why does something so fundamentally critical to financial security consistently rank as the very last thing on our minds? The explanation lies at the intersection of human psychology, uncomfortable realities, and a few common misconceptions. The most obvious reason life insurance gets pushed aside is that buying it requires us to do something human beings are hardwired to avoid: confronting our own mortality. No one wakes up on a sunny Saturday morning wanting to calculate the financial value of their absence. Planning for life insurance forces us to imagine a world where we aren’t around to se...

I think we can agree that if a business owned a machine that spit out $200,000 a year, that same business would insure that same “money-making” machine for as much as they could.  Well, in the case of most businesses, the business owners are the machine; they are the source of the energy which ensures that any company makes money.  In most ways, businesses are a symbol, a trophy, that represent years of hard work, dedication and a legacy.  However, the very factor that makes a business thrive—the owner’s leadership and vision—is also its greatest vulnerability. Don’t let an injury or an illness derail everything that you’ve worked hard to build. Business-owned disability insurance serves as a lifeline for your business, providing a monthly income to help you keep your business running when you cannot be there. While a disability can often be visible to the naked eye, not all disabilities are so easily recognized; chronic pain or a mental health issue can also qualify as a...

For many business owners, their company is more than just a source of income; it’s their primary asset: a legacy and a symbol of their diligence and industriousness; a hard-earned result of years of dedication. However, the very factor that makes a business thrive—the owner’s leadership and vision—is also its greatest vulnerability. If a sudden health crisis or injury prevents a business owner from working, the stability of the entire organization is at risk. Integrating critical illness and disability insurance into a corporate strategy is not merely about personal protection; it is a fundamental pillar of business continuity planning.  A diagnosis ranging from cancer to stroke, from a disability to a heart attack, can cause immense personal and professional disruption. While healthcare systems address immediate medical needs, they often do not account for the ongoing operational expenses of a corporation. This is where corporately owned critical illness or disability insurance co...

In the rush of a real estate transaction, many homebuyers are operating with a dangerous blind spot. While the journey to homeownership is a whirlwind of inspections and appraisals, most buyers focus on "Closing Day" as the finish line. In reality, there is a precarious financial gap that exists between signing the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and the moment the keys are in your hand. While it is common to assume that a tragedy would simply "cancel" the deal, the legal and financial reality in Canada is far more aggressive: the deal must go on, even if you don’t. Standard real estate contracts in Canada’s common law provinces typically include a clause ensuring the agreement is binding not just on the signers, but on their "heirs, executors, administrators, and successors." Legally, the death of a buyer does not void the contract. Instead, the purchase becomes an immediate and mandatory obligation for your estate. This is where the financial crisis peaks...