Personal versus Bodily Injury

Course:  Insurance PlanningLesson 4: Homeowners Insurance Student Question: Is there a definition for personal injury as noted under the personal injury endorsement? FROM LESSON: The personal injury endorsement expands the Section II liability coverage to include “personal injury” and “bodily harm, sickness or disease.” How does this vary from bodily injury that is covered without an endorsement? Thanks. Matthew Instructor…

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Step Aside Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, There’s a New Sheriff in Town

Good to Know Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a business with an available net operating loss (NOL)1 could offset as much as 100% of taxable income for two previous years (“NOL carryback”) or up to 20 years in the future (“NOL carryforward”). Carrying the loss back to previous years often generated an…

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Save Hundreds on CFP® Exam Registration and Resource Costs

CFP® Board Updates Here’s your chance to save hundreds of dollars in CFP® Exam fees and receive free resources for the next two CFP® Exams. Here’s an excerpt from a recent CFP Board email: “Your next chance to take the CFP® Exam is during the 8-day testing window from September 22-29, 2020. When you sign up by August 25 , you’ll…

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IRA Distribution Rules

Course:  Retirement PlanningLesson 1: Using IRAs to Build and Distribute More Retirement Income Student Question: Hi I was doing a little further reading on the new IRA distribution rules and wanted to see if “conduit” or “accumulation” trust rules will be necessary information for the exam? As I understand it, trusts as beneficiaries are held to the “five-year rule” or the “payout rule” depending on…

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Current Ratio and Primary Residence

Course:  Fundamentals of Financial PlanningLesson 3: Personal Financial Statements Student Question: What role does the client’s primary residence play in the current ratio calculation? Is their outstanding mortgage loan amount considered a liability? Candace Instructor Response: Hi Candace, That’s a great question.  The residence is not considered a liquid asset and is excluded from “assets” for the current ratio. …

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Remote Proctoring for September 2020 CFP Board Exam

CFP® Certificants in the News You’ve heard it said that “you must be present to win.” That expression was never truer than in passing the CFP Board Exam. However, you no longer have to be present in person at a testing center to take the exam. On July 16, CFP Board issued a press release…

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Present Value versus Payment Function on Calculator

Course:  Fundamentals of Financial PlanningLesson 7: Educational Aid and Funding Calculation Student Question: In Step 5: solving for LUMP SUM needed today… Step 5: Determine funding actually needed Lump sum needed TODAY to fund the full cost of college education. How come we are solving for PV and not PMT? Thanks. Kelly Instructor Response: Hi Kelly, If any…

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Beware the Custodial Account for College Savings

Good to Know Custodial accounts are popular because they are easy to establish. A bank or brokerage firm can help your client fill out a simple form and have the account established almost immediately. Clients are also attracted to the contribution limits – there are no limits! Before going farther, let us set a quick…

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Employee Incurred Expenses and the Itemized Deduction

Course:  Income Tax PlanningLesson 6: Employer-Sponsored Total Income Exclusions Student Question: Hi- Could you explain the Business Deduction for work related expense in very simple language.  I don’t quite follow whether it’s a deduction or not. Thanks. M Instructor Response: Hello Kyle, If any employee-incurred expenses related to her employer’s business, such as gifts to customers, for example, those…

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