Description:

Many practitioners would like to develop an estate planning practice. The problem that many of these individuals face when taking an estate planning CPE course is that they cannot find a course that explains the basics of the topic in a manner that can be applied to practice development and practical ideas. By the end of the course, the "playing field" will begin to be "leveled" between those individuals who practice in this area and those who desire to do so.

Objectives:

• To provide the practitioner with a practical understanding of the estate planning process
• To prepare the attendee for more advanced level courses in estate planning

Major Topics:

• What questions to ask in a first interview with a potential client
• An overview of how the federal estate tax law works
• Ten most common estate planning mistakes
• Tips and valuable tools for gathering information from a client
• Five steps to computing the federal estate tax
• Detailed overview of all components of the federal estate tax
• How to compute the federal gift tax; technical definition of a gift
• Rules governing the income taxation of trusts and estates
• How to determine basis
• What a disclaimer is and when to use such a device; tax implications of a disclaimer
• When to use IRC Section 6166 (extension of time to pay federal taxes) and its requirements
• How to use the marital/non-marital trust as a planning tool
• How the mechanics of the power of appointment trust, bypass (family) trust, and QTIP trust work
• When to use a revocable trust; impact of putting investment real estate in a revocable trust
• How the terms of a will are decided

Who Should Attend:

CPAs, EAs, attorneys, bankers, financial planners, and insurance agents

Prerequisite:

None

Advanced preparation:

None