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Step-Up in Basis
Susan purchased stock many years ago for $80,000. At her death in 2026, the stock is worth $250,000. Her son inherits the shares and sells them three months later for $255,000. Ignoring any transaction costs, how much taxable capital gain must the son recognize? $5,000 $80,000 $170,000 $175,000 CLICK TO REVEAL ANSWER Expand A is…
Segment Your Clients by Complexity, Not Assets
Good to Know Most firms decide how much service a client receives by looking at one number: assets under management. It’s clean, it’s easy to defend, and it’s often wrong. The client who pays you the most is not necessarily the client who needs the most – and building your calendar around AUM quietly over-serves…
Coinsurance and the Required Insurance Penalty
Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: Hi, On this review page, the correct answer for question 2 (below) indicates that insurance will only cover 97% of replacement cost. However, it says in the chapter that as long as the property is insured for more than 80% of replacement cost, the policy will pay…
When a Client’s Judgment Starts to Slip: A Protocol for Diminished Capacity and Exploitation
Good to Know The call you never want is the one where a long-tenured client has already wired $80,000 to a stranger. By the time it reaches you, the planning question is moot. Cognitive decline and elder financial exploitation are advisor problems long before they are ever legal ones – and 2026 has made them…
Maximum Family Benefit
Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: Hi, Does the maximum family benefit apply to a husband and wife that are both fully insured if the combined total between the two exceeds the maximum family limit? If I understand correctly, the maximum family limit only applies if there are beneficiaries within the family receiving…
Beta
A client owns a mutual fund with a beta of 1.4. If the overall stock market increases by approximately 10%, which of the following would be the best estimate of the fund’s return based solely on its beta? 4% 10% 14% 24% CLICK TO REVEAL ANSWER Expand C is the answer. Beta measures a portfolio’s…
What CFP Board’s Updated Fitness Standards Mean for You — and Your Firm
Good to Know Most CFP® professionals read the Fitness Standards exactly once – years ago, on the way to the marks – and never again. The rules that decide who is fit to hold the certification feel like someone else’s problem right up until they aren’t. This year, that’s worth revisiting. On June 1, 2026,…
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
Which of the following statements regarding a Health Savings Account (HSA) is correct? Contributions are made with after-tax dollars, but qualified distributions are tax-free. Contributions are deductible (or excluded from income if made through payroll), earnings grow tax-deferred, and qualified distributions are tax-free. Contributions are deductible, but earnings are taxable annually. Qualified distributions are taxable…
Social Security Widower Benefits
Course: Insurance PlanningLesson 10: Social Security Student Question: Hi, When it comes to Social Security widower’s benefits, is the widow eligible to take his/her SS benefit early (age 62) and then switch over to the deceased spouse’s full benefit at 67? Or would the widow only be eligible for one of the two benefits? Thank…