Introduction

Welcome to Ownership and Estate Planning Techniques, a unit that covers how clients hold, transfer, and protect assets during life and at death.

Exam Weight: Part of 30 questions

What You'll Learn

In this unit, you'll cover:

• Methods of Ownership Transfer: joint tenants with right of survivorship (JTWROS), tenants in common, tenancy by the entirety, and community property; how each affects control, survivorship, and estate taxation
• Payable on Death (POD) and Transfer on Death (TOD) Designations: Simple tools for bypassing probate on bank and brokerage accounts
• Beneficiary Designation: Primary vs. contingent beneficiaries, per stirpes vs. per capita distribution, and why designations override wills
• Trusts and Wills: Revocable vs. irrevocable trusts, testamentary trusts, bypass trusts, charitable trusts, and the probate process
• Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO): How retirement plan assets are divided in divorce
• Donor Advised Funds (DAFs): A flexible charitable giving vehicle with immediate tax benefits

Why This Matters

Investment advisers must understand how asset ownership and estate planning affect their clients' financial plans. The way property is titled determines who inherits it, whether it goes through probate, and how it's taxed. Recommending the right ownership structure, beneficiary designations, and trust arrangements is a core advisory responsibility and a frequent exam topic.

Let's start with the different methods of property ownership and how each affects transfer at death.