One of the biggest advantages of CPC, in one expert’s opinion, is that the CPC’s goal is to educate, not to sell.

Providing advice to the masses and educating on the importance of preplanning, Kevin Holte runs seminars to sift through the misconceptions to help inform why it’s so important to plan ahead.

Holte is the Director of Community Education for the Canadian Preplanning Council (CPC) and has been working in the funeral industry for 25 years and has been educating others on the intricacies of preplanning for the last decade.

He runs many of the CPC’s free educational seminars where he discusses an array of topics including, wills, power of attorney, executor tips, estate settlement, strategies, funeral preplanning, and joint ownership.

“Preplanning is noble, it is more than thoughtful, it is a selfless and loving thing to do,” said Holte. “Which makes my job both meaningful and enjoyable.”

“We give objective advice”
– Kevin Holte

He’s found an increase in misinformation over the years, due to the many for-profit companies simply trying to sell a product.

“That’s why I enjoy working with the CPC, we give objective advice,” said Holte. “There are very few sources of information on these topics that are objective.”

It is easy for companies to conveniently leave out important facts because those facts don’t perpetuate their message. The advantage of the CPC, in Holte’s opinion, is that as a not-for-profit their only goal is to educate—not sell products.

“There are so many misconceptions when it comes to preplanning,” said Holte. “Many of which are legal issues, which is why you must always speak with an expert.”

Holte has a wealth of advice, one of the biggest tips he has is to not procrastinate planning ahead. With the unpredictability of life, there’s never a good time to preplan. Picking a reliable Executor you trust is another one of Holte’s big tips.

“Taking on the duties of an Executor is challenging,” said Holte. “Making the time to preplan is a gift you leave behind for your loved ones.” Holte hopes that Canadians continue to take the initiative to educate themselves on such an important and inevitable stage of life.

“My husband and I are now in our later years in life and had to begin the conversation of death and what that might look like for one another and our family,” said Anne Baskett. “We weren’t quite sure where to begin so we attended one of the Canadian Preplanning Councils (CPC) free seminars.”

Anne and Morris Baskett were thrilled with all the information they received from a CPC free seminar.

“It was the best decision for us”
– Anne & Morris Baskett

“It took us several days to discuss amongst ourselves which plan to take but decided to use Executor Protection,” said Morris Baskett. “A life insurance agency was well worth it, and we purchased protection through them.”

The Baskett’s say “it was the best decision for us” and credit it to the extras such as being able to choose travel protection if something were to happen while they were away from home. As big travelers, this was very important to them.

“All in all, we are happy with our decision to preplan,” said Anne.  “Turns out there are too many things for our Executor to complete once we pass away. Our Executor is a family member and we want nothing more for them to just grieve without having to manage our estates and paperwork.