This exceptional course surveys wills, living trusts, gifts, marital property, and probate avoidance. Will and trust forms are explored along with living wills, durable powers of attorney, and nominations of conservator. Designed to eliminate estate problems and death taxes, the emphasis is on practical solutions that are cost-effective.

Chapter 1 – Estate Planning
At the start of Chapter 1, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Build, preserve, & distribute
* Legal documents
* Estate planning team
* Estate administration
* Transfers within probate
* Transfers outside probate
* Transfers using a trust
* Special planning tools
* Facts
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 1, participants will be able to:
1. Identify basic estate planning elements, recognizing the importance of well-drafted legal documents and specify the key team participants, including their roles in the estate planning process.
2. Determine the estate tax techniques that save death taxes while retaining maximum control, and identify estate-planning facts.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 1 to 6.

Chapter 2 – Estate & Gift Taxes
At the start of Chapter 2, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Taxable estate
* IRS valuation
* Estate tax return & payment
* Tax basis for estate assets
* Generation-skipping transfer tax
* Application of gift taxes and valuation
* Gift tax annual exclusion
* Gift tax marital and charitable deductions
* Gift tax advantages and disadvantages
* Shifting income & gain
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 2, participants will be able to:
1. Identify potential death taxes, including federal estate tax, as they apply to various size estates and persons, and determine what constitutes a taxable estate under §2501, specifying what assets are included in or excluded from a gross estate.
2. Specify allowable estate deductions, recognizing their tax advantages and disadvantages, and determine the value of a decedent’s assets using permitted elections, recognize the use of Form 706 to pay any estate tax due, and select the tax basis and holding periods of estate assets.
3. Recall the advantages of gift planning, including estate reduction, recognizing the impact of the GST, specify the steps to compute gift tax, identifying the gift tax exclusion amount, and determine the value of gifts, including those that are split.
4. Identify the various gift tax exclusions and specify the tax treatment of medical expenses or school tuition.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 7 to 26.

Chapter 3 – Wills & Probate
At the start of Chapter 3, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Provisions of wills
* Requirements of wills
* Executors and guardians
* Types of wills
* Title implications
* Changes to a will
* Advantages of a will
* Simple will
* Probate pros and cons
* Probate avoidance
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 3, participants will be able to:
1. Specify types of wills, citing the functions a will can perform and recall ways to hold title and their probate and estate tax ramifications.
2. Identify the advantages of a properly drafted will and specify the pros and cons of probate proceedings.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 27 to 32.

Chapter 4 – Trusts
At the start of Chapter 4, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Purpose of trusts
* Common elements of trusts
* Types of trusts
* Living trusts
* Income tax & trusts
* Gift tax & trusts
* Estate tax & trusts
* Identification, recital, & property transfer clauses
* Income and principal & revocation and amendment clauses
* Trustee & trust termination clauses
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 4, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the relationship of parties in a trust, specifying their planning relationship, reasons to establish a trust, and types of trusts.
2. Recognize the application gift and income tax in trust taxation and specify recommended trust provisions such as a “pour over” clause, retained income provisions, and a termination clause.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 33 to 42.

Chapter 5 – Entities & Title
At the start of Chapter 5, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Individual ownership & sole proprietorships
* Corporations
* Trusts & co-tenancies
* Co-tenancy taxation, percentage interests, & partition
* Partnership taxation & recapitalization
* Family partnerships
* Limited liability companies
* Retirement plans
* Custodianship
* Estate
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 5, participants will be able to:
1. Identify tax and legal title formats listing differences, specify the advantages and disadvantages of holding property in these entities, and recall the use of retirement plans and custodianships.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 43 to 49.

Chapter 6 – Life Insurance, Annuities & Buy-sell Agreements
At the start of Chapter 6, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Types of life insurance
* Life insurance trusts
* Deferred annuities
* Private annuities
* Buy-sell agreements
* Purchase price & terms
* Community property
* Professional corporations
* S corporations
* Sole shareholder planning
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 6, participants will be able to:
1. Recognize the function of life insurance, its funding with low-cost dollars, taxation, and the purchase for value rule, identify the tax treatment of life insurance proceeds, select variables that influence whether life insurance is estate taxable purposes, recalling the gift tax associated with the transfer of life insurance policies.
2. Specify the pros and cons of various types of life insurance policies, including the use of an insurance trust, determine the differences between deferred and private annuities, and recognize the types of buy-sell agreements, identifying their tax and legal advantages.
3. Determine the advantages of a stock redemption, being careful to avoid family attribution and recognize the importance of valuing closely held business interests.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 50 to 64.

Chapter 7 – Special Business Issues
At the start of Chapter 7, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Business valuation of tangible & intangible assets & goodwill
* Business valuation of qualified family-owned businesses
* Business valuation of land subject to a conservation easement
* Business valuation discounts
* Redemptions
* Buy-sell agreements
* Death of spouse
* Stock redemptions
* Stock recapitalization
* Deferred compensation agreements
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 7, participants will be able to:
1. Identify fair market value for purposes of business evaluation and recall the factors in R.R. 59-60 specifying their impact.
2. Determine how tangible assets are valued, identifying the use of book value, specify the steps in R.R. 68-609’s valuation formula for intangible assets, and recognize the purpose and use of buy-sell agreements.
3. Identify special business valuation issues, including redemptions under §303 and §302 during lifetime and at death.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 65 to 72.

Chapter 8 – Estate Tax Freeze Rules
At the start of Chapter 8, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Application of estate tax freeze rules
* Corporations, partnerships & exceptions
* Qualified payment exception to the zero value rule
* Minimum valuation of a junior interest
* Capital contributions, redemptions, & recapitalizations
* Attribution rules
* Transfers of interests in trust
* Term interests & joint purchases
* Buy-sell agreements & options
* Lapsing rights & restrictions
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 8, participants will be able to:
1. Determine transactions to which Chapter 14 rules apply and the terminology used in the Chapter 14 valuation rule that applies to business interests.
2. Identify the “zero value” rule, recognizing its impact on estate and gift taxes, application of ownership attribution, and the qualified payment exception.
3. Specify when transfer tax and value adjustments will be made to transfers, determine the stepped computation under the subtraction method to the gift resulting from a transfer, and identify lapses or restrictions that qualify as an applicable restriction.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 73 to 90.

Chapter 9 – Elderly & Disabled Planning
At the start of Chapter 9, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* Managing the estate
* Medicare
* Medicaid & countable assets
* Medicaid & non-countable assets
* Medicaid & inaccessible assets
* Private insurance
* Healthcare decisions
* Supplemental security income
* Income & assets
* Disability benefits
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 9, participants will be able to:
1. Identify estate management techniques for the elderly and disabled, including probate avoidance, joint tenancy, conservatorship, and powers of attorney.
2. Cite the eldercare benefits of Medicare, Medicaid, and Supplemental Security Income, recognize the use of private insurance for catastrophic illness, and identify tools that can allow patients to make healthcare decisions.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 91 to 101.

Chapter 10 – Post-mortem Planning & Tax Return Requirements
At the start of Chapter 10, participants should identify the following topics for study:
* After death planning
* Federal returns
* Decedent’s estate tax
* Preparation of Form 706
* Estate income tax return
* Filing requirements of decedent’s final income tax return
* Included income
* Exemptions & deductions
* Filing the gift tax return
* Special applications & traps of the gift tax return
Learning Objectives
After reading Chapter 10, participants will be able to:
1. Determine post-mortem estate planning action, including elections and disclaimers, and cite the requirements of post-mortem federal forms.
2. Determine the processes and procedures necessary in the preparation and filing of Form 706.
3. Identify the filing requirements for estate income tax and decedent’s final income tax returns, determine the total income to be included on the decedent’s final income tax return using available exemptions or deductions.
4. Identify how to avoid penalties when filing a gift tax return, and recognize special gift applications and traps, stating ways to avoid their tax consequences.
After studying the materials in this chapter, answer exam questions 102 to 120.

To complete this course participants need to: Read the material provided and answer chapter review questions, successfully complete the qualified assessment with a minimum of 70% accuracy to receive your certificate.

A course evaluation form is provided for your feedback and participants have 1 year from the date of purchase/enrollment to complete this course .

Our Refund policy can be found at: https://cpeprime.com/cancellation-and-refund/

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2026 Estate Planning With Selected Issues