Module Overview
Planning for the transfer of one’s lifetime savings is a very personal process. Each individual must balance financial considerations with intimate non-financial considerations — family relationships, charitable intentions, and personal values. Financial and legal professionals can help craft a strategy, but ultimately it is the individual who must decide if the plan truly reflects their wishes.
This module focuses on the financial tools available to implement the estate plan. Four broad categories of planning tools are covered:
Wills & Probate
A will is the cornerstone of most estate plans. The estateholder’s will and the state’s probate system direct the settlement of final affairs — but this legal process can be cumbersome, time-consuming, and costly.
Will Substitutes
Alternate methods to distribute assets directly to intended beneficiaries while avoiding the pitfalls of probate. Examples include joint tenancy, pay-on-death accounts, trusts, life estates, life insurance, and retirement plans.
Lifetime Gifts
A gift made during one’s lifetime reduces the size of the ultimate estate. There are also other “lifetime advantages” of gifting that make this an attractive estate planning tool.
Tax Privileges
The tax code provides a variety of tools for the estate planner. Marital and charitable deductions reduce both gift and estate tax liabilities. Proper use of the unified credit can eliminate federal estate taxation for many estates.
Module 3 explores various estate planning strategies that make the best use of these tools.
Module 2 Pages
Page 2 — Wills & Probate
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Page 3 — Co-ownership
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Page 4 — Pay on Death / Transfer on Death Accounts
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Page 5 — Trusts
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Page 6 — Retirement Plans & Annuities
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Page 7 — Life Insurance
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Page 8 — Lifetime Gifts
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Page 9 — Gifts to Minors
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Page 10 — Life Estates
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Page 11 — Tax Privileges
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Module 2 Review Quiz
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