BUSI 354 is Liberty's estate planning course. Its written work is six forums, a client interview analysis based on a video interview, and a 10 to 12-page estate plan memo to your supervisor explaining your choices for Kathi and Darren's estate plan.
Liberty's catalog lists the course as BUSI 354 Estate Planning, 3 credit hours; Canvas and the course guide file print it as BUSI354.
What BUSI 354 covers
The catalog description: Estate Planning focuses on the efficient conservation and transfer of wealth, consistent with the goals of a financial planner's clients. It is a study of the legal, tax, financial and non-financial aspects of this process, covering topics such as: trusts, wills, probate, advanced directives, charitable giving, wealth transfers, and related taxes.
Estate planning concerns the efficient conservation and transfer of wealth consistent with clients' goals. The course studies the legal, tax, financial and non-financial aspects of the process: trusts, wills, probate, advance directives, charitable giving, wealth transfers and related taxes. The text is Dalton and Langdon, Estate Planning.
Seven quizzes (210 points) and the 10-minute estate plan exam (90) have no guide here, but the exam's answers feed the final memo. The client interview (200) and the estate plan memo (200) are the two largest assignments.
Textbook named in the published guide: Dalton & Langdon, Estate Planning (2017). Check the current edition in your Canvas section.
BUSI 354 assignments, week by week
Every graded written assignment in the published guide has its own how-to guide below. Quizzes, exams, checklists and class introductions are left out because there is nothing to write.
| Week | Assignment | Points | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Discussion Board Forum 1 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 2 | Discussion Board Forum 2 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 3 | Discussion Board Forum 3 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 4 | Discussion Board Forum 4 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 5 | Client Interview | 200 | Not set in the guide; follow the assignment instructions |
| 6 | Discussion Board Forum 5 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 7 | Discussion Board Forum 6 | 50 | Not set in the guide; a thread and a reply |
| 8 | Estate Plan | 200 | 10 to 12 pages, double-spaced |
Week 1: Discussion Board Forum 1
A thread analyzing a topic or question from the course text, and a reply to a classmate. How to write BUSI 354 Week 1 Discussion Board Forum 1.
Week 2: Discussion Board Forum 2
The second forum on a textbook topic, with a reply. How to write BUSI 354 Week 2 Discussion Board Forum 2.
Week 3: Discussion Board Forum 3
The third forum on a textbook topic, with a reply. How to write BUSI 354 Week 3 Discussion Board Forum 3.
Week 4: Discussion Board Forum 4
The fourth forum on a textbook topic, with a reply. How to write BUSI 354 Week 4 Discussion Board Forum 4.
Week 5: Client Interview
Watch the video interview with a potential client, analyze the family's probate and tax situation without an estate plan, identify the planning issues and begin outlining a plan. How to write BUSI 354 Week 5 Client Interview.
Week 6: Discussion Board Forum 5
The fifth forum on a textbook topic, with a reply. How to write BUSI 354 Week 6 Discussion Board Forum 5.
Week 7: Discussion Board Forum 6
The last forum on a textbook topic, with a reply. How to write BUSI 354 Week 7 Discussion Board Forum 6.
Week 8: Estate Plan
A 10 to 12-page memo to your supervisor explaining your choices for Kathi and Darren's estate plan and the rationale for each exam answer. How to write BUSI 354 Week 8 Estate Plan.
How BUSI 354 is graded
The published guide totals 1,010 points. The six forums are 50 each (300), the client interview 200, the estate plan memo 200, the estate plan exam 90, quizzes 210 and the checklist 10.
| Graded item | Points |
|---|---|
| Discussion Board Forums (6) | 300 |
| Client Interview | 200 |
| Estate Plan | 200 |
| Estate Plan Exam | 90 |
| Quizzes (7) | 210 |
| Course Requirements Checklist | 10 |
The published scale puts an A at 900 to 1010 points.
Week timing in the published guide: Each course module/week (except Module/Week 1) begins on Tuesday morning at 12:00 a.m. (ET) and ends on Monday night at 11:59 p.m. (ET). The final module/week ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Friday.
How to approach BUSI 354
Read the Kathi and Darren scenario well before Week 8. You answer its 20 practice questions first, then take a 10-minute exam drawing 10 of them, then write the 10 to 12-page memo explaining your answers.
The client interview in Week 5 asks you to analyze probate and tax outcomes without a plan; review intestacy and the estate tax chapters before it.
Questions students ask
What is the BUSI 354 estate plan memo?
A 10 to 12-page memo to your supervisor explaining your choices for Kathi and Darren's estate plan and your rationale for each answer you gave on the estate plan exam.
What is the BUSI 354 client interview assignment?
You watch a video interview with a potential client, analyze the probate and tax status of the client's family without an estate plan, identify the estate planning issues and begin outlining a plan.
Working through BUSI 354 now?
Tell us the week and the assignment. A tutor who knows the course replies with a plan for the draft.