CSA End-of-Life Planning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client's 'beneficiary designation' on an IRA conflicts with instructions in their will. Which controls?
- The will always supersedes beneficiary designations
- The beneficiary designation on the IRA controls, regardless of the will (Correct answer)
- The most recently dated document controls
- A court must decide which document applies
Correct answer: The beneficiary designation on the IRA controls, regardless of the will
Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and similar assets pass outside of the estate and override any conflicting will provisions.
Question 2: What is 'intestate succession'?
- The process of contesting a will in probate court
- State law that determines how assets are distributed when someone dies without a valid will (Correct answer)
- A trust created after a person dies without planning
- The transfer of assets between spouses tax-free
Correct answer: State law that determines how assets are distributed when someone dies without a valid will
Intestate succession refers to the statutory rules that govern who inherits a deceased person's probate assets when they die without a valid will.
Question 3: Which advance care planning conversation tool uses a structured set of questions to help individuals articulate their values and preferences?
- POLST
- Five Wishes (Correct answer)
- DNR order
- Durable POA
Correct answer: Five Wishes
Five Wishes is a widely used advance care planning document that guides individuals through questions about personal, medical, and emotional care wishes.
Question 4: A client wants charitable donations at death but also income during life. Which planned giving vehicle best meets both goals?
- Outright bequest
- Charitable remainder trust (Correct answer)
- Donor-advised fund
- Qualified charitable distribution
Correct answer: Charitable remainder trust
A charitable remainder trust provides the donor with income during life and donates the remaining assets to charity at death, satisfying both income and philanthropic goals.
Question 5: Under Medicare Part A, after a qualifying hospital stay, how many days of skilled nursing facility care are fully covered?
- 0 days — Medicare never covers SNF care
- 20 days (Correct answer)
- 60 days
- 100 days
Correct answer: 20 days
Medicare Part A covers the first 20 days of skilled nursing facility care at 100% following a qualifying three-day hospital inpatient stay.
Question 6: A senior advisor is helping a client plan a funeral. The client wants maximum control over final arrangements to minimize family burden. The best approach is:
- Leaving verbal instructions with a trusted family member
- Prepaying and documenting detailed instructions in a pre-need funeral plan (Correct answer)
- Including burial wishes in a will
- Setting up a joint account earmarked for funeral costs
Correct answer: Prepaying and documenting detailed instructions in a pre-need funeral plan
A pre-need funeral plan documents specific wishes and may be prepaid, ensuring the arrangements are legally binding and reducing decisions families must make under grief.
Question 7: Which statement best describes 'comfort-focused care' versus 'life-prolonging care' in end-of-life decision-making?
- Comfort care and life-prolonging care are identical in scope
- Comfort care prioritizes quality of life and symptom relief; life-prolonging care emphasizes extending survival through all available interventions (Correct answer)
- Life-prolonging care is only appropriate for patients under age 80
- Comfort care requires a DNR order to be in place
Correct answer: Comfort care prioritizes quality of life and symptom relief; life-prolonging care emphasizes extending survival through all available interventions
Comfort-focused care (often hospice or palliative) prioritizes dignity and symptom management, while life-prolonging care employs all available medical interventions to extend life.
CSA End-of-Life Planning 5
A client's 'beneficiary designation' on an IRA conflicts with instructions in their will.
Which controls?