Bruce Starks, CPA, CFP® – Page 5

Unused Premium

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 8: Gift and Estate Valuation Student Question: Could you please clarify for me what the unused premium would be in term life insurance? I don’t quite understand how you could not use the premium. Thanks. Instructor Response: Certainly. A lot of different terms in insurance, to be sure. Assume you pay $6,000…

Financial Planning Jobs for Career Changers

CFP® Certificants in the News The author is frequently asked how a newly-minted CFP® Certificant finds their first financial planning job. One resource not to be overlooked is the CFP Board’s Guide to Careers in Financial Planning which “provides students, recent graduates and career changers with information on starting and sustaining successful financial planning careers. Developed by the…

Real Estate Income and IRA Contributions

Course: Retirement PlanningLesson 1: Using IRAs to Build and Distribute More Retirement Income Student Question: This page states that rental income is not included in the definition of earned income. If the client is a professional real estate developer whose income is derived mainly from rental income, would they be able to contribute to an…

Bitcoin ETFs, Pros and Cons

Good to Know How does a retail investor play in the cryptocurrency market? Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to be an accredited investor to participate, you can simply invest in a publicly traded Bitcoin ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund). Such an ETF does not hold Bitcoin but rather tracks the price of Bitcoin. It may…

Equitable Distributions

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 17: Business Uses of Life Insurance Student Question: This page explains how the basis for inherited property is affected for common-law states and community property states. How is it affected for equitable distribution states like Florida? Instructor Response: Only marital property is subject to equitable distribution in most common law property states.…

Value of Life Insurance in Buy-Sell Agreements

Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 17: Business Uses of Life Insurance Student Question: Do buy sell agreements accounts for projected growth of the company? Do the life insurance benefits increase over time to account for projected growth, or perhaps can they invest and grow conservatively to keep up with inflation (or COLA on the plan)? Instructor Response:…

Emerging Trends for Long-Term Care

Good to Know The traditional approaches and challenges to managing long-term care costs are: Self-insurance — the risk of depleting savings (e.g., retirement portfolios), Buy insurance — sharply increasing premiums plus increasingly tight underwriting requirements, and Medicaid — poverty generally required to qualify. It’s been said that nature abhors a vacuum and it appears that…

Custodial Accounts and Gifting

Course: Estate PlanningLesson 13: Case Study Online Student Question: If a check given by Mary to Peter was deposited into a custodial acct where Mary was the custodian, doesn’t that mean that Mary didn’t give up ALL control, so it’s not a complete gift? Instructor Response: Generally, the donor must give up all ownership and…

Passing the CFP Board Exam

CFP® Certificants in the News “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”…

No Additional Cost Services Exclusion

Course: Income Tax PlanningLesson 6: Employer-Sponsored Total Income Exclusions Student Question: For “No Additional Cost Services” provided by an employer, which are excluded from employee income, there is the requirement that no significant costs are incurred. How is “significant” cost determined? Significant sounds subjective. Is there a general rule for determining what is considered significant?…