Question

One of your clients recently contacted you with some unfortunate news. She was diagnosed with inoperable cancer and is expected to live for less than one year. The client originally invested over $250,000 into the account 15 years ago. She has done very well in the market since. The client plans to leave her entire estate to her cousin, who is currently 24 years of age and finishing college. Which of the following is the BEST advice that you can give to this client at this time?[A] You should advise the client to open a joint account with her cousin so that the funds may be transferred to that account and probate upon her death may be avoided.[B] You should advise the client to liquidate all holdings in the account and invest it entirely in Treasury Securities since these are highly liquid investments.[C] You should advise the client to contact an attorney who specializes in estates and tax issues related to estates.[D] You should advise the client to have the cousin open an account and transfer all of the assets of the account from her account to the cousin's new account.

Answer 1

The answer is: C) You should advise the client to contact an attorney who specializes in estates and tax issues related to estates.

Step-by-step explanation:

Since your are not a lawyer, and this situation requires a lawyer, then you should advice your client to look for one that specializes in estates and estate taxes.

When someone dies, even of natural causes, things get complicated and when money is involved, the complication is much greater. There are unforeseen issues that might show up relating to the estate and applicable taxes that should be handled by an attorney that specializes in that area.