Our Tax & Estate Planning Team

Big picture strategies

We believe in taking a holistic approach when it comes to helping you preserve and enhance your wealth, ensuring an effective transition to the next generation. Our Tax & Estate Planning professionals, including lawyers, accountants and estate planners, will work directly with you and our team.

Living your life on your terms doesn’t just happen – it takes a strategic approach and thoughtful planning.

Whether it’s for your family or for your business, we’ll take your unique situation into account when creating your customized Wealth Plan:

  • Tax & Financial Planning Strategies
  • Insurance Solutions
  • Estate Planning
  • Retirement Planning
  • Business and Farm Succession
  • Philanthropy

For more information, please ask us today.

Ryan Knipfel CPA, CA, CFP®

Senior Financial Planner

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Located in our Toronto office, Ryan works with Investment Advisors providing planning, analysis and solutions to their high net worth clients. Ryan’s technical expertise and broad experience creating wealth plans for high net worth clients enables him to prepare and present clear and concise analysis of a client’s financial situation. This includes addressing any of their concerns, and suggesting ways they may improve their overall financial health.

Ryan has over 10 years of experience as a senior financial planner with specialized skills in the areas of financial and retirement planning, tax minimization, estate planning and accounting. Prior to specializing in financial planning, he spent 14 years at two large accounting firms as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). He gained extensive experience in providing professional services to individuals and their owner-managed entities including advising on the Canadian income tax consequences of corporate mergers and reorganizations.

Ryan is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®). He completed his Honours Bachelor of Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. Ryan has completed as well as tutored the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants’ In-Depth Tax Course.

Sean Hsu CPA (U.S.), MTax, TEP

Vice President, Tax

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Sean collaborates with advisory teams and their clients to develop wealth planning strategies and to deliver integrated solutions addressing their unique needs.

Sean is an accountant with experience in Canadian and U.S. tax planning for high-net-worth individuals, with a focus on integrated cross-border wealth, estate, and trust matters. Before joining Richardson Wealth, Sean was at a multi-national accounting firm practicing in the private client group.

Sean participates in the development of thought leadership content delivered by our Tax & Estate Planning team. He has appeared in The Globe and Mail and has authored and contributed to several articles for BorderCrossings, a Thomson Reuters publication with insightful commentary on crossborder issues faced by Canadians and U.S. citizens. He is also a facilitator in the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada’s In-Depth Tax Program.

Sean is a U.S. Certified Public Accountant, a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and holds a Master of Taxation from the University of Waterloo.

Sylvia Azoulay TEP

Vice President, Tax & Estate Planning

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Sylvia works closely with Investment Advisors and their clients to explore and identify issues that address clients’ overall wealth planning needs. She helps clients formulate objectives, understand issues and strategies and facilitates implementation of their goals. Sylvia understands the sensitive issues relating to family dynamics and wealth transfer.

Sylvia is an estate planning lawyer with many years of experience. Prior to joining Richardson Wealth, she was a principal in her own strategic wealth planning firm and also spent many years in the financial industry dealing with wealth planning solutions for high net worth clients.

Sylvia has been an instructor at Humber College School of Business and at the Bar Admission course at the Law Society of Upper Canada. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners and the Estate Planning Council of Toronto. She is a seasoned presenter on topics of importance to high net worth families.

Jason Middleton CFP®

Estate and Insurance Advisor

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Jason has a well-rounded knowledge of the Insurance industry having worked at all levels of the business. He has worked at the manufacturer level, at the distributor level and, most importantly, as an Independent Insurance Broker and business owner.

Jason’s financial and accounting backgrounds allow him to take a comprehensive approach to advanced Estate and Insurance planning for clients. His ‘educate first’ approach resonates well with clients, who feel that his solution-based recommendations are tailored to their individual needs.

Jason earned a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors in Accounting and Corporate Finance in 1999 from the University of New Brunswick. He began working on his CA (Chartered Accountant) with Deloitte and Touche in 2001 after taking a sabbatical to train and try out for the Canadian Olympic Swim Team. Upon returning to the work force Jason completed the CSC (Canadian Securities Course) and earned his CFP (Certified Financial Planner) designation in 2003.

*Insurance services offered through Richardson Wealth Insurance Services Limited.