Course Overview – The Curriculum Covers:

The curriculum for the Chartered Trust and Estate Planner is based on trust and estate planning for resident and non-resident clients. This core group of graduate topics focuses on the major functional issues of high net-worth consulting, ranging from tax, finance to law. A critical aspect of this course is addressing the interpersonal skills crucial to of advising the wealthy individual or family. The course will cover such planning obstacles as Common Law vs. Civil Law jurisdictions, non-resident alien spouse, and tangible and non-tangible assets in multiple jurisdictions.

By Attending this Course, You can learn about:

• Tax Planning

• Shams and Step Transactions

• Concepts of Residence and Source

• General Anti Avoidance Regime

• Concepts of Substance and Form and Abuse of Law

• Specific Anti Avoidance Rules

• Controlled Foreign Corporations

• Controlled Foreign Companies Regime

• Thin Capitalization

• Advance Pricing Agreements

• U. S. Tax Treaties, OECD Models, U.N. Models

• The Use of Double Tax Agreements for Avoidance

• Review of Important Tax Cases

Who Will Benefit From This Course?

• Trust Officers

• Hedge Fund Managers

• Family Office Managers

• Private Bankers

• Wealth Managers

• Retail Branch Managers

• Brokerage and Market Analysts

• Investment Advisors and Financial Planners

• Investment Managers and Analysts

• Stock Market Professionals

• Portfolio and Asset Managers

• Financial Marketing Professionals

• Heads of Financial Accounts

• Operation and Planning Managers

Areas of Course Study

Personal Financial Planning, Estates, and Risk Management

The candidate will be exposed to advanced financial topics including wealth accumulation and distribution, asset transfer, tax planning, and retirement planning. This section will include a full discussion of insurance products including life, property, health, disability, casualty and catastrophic coverage insurance. Also, the student will learn techniques used to transfer assets during a client’s lifetime using planned gifts, as well as, planning at death using wills and trusts.

Offshore Private Placement Life Insurance

• Introduction to Offshore Variable Life Insurance

• Offshore Holding Structures

• Asset Protection Benefits

• Investment Management Benefits and Flexibility

• Tax Benefits

• Liquidity

• The IRC 953 (d) Election

• Diversification and Investor Control

• Due Diligence Requirements

• Gathering Information

• Prequalification and Placing the Offshore Policy

The Law of Trusts and Fiduciary Obligations

This module covers the fundamental aspects of trust law and the fiduciary powers, duties, and responsibilities within the scope of applicable law. The candidate should already understand basic fiduciary relationships and activities that are essential to traditional administration. This module also covers the trustee’s responsibilities relative to investing trust assets such as specific securities laws, relevant ethical issues, and the prudent person & prudent investor rule.

The course covers the following main topic areas:

• Uses of trusts.

• Distinction between a trust and a power.

• Discretionary trusts.

• Certainty, the beneficiary principle and purpose trusts.

• Charitable trusts.

• Unincorporated associations and pension funds.

• Secret trusts and mutual wills.

• Resulting and constructive trusts.

• Breach of trust. Breach of fiduciary duty.

• Tracing, and strangers to the trust.

• Appointment and removal of trustees.

• Duties of trustees.

• Termination and variation of trusts.

INTERNATIONAL ESTATE PLANNING

Income, Gift and Estate Taxation and Planning

Taxation of U.S. citizen residents or domiciliary

1. Estate taxation

2. Gift taxation

3. Generation-skipping transfer taxation

4. Marital deduction planning for citizens and residents with non-citizen spouses

Asset protection trusts for U.S. persons

1. Tax compliance and tax reporting requirements

2. Penalties for failure to file

Charitable contribution deduction under U.S. tax laws

Taxation of non-residents and non-domiliciaries

1. Income taxation

2. Estate taxation

3. Gift taxation

Income, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxation of non-resident aliens

1. Passive investments

2. Active Trade or business operations

3. Foreign Investment Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA)

4. Use of foreign corporations to avoid FIRPTA

Other Issues

  • Conflict of Laws
  • Marital deduction planning
  • Trusts and foundations under civil law jurisdictions
  • Asset protection trusts for foreign persons
  • Reporting and disclosure requirements for foreign persons
  • Succession Planning: Planning a Family and Business Legacy

The course explains how to make your client the entire family (as opposed to just the patriarch and matriarch). It distinguishes between wealth creation and preservation, and wealth transfer and how to best address the challenges of planning and counseling the entire family.

Family Interviews, Fact and Feeling Finding. How to determine family member wants, needs and expectations through family interviews.

Case Study – An actual case features a completed interview fact-finder, analyzing an interpreting data, determine family wealth transfer objectives and solutions.

The Family Retreat – This session focuses on organizing the family retreat, facilitation skills, how to conduct the retreat and make an effective presentation of the new wealth transfer plan, liquidity options and the importance of implementing the new plan and tracking its results.

International Anti-Avoidance and Tax Treaties

The objective of this module is to give the student an understanding of the fundamental principles that underlie anti-avoidance provisions and to acquaint you with the current state of the law in selected countries.

Tax avoidance is difficult to define. Additionally, interpretation from one tax jurisdiction to another varies and legislation changes from time to time reflecting changes in judicial tolerance. Advisors need to be aware of the current state of the law in the country of residence of the taxpayer and also in the countries that they are using to implement their client’s tax plans.

Under an agreement with the Business School Accreditation Agency, graduates of qualified accredited business degree courses, exams and programs may apply directly for exemption in some papers.

Entry Requirement:

Foundational Level: SSCE / WASSCE/ Diploma
Level 1: HND or First Degree in any discipline from a recognized tertiary Institution
Level 2: First Degree or Masters in HRM or an equivalent degree. Students who have completed all Level 1 and 2 exams also progress to the final Level 3.

Level 3: This is the final stage of the Professional Certification Programme to become a CTEP Chartered Trust and Estate Planner ™.
Student Subscription: *$150.00 (to be renewed every 2years)

Exemption per Course: *GH¢220.00 (during the initial application process, students apply for all exemptions sought in Levels 1 and 2. Exemptions are processed only at the point of initial Registration. Students placed on Level 3 have exemption fees waived.)

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