Estate Planning - Online Course

This series helps users understand the various considerations in planning an estate. It provides an overview of the terms and resources needed to prepare an estate plan, and explains how to determine assets, will preparation strategies and considerations, trusts, and retirement issues. Also covered are tax strategies to implement in your estate planning. This series also offers guidance on revising an estate plan throughout life changes.

This series is for anyone who is interested in learning more about estate planning. This online course contains 9 lessons and should take approximately 25 hours to complete.

Lesson 1: Starting an Estate Plan (2.0) hours

Starting an Estate Plan teaches you how to define the most commonly-used estate planning terms, determine the goals of his or her estate plan, choose members of an estate planning team, take inventory of the estate's assets, and compare the different types of property ownership. This course provides an introduction to the terms and resources needed to begin preparing an estate plan, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include What Is an Estate?, Looking Ahead, Getting Started, Taking Inventory, and Joint Property.

Lesson 2: Sorting Out Your Assets (4.0) hours

Sorting Out Your Assets teaches you how to identify different types of life insurance and the benefits of each, choose the insurance policy that best suits his or her situation, compare the options available with pension plans, recognize the saving options available other than pension plans, distinguish between the different types of business entities, and determine the goals for the future of his or her business. This course provides an overview of some of the most common types of estate assets, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Life Insurance, Determining Coverage, Pension Plans, Other Ways to Save, Your Business and Your Estate, and Other Business Considerations.

Lesson 3: Preparing Your Will (3.0) hours

Preparing Your Will teaches you how to describe the disadvantages of dying without a will, explain the function of probate court, identify the main parts of a simple will, create a distribution plan of his or her assets, distinguish between the functions of a will and a trust, select a trustee, and recognize the relative benefits of different types of trusts. This course provides an introduction to wills and trusts, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Why Have a Will?, The Simple Will, Distributing Your Assets, Introduction to Trusts, Trusts and Wills, and Living Trusts.

Lesson 4: All About Probate (2.0) hours

All About Probate teaches you how to describe the probate process, distinguish between an administrator and an executor, select an executor, explain how an estate can avoid probate, and prepare for some unique probate situations. This course provides an overview of probate and probate court, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Landing in Probate, The Executor, Keeping Probate Costs Down, and Special Probate Situations.

Lesson 5: Considering Your Family (3.0) hours

Considering Your Family teaches you how to determine the qualifications needed for a guardian, recognize the different options available for providing for children in a will, describe spousal property rights, identify the areas of an estate affected by a divorce, and prepare for a will contest. This course provides information on the inheritance rights of spouses and children, and ways to prevent challenges to a will, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Choosing a Guardian, Managing Your Child's Assets, Your Spouse's Rights, Divorce and Its Consequences, Challenging a Will, and Things to Avoid.

Lesson 6: Taxes to Expect (3.0) hours

Taxes to Expect teaches you how to calculate a gross estate and determine the federal estate taxes for it, identify types of gifts subject to federal gift tax, and recognize the different types of state taxes that can affect an estate. This course provides information on federal, state, and gift taxes, and how they affect an estate, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Federal Estate Taxes, Calculating Tax Deductions, Gift Taxes, Gifts and Their Consequences, State Taxes, and Other Taxes to Consider.

Lesson 7: Tax Strategies (3.0) hours

Tax Strategies teaches you how to determine which assets to donate and when to make the donation, recognize the different types of charitable gifts, identify the tax exclusions and deductions that will reduce estate taxes the most, and plan asset distribution within the family. This course provides strategies for keeping estate taxes down to a minimum, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Charitable Donations, More Ways to Donate, Income Tax Savings, Taxes and Your Will, Benefits to Your Family, and Distributing Your Assets.

Lesson 8: Retirement Issues (3.0) hours

Retirement Issues teaches you how to explain the benefits covered by Social Security income, distinguish the different types of medical benefits available at retirement, examine the alternatives to appointing a guardian if the estate can no longer be managed, explain the functions of a living will and a health care power of attorney, and define final wishes such as anatomical gifts and burial wishes in the estate plan. This course provides strategies for preparing for retirement and other elder issues within the estate plan, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Social Security, Other Retirement Benefits, Preserving Your Assets, Health-Related Issues, and Final Considerations.

Lesson 9: Revising an Estate Plan (2.0) hours

Revising an Estate Plan teaches you how to recognize the options available for caring for an aging parent, manage an estate plan as changes to the estate occur, and distinguish between the concerns related to preparing an estate plan early in life and the concerns for preparing one later in life. This course provides strategies for revising an estate plan throughout life, as applicable to United States regulations. Topics include Elder Issues, Other Estate Plan Considerations, Strategies for the Single Person, and Planning throughout Your Life.