ABA eLearning Courses
Wealth Management and Trust
Case Studies/Assessments | Personal Trust Level I | Personal Trust Level II | Personal Trust Level III
ABA Case Study for Wealth Advisors: The Corporate Executive
This simulated case study allows participants to evaluate skills in providing a high-net-worth client with fully integrated financial solutions. As the advisor to a highly compensated corporate executive, you’ll answer a series of in-depth questions testing your knowledge in four areas: financial planning, tax planning, estate planning and retirement planning. At the end of the case study, you will receive an overall assessment of your ability to apply knowledge to a client with a financial profile that closely mirrors many of the clients found in your organization’s wealth and trust portfolios.
Audience: The Case Study is designed for experienced wealth and trust advisors, with a minimum of 3-5 years working with high net worth clients.
Personal Trust Curriculum: Level I
Building Trust Expertise - Trust Administration
Provides an overview of the administration of personal trusts. Covers common trust terminology and concepts, the different types of personal trusts, how clients benefit from trusts, account acceptance, termination, and discretionary distributions.
Audience: New trust administrators, trust associates, private bankers, trust tax professionals, trust compliance officers, business development officers, and trust operations officers who either refer business or who work in the trust department.
Building Trust Expertise - Taxation and Estate Planning
Provides an introduction to basic fiduciary income tax, transfer taxes, and estate planning concepts. Covers tax basics including terminology, calculation of distributable net income, income tax calculation, tax implications of grantor and charitable trusts, transfer taxes including gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxes, and how to minimize these taxes through estate tax planning including use of the marital deduction and lifetime gifts.
Audience: New trust administrators, trust associates, private bankers, trust tax professionals, trust compliance officers, business development officers, and trust operations officers who either refer business or who work in the trust department.
Building Trust Expertise - Investment Management
Provides participants with trust investment basics. Covers investment vehicles used in trusts and their characteristics, client information needed to assess investment needs, analysis and selection of investments, mechanics of portfolio management, and economic and legal considerations affecting trust investments.
Audience: New trust administrators, trust associates, private bankers, trust tax professionals, trust compliance officers, business development officers, and trust operations officers who either refer business or who work in the trust department.
Personal Trust Curriculum: Level II
Discretionary Distributions
Introduces the basic principles of discretionary distributions. Covers the reasons for making discretionary distributions and the trustee's authority to make them, as well as distribution standards, tax consequences, and other potential liabilities involved in making discretionary distributions.
Audience: Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Estate Planning Overview
Presents the basic knowledge needed to identify the needs of clients in order to determine an appropriate estate plan with tax or non-tax considerations. Reinforces the consequences of the unauthorized practice of law.
Audience: Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Estate Planning for Marital Deduction
Covers strategies for the optimum use of the marital deduction. Uses the marital formula to identify which marital deduction trusts to use for particular client needs.
Audience: Trust officers who already have a basic knowledge of Federal Transfer Taxes and seek to expand their skills to enable them to advise clients with respect to clients' estate plans.
Federal Estate and Gift Taxes
Provides an understanding of federal estate and gift taxes that can be used to answer common tax-related client questions.
Audience: Trust officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and understanding of federal estate and gift taxes.
Fiduciary Income Taxes
Provides an understanding of tax terminology and concepts applicable to estates and trusts. Describes how to calculate the various measures of income and deductions related to income taxes.
Audience: Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Fiduciary Law
Presents key regulations and rules that govern trusts and estates, including federal laws and model acts being adopted by different states. Covers the duties and powers of a trustee, as well as investment standards and duties. Presents the prudent man/person rule, prudent investor rule, and Uniform Principal and Income Act.
Audience: Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Investments I
Focuses on an overall discussion of investment risk, organization of the investment decision process, regulatory influences for investments, and the similarities and differences of commingled funds and mutual funds investments. Provides a big-picture view of investments to better serve and address clients' needs.
Audience: Trust officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Managing Trust Accounts
Introduces students to the basic principles of establishing trust accounts and managing receipts and payments for these trusts. Covers the procedures for accepting new accounts, as well as dealing with changes in accounts impacted by disclaimers, and explains the rules needed to apply the Uniform Principal and Income Act when allocating receipts and payments.
Audience: Appropriate for Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Retirement Planning
Focuses on the types of retirement plans available, factors that impact various plans, and the importance of integrating retirement benefits with financial and estate planning. Covers how to apply guidelines that address the unique implications of retirement assets.
Audience: Trust Officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Personal Trust Curriculum: Level III
Estate Planning for Charitable Giving
Provides participants with the knowledge needed to advise clients in the area of charitable giving and how it is used to provide additional liquidity for the estate and savings on potential estate taxes.
Audience: Trust officers who already have a basic knowledge of estate tax and seek to expand their skills to enable them to advise clients with respect to their clients’ estate plans.
Estate Planning for Lifetime Gifts
Introduces participants to the concepts of lifetime gifts. It discusses the appropriateness of lifetime gifts, use of the annual exclusion, and various techniques for transferring assets.
Audience: Trust officers who already have a basic knowledge of estate and gift taxes and who seek to expand their skills to enable them to advise clients with respect to clients’ estate plans.
Estate Planning for the Business Owner
Examines the issues associated with the transfer of various types of business entities including valuation and tax considerations.
Audience: Trust officers who have already achieved a basic expertise with estate planning generally and who seek to expand their knowledge of estate planning for business owners. Participants undertaking this course should have a firm understanding of the transfer tax system and basic estate planning, including planning for lifetime gifts and estate planning for the marital deduction.
Estate Planning Final Case Study
Provides an opportunity to apply concepts learned in earlier estate planning courses to real-world client situations.
Audience: Trust officers who have expanded their skills in estate planning by completing all of the following courses in the Estate Planning series: Estate Planning Overview, Estate Planning for Marital Deductions, Estate Planning for Lifetime Gifts, Estate Planning for Charitable Giving, and Estate Planning for the Business Owner.
Financial Planning Skills
Provides participants with a working knowledge of financial planning topics.
Audience: Trust professionals looking for a big picture view of financial planning concepts and who already have achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Generation Skipping Transfer Tax
Gives participants the understanding they need to discuss the implications of the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax and answer common tax-related client questions.
Audience: Trust officers who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Life Insurance and Annuities
Enhances the trust officer’s value to clients as a credible source of insurance information. Participants will learn about life insurance and annuity products, review related policy issues and fiduciary responsibilities, and explore the uses of these products in serving client’s financial- and estate-planning needs.
Audience: Trust officers who already have achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.
Investments II
Builds on the earlier investment course and focuses on the concepts used in valuing investments, the characteristics of different types of securities markets, and factors to consider in mutual fund selection.
Audience: Trust professionals looking for a big-picture view of investments and investment planning concepts and who have already achieved a basic level of knowledge and expertise in the trust field.