Maricopa Community Colleges  FIN135   19946-99999 
Official Course Description: MCCCD Approval: 05/24/94
FIN135 19946-99999 LEC 3 Credit(s) 3 Period(s)
Estates and Trusts Administration
Reviews the fundamental principles of the law relating to the control and disposition of property before and after death. Included are explanations concerning wills, probate and administration, estate and gift tax returns, and fiduciary accounting. Prerequisites: FIN110.
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MCCCD Official Course Competencies:
 
FIN135   19946-99999 Estates and Trusts Administration
1. Describe the legal environment of financial planning. (I)
2. Demonstrate the fundamentals of estate planning. (II)
3. Apply the tools and techniques for various estate planning situations. (III)
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MCCCD Official Course Outline:
 
FIN135   19946-99999 Estates and Trusts Administration
    I. Legal environment
        A. Forms of business ownership/entity relationships
          1. Sole proprietorships
          2. Limited and general partnerships
          3. C corporation
          4. S corporation
          5. Trusts
          6. Foundations/exempt organizations
          7. Professional associations/corporations
          8. Other
        B. Ways of taking title to property (sole, joint, etc.)
          1. Characteristics
          2. Implications
        C. Consumer legislation
          1. Fair credit reporting act
          2. Bankruptcy
          3. "Trust in Lending" (Regulation Z)
          4. Annual percentage rate
        D. Legal aspects of financial planning
          1. Contracts
          2. Negotiable instruments
          3. Torts
          4. Professional liability
          5. Fiduciary responsibility
          6. Agency law
      II. Fundamentals of estate planning
          A. Estate planning overview
            1. The meaning of "estate planning"
            2. Situations in which individuals need estate planning and consequences of integrated planning
            3. Steps in estate planning process
            4. The financial planner's role on the estate planning team
          B. Estate planning pitfalls and weaknesses
            1. Weaknesses in a client's existing estate plan
            2. Common pitfalls to avoid during estate planning
          C. Methods for property transfer at death
            1. The probate process
            2. Survivorship
            3. Trust distributions
            4. Beneficiary designations
            5. Other methods including insurance
          D. Estate planning documents
            1. Will
            2. Trusts
            3. Personal care documents
            4. Marital agreements
            5. Durable power of attorney for property
            6. Business agreements
          E. Probate avoidance
            1. Advantages and disadvantages of probate
            2. Techniques of avoiding probate
            3. Recommendation and justification of the most appropriate probate avoidance technique
          F. Liquidity planning
            1. Sale of assets
            2. Life insurance
            3. Special techniques for closely-held business owners (e.g., 6166, 303, 2032A)
            4. Other techniques (e.g., flower bonds)
          G. Powers of appointment
            1. General
            2. Special
            3. Federal gift and estate tax implications
          H. Features of trusts
            1. Classification of trusts
            2. Characteristics of selected trust provisions
        III. Tools and techniques for special estate planning situations
            A. Estate planning for nontraditional relationships
              1. Children of another relationship
              2. Cohabitation
              3. Adoption
              4. Same sex relationship
              5. Communal relationships
            B. Charitable transfers
              1. Considerations for transfer
              2. Requirements for a gift to qualify for a charitable deduction
              3. Tax and non tax characteristics of specific forms of charitable transfers
              4. Charitable income tax deduction limitations
              5. Calculation of the maximum total and/or maximum current year income tax deduction for a client's situation
              6. Recommendation and justification of the most appropriate property and form of charitable transfer
            C. Intra-family business and property transfers
              1. Characteristics of intra-family transfers
              2. Federal income, gift and estate tax implications of intra- family transfers
              3. Recommendation and justification of the most appropriate intra- family business and property transfer technique
            D. Postmortem planning techniques
              1. Characteristics of postmortem estate planning techniques
              2. Determination of whether a client qualifies for special tax treatment
              3. Recommendation and justification of the most appropriate postmortem planning technique
            E. Planning for incapacity
              1. Definition of incapacity
              2. Care of client's dependents
              3. Personal care of incapacitated client
              4. Care of incapacitated client's property
            F. Special topics
              1. Divorce and estate planning
              2. Selection of fiduciaries
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