Approved IAR CE Courses

This session uses a business-owning client in his late 30s with a complex trust structure and a prenuptial agreement to expose a gap that appears in nearly every estate planning engagement: the difference between having documents and having an estate plan that is complete, funded, and actually works. Early-career advisors typically treat an executed estate plan as finished work; they review documents for content without verifying that assets are titled where the documents assume they are, and they miss the cascading legal consequences when that verification step is skipped. Participants will cross-reference document reviews, test them against a real titling gap discovered mid-engagement, and rehearse the client conversation that follows, uncovering a serious problem the client did not know existed. By the end, participants should be able to conduct a basic estate plan verification review, trace a titling gap through its downstream consequences, and communicate that finding to a client in plain language without triggering alarm.

This session uses the retirement of a high-asset couple in their late 50s as the vehicle to explore tax planning opportunities that are uniquely available in early retirement and almost universally overlooked, specifically the 0% long-term capital gains rate, the ACA Premium Tax Credit, and non-conventional account distribution sequencing. The purpose is to surface two blind spots that early-career advisors commonly carry into this type of case: framing retirement income as a portfolio yield problem rather than a 1040 management problem, and defaulting to Roth conversions as the obvious pre-RMD move without recognizing when that default closes off strategies that save more tax with greater certainty. Beyond the technical content, participants will practice two behavioral experiences that rarely get rehearsal time — reframing a client's presenting concern without dismissing it and holding a sound recommendation under pressure when a client keeps returning to something they want that the numbers don't support. Participants should leave with a sharper eye for early retirement tax windows, a clearer instinct for when a conventional planning default needs to be questioned, and enough practice with the client communication moments that they're not encountering them for the first time when it counts.

This session uses a high-earning couple in their early 40s with nearly their entire net worth concentrated in a C-Corp startup position to explore the planning decisions that arise when a major liquidity event is imminent, and the impact of taxes are at a magnitude in the millions. Early-career advisors typically see a concentrated stock situation and default their recommendations to a sell-or-hold paradigm; they tend to miss both the qualifying criteria that could eliminate the tax entirely and the strategies that, when structured correctly, can multiply that elimination across the whole family. Participants will sketch their own recommendations, compare them against the expert path, and rehearse the client conversation in a small-group role-play. By the end, participants should be able to identify the QSBS fact pattern in a real client situation, articulate the stack-and-pack strategy to a skeptical client, and hold the hedging-versus-concentration frame under client pressure.

After the release of the Final Regulations, post-death IRA distribution rules have become more complex, creating more opportunities for IRA beneficiaries to inadvertently be subject to a large tax bill. Planning for the use of a trust as an IRA beneficiary creates a whole new set of planning considerations to balance the benefit of control with the additional cost and complexity of trusts. In this webinar, Jeff Levine reviews the impact of the Final Regulations on IRA beneficiaries and then explains the advantages and disadvantages of using a trust as an IRA beneficiary. He further explains the lifecycle of IRA trusts, detailing how they are established, funded, and administered based on whether they are a conduit or discretionary trust. The presentation concludes with the top 5 mistakes to avoid when creating IRA trusts.

Stock options can be a valuable portion of a client's compensation. However, Incentive Stock Options (ISOs) can require a significant amount of planning to maximize the benefits of this compensation to align with client goals, especially since ineffective planning for ISOs can result in significant unplanned tax liability. Planning for a client's stock options can also be an emotional experience, where clients may feel overwhelmed or sad when considering parting with company stock. In this webinar, Daniel Zajac, CFP', EA, provides a review of ISOs, explains how to decide on a client strategy for exercising ISOs based on a client's situation and the status of the issuing company, and details how to calculate the potential tax impact of exercising and selling ISOs, including navigating alternative minimum tax. Zajac concludes this webinar with a discussion of how to start conversations with clients about their incentive stock options and build a plan that aligns with their overall goals.

This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Limits Of Tax Diversification And The Tax Alpha Of Roth Optimization and How S-Corp Owner Employees Can Accurately Track Home Office Deductions.

For many financial advisors, compliance can feel like a regulatory box to check in order to offer financial advice. But at its core, regulation is designed to protect consumers, and when the intent behind the rules is understood, it becomes easier to follow them effectively. In this session, Chief Financial Planning Nerd Michael Kitces is joined by compliance experts Terria Heng, Emil Ali, and Leila Shaver to discuss the latest developments in compliance, what RIAs need to keep in mind as they seek to create a positive culture of compliance, develop and operate within their compliance policies and procedures, and what to watch out for to minimize the risk of audit deficiencies when compliance reviews inevitably come.

For many financial advisors, compliance can feel like a regulatory box to check in order to offer financial advice. But at its core, regulation is designed to protect consumers, and when the intent behind the rules is understood, it becomes easier to follow them effectively. In this session, Chief Financial Planning Nerd Michael Kitces is joined by compliance experts Terria Heng, Emil Ali, and Leila Shaver to discuss the latest developments in compliance, what RIAs need to keep in mind as they seek to create a positive culture of compliance, develop and operate within their compliance policies and procedures, and what to watch out for to minimize the risk of audit deficiencies when compliance reviews inevitably come.

Employee stock options can be a powerful part of a client's compensation package, yet they often introduce concentration risk, unexpected tax consequences, and a higher likelihood of triggering alternative minimum tax. In this session, Daniel Zajac explains the full lifecycle of incentive stock options (ISOs), from grant to disposition, with an emphasis on how to identify tax opportunities, mitigate risks like single stock concentration and AMT exposure, and develop strategies that align with client cash flow needs and long-term goals. Participants will leave with actionable frameworks for advising clients on ISO planning and integrating stock compensation into a client's broader financial plan.