HS 330 Fundamentals of Estate Planning

This course covers various aspects of estate and gift tax planning, including the probate process, an overview of basic estate planning documents, types of property interests, transfer strategies during life and at death, the use of trusts, generation-skipping transfers, charitable giving, the use of life insurance in estate planning, special elections, and other post-mortem planning strategies.Learning ObjectivesUpon completion of this course, the student will be able to:- Identify the steps in the estate planning and probate processes- Identify and describe the basic estate planning documents along with the advantages and limitations of each- Compare and contrast the most common types of property titling along with the advantages and limitations of each- Understand and apply the fundaments of the gift tax system and respective planning strategies- Identify and classify different trust arrangements and explain the advantages and limitations of each- Compare and contrast advanced strategies that can be used either during the life or upon death of the client- Understand and apply the fundamentals of the generation-skipping transfer tax system and respective planning strategies- Compare and contrast advanced charitable planning strategies along with the advantages and limitations of each- Understand and apply the fundamentals of the estate tax and respective planning strategies, and explain the benefits of the unlimited marital deduction- Demonstrate the advantages of using life insurance in estate planning and explain the benefits of various post-mortem planning strategies