Wealth Management Seminar II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Wealth Management Seminar II - Essay Example oses and amongst these purposes includes establishing testamentary trusts, making specific bequests, appointing an executor, and distribution of personal effects (Mentz, 2009). This was a new lesson to me, and this mainly because I had a narrow idea on the purpose of the will. In my opinion, the will was only created for purposes of distributing the wealth of an individual. However, my perception changed after this lesson. Insurance is also an important tool of estate planning, and this is because it plays two important functions, these are, the provision of liquid funds that can be used for burial purposes, and the benefits of insurance policies are not always taxable (Mentz, 2009). This was a new knowledge to me, because in my own opinion, I was only aware of two tools of estate planning that is the will, and establishment of trusts. However, this lesson introduced new tools, such as the power of attorney, gifting and insurance policies. Another area that was of importance to me, was on the techniques that can be used for purposes of estate planning. These techniques include designate beneficiaries, income and capital shifting, and tax deferral (Mentz, 2009). Under this lesson, of particular interest to me was income and capital shifting. I learnt that splitting of income is a popular technique of estate planning because it has the capability of lowering income tax, maximizing credits or deductions, and it is easier for an individual to proof the various sources of money that can be used for purposes of calculating the income tax of an individual (Mentz, 2009). This was new knowledge to me, and I was happy to learn it. Risk management is also an important concept in the planning process. One of the elements of risk management, and that is applicable to estate planning is insurance. One of the major costs of an insurance policy is the premiums that an individual would pay, for purposes of accessing the services of an insurer (Mentz, 2009). This lesson confirmed