FPC005 Estate and Succession Planning

Assignment Instructions

Assignment marks: 90 | Presentation marks: 10 Total marks: 100

Total word limit: 3,500 words Weighting: 50%

Learning outcomes (LO) mapping		Marks
LO1	Explain the initial and ongoing financial planning advice you provide to clients regarding estate management issues.	10
LO2	Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of how assets are treated on death, incapacity, divorce or insolvency.	10
LO3	Analyse the initial and ongoing estate planning and succession risks faced by clients.	20
LO4	Propose a range of strategies and potential solutions to manage clients’ estate risks.	20
LO5	Propose a range of strategies and potential solutions related to business succession planning, including rural circumstances.	20
LO6	Explain the implications of choosing various estate or succession planning strategies to clients.	10
Marks for the presentation and quality of the overall answer.		10
Total marks		100

Assignment details

• This assignment covers Topics 5 to 8 and accounts for 50% of your final grade.

• There is one (1) case study question in this assignment. You should answer all aspects of the case study.

• Marks will be awarded for presentation and referencing.

• Your overall mark for this assignment will be rounded to the nearest whole number.

• Refer to the Criteria-Based Marking Guide for guidelines on what is expected for each question.

• Full workings must be shown for all calculations. Show all calculations in the text of your assignment and not attached as an appendix. Appendices to the assignment will not be read.

• Answers are to be in your own words. Reference and cite all your sources (within the text of your answer) when quoting or using material from external sources. Include a reference list at the end of your assignment. For further information on referencing, refer to the ‘Referencing and Research’ page in the ‘Build Your Skills’ hub in KapLearn.

• Indicative weightings are noted beside each question. Use these weightings to assist you with your allocation of time and resources. The weightings indicate the relative importance of each question.

• State all assumptions used in providing your answer.

Policies

• The overall word limit for the assignment is 3,500 words. Marks will only be awarded for answers up to the word limit (plus 10%) for each question. Any material written after this will not be counted towards your mark for that question. Headings, quotes and references within the body of

the answer are included in the word count. Numerical tables, calculations, and reference lists are

not included. For more information on word counts and their rationale, go to Assessment à Assignment à Assessment Preparation Guide.

• The Assessment Preparation Guide contains information about format and presentation, word limits, citations and referencing, collusion, plagiarism and other policies, useful resources, submitting your assignment and accessing your results.

• Follow the Harvard referencing style as recommended in Kaplan Australia: Harvard Referencing Guide located on the ‘Referencing and Research’ page in the ‘Build Your Skills’ hub in KapLearn.

• Requests for special consideration or information pertaining to special consideration written in the body of the assignment will not be considered by the assessor. Refer to the ‘special consideration’ section of the Assessment Policy on Kaplan’s website for more information.

Assignment presentation and referencing (10 marks)

Your assignment should be presented in a clear and appropriate format, with all sources correctly referenced and cited.

You are required to:

structure a clear response to each question, using headings if required
number questions (including sub-questions) and pages
use correct font style and size
ensure tables or graphs are clearly labelled and readable
clearly set out calculations or workings, where they are required
adhere to the assignment word limit
follow the Harvard referencing style as recommended in Kaplan Australia: Harvard Referencing Guide (available from the ‘Build Your Skills’ hub in KapLearn) to cite sources throughout your assignment, and provide a reference list at the end.

Criteria-Based Marking Guide for presentation and referencing

The Criteria-Based Marking Guide (CBMG) provided at the end of each question is designed to assist you to understand what is expected of you in each question and to let you know how your performance will be judged. It provides advice about the criteria used in the marking of the question and what discriminates between an excellent, satisfactory and unsatisfactory answer.

The below CBMG outlines the expectations for presentation and referencing in this assignment.

Excellent

(Mark range: 8–10 marks)

Satisfactory

(Mark range: 5–7.5 marks)

Unsatisfactory (Mark range: 0–4.5 marks)

• clear and appropriate assignment layout and structure

• adheres to assignment and question word limits

• clear evidence of independent research and analysis incorporated throughout assignment

• appropriate use of referencing

• accurate use of Harvard referencing style

• comprehensive reference list provided at end of assignment

• adequate assignment layout and structure

• adheres to assignment and question word limits

• some evidence of independent research and analysis

• appropriate use of referencing

• use of Harvard referencing style

• reference list provided at end of assignment

• poor assignment layout and/or structure

• assignment is significantly under or over the word limit

• no demonstrated independent research or analysis

• no use of references

• referencing does not use Harvard referencing style

• no or inadequate reference list provided at end of assignment

Instructions to students

There is one (1) case study question in this assignment.

Please read the case study and instructions carefully and address all aspects of the case.

Case study

Sonya (58) and Charles (61) are a married couple with two children: Peter (27) and Carly (29). Charles has a daughter, Marie (36), from a previous relationship.

Charles has an engineering business that manufactures components used in mining. The business is held in a family trust. He started that business 25 years ago. Marie started working in the business when she was at university studying mechanical engineering. She is now in charge of product innovation in the business and has developed some unique components over which the business has a trademark, and which now generates well over half of the business’s income. The business operates out of a property that Charles bought at the time he started the business. Marie is very well respected in the mining engineering industry and Charles would like her to take over the company at the appropriate time. Peter and Carly have no interest at all in the business and find it very boring.

Sonya works part-time in the business two days per week but leaves all management of the business to Charles. Charles also manages all their personal finances.

Sonya and Charles live in a house they inherited from Sonya’s father. They are planning to buy a new home to live in and Sonya intends to sell her house and contribute the sales towards their new home. She expects to have net proceeds of $1.1 million from the sale. Their new home will cost approximately $1.8 million.

Charles will contribute $250,000 that he has in savings and they will borrow the balance.

Peter is married to Sharon and they have a four-year-old daughter. Peter is employed by the local council and Sharon is a paralegal. Charles is aware that Peter and Sharon live week-to-week and struggle to make ends meet. He is also aware that Peter enjoys the racetrack and is concerned that his gambling is out of control.

Carly, a successful doctor with her own practice, is married to Brydon who works as a computer analyst. They don’t have any children. Their marriage has been in difficulty due to Brydon’s extravagant lifestyle.

Sonya and Charles have been very busy since their wedding and have not updated their wills or any other personal administration. Charles recalls completing a death benefit nomination some time ago and thinks that it nominates his three children in equal parts.

Sonya and Charles would like to retire in the next two to three years. At the forefront of Charles’s mind is ensuring an efficient handover of the business. Neither have given much thought to retirement or their superannuation, although Sonya seems to recall that she has some life insurance in her fund from when she first joined 30 years ago.

Context

You have received a phone call from Charles who has requested that you meet with him and Sonya to discuss their estate planning and business succession needs. In order to meet your best interests duty, you must make enquiries into all aspects of the information available to you before finalising your proposed strategies and product recommendations.

Using the case study, analyse Sonya and Charles’s estate planning and business succession risks and needs.

Identify and separate seven (7) or more estate and succession planning risks and issues into sections (using headings). Appropriate headings would be the key areas of their estate and business succession
Present your answer by using each heading to provide a discussion of your analysis along with possible strategies to meet their needs.
Use your analysis to develop a list of questions that you would ask Sonya and Charles. Your answer should be presented as a heading and discussion, followed by the list of six (6) or more questions you would ask for the 7 risks and issues you have discussed in part 1. Your questions should relate back to the case facts for each estate and business succession area.