Estate Planning for Financial Advisors

Estate planning from the financial advisor perspective. Trusts, beneficiary designations, charitable giving, and coordination with retirement and insurance strategies.

10 Units

20 minutes per unit

Curriculum Map

What You Will Learn

Trust Strategies

Revocable vs. irrevocable trusts, CRTs, CLTs, and the trust structures advisors encounter most.

Plan Coordination

How estate plans, retirement accounts, and insurance policies must work together — common conflicts and solutions.

Business Succession

Buy-sell agreements, valuation methods, and funding strategies for business owner clients.

All Units

20 minutes

Will & Trust Fundamentals for Advisors

This unit establishes foundational knowledge of wills and trusts as core estate planning instruments. Financial advisors will learn how testamentary documents interact with probate-avoidance strategies and financial product beneficiary designations to accomplish client objectives.

•Distinguish between testamentary and inter vivos transfers and their implications for estate administration
•Explain the probate process and strategies for probate avoidance through will alternatives
•Identify the elements of valid wills and the consequences of intestacy for client families

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20 minutes

Revocable vs. Irrevocable Trust Strategies

This unit examines the strategic trade-offs between revocable and irrevocable trust structures. Financial advisors will learn when irrevocable trusts justify sacrificing control and flexibility to achieve estate tax reduction, asset protection, or Medicaid planning objectives.

•Compare tax and asset protection consequences of revocable versus irrevocable trust structures
•Identify appropriate uses of irrevocable trusts for estate tax reduction and creditor protection
•Explain trust funding requirements and the consequences of incomplete trust transfers

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20 minutes

Beneficiary Designation Coordination

This unit examines beneficiary designation strategies for retirement accounts, life insurance, and other financial products. Advisors will learn how to coordinate beneficiary designations with overall estate plans and avoid common designation errors that undermine client objectives.

•Distinguish between per stirpes and per capita distribution methods and their consequences for multi-generational families
•Evaluate when trusts should serve as beneficiaries for retirement accounts and life insurance versus individual beneficiaries
•Identify common beneficiary designation errors that frustrate estate plans and strategies to prevent them

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20 minutes

Estate Tax Planning & the Unified Credit

This unit examines federal estate tax mechanics, including the unified credit system, marital deduction, portability, and the scheduled 2026 exemption reduction. Advisors will learn to identify clients requiring estate tax planning and strategies for utilizing current exemption amounts.

•Calculate federal estate tax liability using the unified credit and apply marital deduction and portability strategies
•Explain the scheduled 2026 TCJA sunset and its implications for estate planning urgency
•Identify coordination opportunities between lifetime gifting and estate tax exemption utilization

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20 minutes

Charitable Giving Vehicles: CRTs, CLTs & DAFs

This unit explores charitable giving strategies that combine philanthropic objectives with tax planning. Advisors will learn to structure charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, donor-advised funds, and qualified charitable distributions to meet client goals.

•Compare charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts and identify appropriate client scenarios for each structure
•Explain donor-advised fund mechanics and advantages over private foundations for most clients
•Calculate income tax deductions for charitable contributions and apply qualified charitable distribution strategies

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20 minutes

Business Succession Planning & Buy-Sell Agreements

This unit examines business succession planning strategies for closely-held businesses. Advisors will learn to structure buy-sell agreements, coordinate business valuation with estate planning, and implement family business transition plans.

•Compare entity-purchase and cross-purchase buy-sell agreement structures and their tax consequences
•Explain business valuation methods for buy-sell agreements and the role of periodic valuation updates
•Identify key person insurance needs and strategies for family business transition planning

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20 minutes

Life Insurance in Estate Planning

This unit examines life insurance's role in estate planning, focusing on irrevocable life insurance trusts, estate tax inclusion rules, and insurance policy ownership strategies. Advisors will learn to coordinate insurance with estate tax planning objectives.

•Explain how irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs) remove insurance proceeds from taxable estates and identify implementation requirements
•Apply the three-year rule under IRC § 2035 to life insurance transfers and distinguish transfer timing implications
•Evaluate second-to-die policy structures for married couples and appropriate estate liquidity planning strategies

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20 minutes

Coordinating Estate, Retirement & Insurance Plans

This unit focuses on coordinating retirement accounts, insurance policies, and estate planning documents into integrated plans. Advisors will learn to identify coordination failures and implement systematic review processes preventing unintended outcomes.

•Coordinate beneficiary designations across retirement accounts, life insurance, and estate planning documents to ensure consistent outcomes
•Explain required minimum distribution rules post-SECURE Act and their impact on beneficiary planning for inherited retirement accounts
•Identify common coordination failures between estate plans and financial product ownership that frustrate client objectives

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20 minutes

Special Needs Planning & ABLE Accounts

This unit explores estate planning for families with disabled members. Advisors will learn to structure special needs trusts, utilize ABLE accounts, and coordinate planning with Medicaid and SSI eligibility requirements.

•Distinguish between first-party and third-party special needs trusts and their impact on Medicaid eligibility
•Explain ABLE account benefits and limitations for individuals with disabilities and coordinate with special needs trusts
•Identify appropriate estate planning strategies for families with disabled beneficiaries receiving government benefits

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20 minutes

Digital Asset Estate Planning

This unit addresses emerging estate planning challenges from digital assets. Advisors will learn to plan for digital account access, cryptocurrency inheritance, online business succession, and integration of digital assets into comprehensive estate plans.

•Explain the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (RUFADAA) and its impact on fiduciary access to digital accounts
•Identify planning strategies for cryptocurrency and digital business assets in estate plans
•Develop systematic digital asset inventory and access planning processes for client estate plans

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