CLU study plan

Compute both the human life value approach and the needs (capital retention) approach for three fabricated client profiles and reconcile the difference in recommended face amount

Build a side-by-side decision matrix distinguishing term, whole life, universal life, variable universal life, and indexed universal life on premium flexibility, cash value guarantees, expense structure, and policyholder risk

Trace the income-tax treatment of death proceeds, cash value accumulation, policy loans, surrenders, and modified endowment contracts for six short fact patterns

Explain in writing how dividend options, nonforfeiture options, and settlement options each change a policyholder's outcome, using one worked numeric example per option group

Draft a 150-word client-facing explanation of why a permanent policy illustration is not a projection of performance

Compare group term life, group carve-out, and individually owned permanent coverage for a 12-employee firm and recommend a structure with stated rationale

Compute the taxable economic benefit under a split-dollar arrangement and under an executive bonus (Section 162) plan for two stated premium and tax-bracket scenarios

Calculate annuity accumulation and payout values including exclusion ratio, and identify the tax treatment of nonqualified versus qualified annuities

List the six ways life insurance is used in business planning (key person, buy-sell funding, deferred compensation, split dollar, executive bonus, group benefits) and match each to a business need

Define the estate tax gross estate inclusion rules for life insurance proceeds under incidents-of-ownership and transfer-within-three-years rules, and apply them to four fact patterns

Diagram the probate versus non-probate transfer path for a sample estate, labeling at least eight asset types by transfer mechanism

Compute the federal estate tax base for three sample estates by assembling the gross estate, subtracting deductions, and applying the applicable credit and marital deduction

Apply the gift tax annual exclusion, lifetime exemption, present-interest rule, and split-gift election to five gifting scenarios

Differentiate the mechanics, taxation, and control consequences of revocable living trusts, irrevocable life insurance trusts, GRATs, QPRTs, and charitable remainder trusts

Explain the roles and limits of durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and guardianship nominations in an incapacity plan

Assemble a full written estate plan outline for a married couple with a blended family and a closely held business, coordinating the marital deduction, credit shelter funding, and ILIT ownership

Reconcile the interaction between life insurance ownership, beneficiary designations, and estate inclusion by correcting three flawed policy-ownership scenarios

Rank estate planning techniques by liquidity, control retained, income tax efficiency, and estate tax efficiency in a comparison grid

Re-derive from memory the gross estate inclusion, valuation, and deduction rules covered in weeks 2 through 4 on a blank worksheet

Complete 40 mixed-domain practice items on Domains 2 and 3 with error log entries for every miss

Define and apply the risk management process steps to four client situations, selecting and justifying a treatment technique for each identified exposure

Explain insurable interest, indemnity, utmost good faith, adhesion, and aleatory in plain language and identify which principle governs eight short fact patterns

Map all standard policy provisions (entire contract, grace period, reinstatement, incontestability, misstatement of age, assignment, suicide clause) to their practical effect on a claim

Compare stock, mutual, reciprocal, and fraternal insurers plus reinsurance and guaranty association roles in a written summary

Describe the regulatory framework for insurance including state regulation, producer licensing, and market conduct oversight

Design a buy-sell agreement for a three-owner LLC, choosing between entity-purchase and cross-purchase, and specifying valuation method, funding, and trigger events

Compute the income and estate tax consequences of funding a buy-sell with life insurance versus sinking fund versus installment payout in a stated scenario

Compare C corporation, S corporation, partnership, and LLC structures on owner compensation, fringe benefit treatment, and exit taxation

Assemble the nonqualified benefit toolkit (deferred compensation, executive bonus, split dollar, group carve-out) and match each to stated retention objectives

Explain how key person insurance and disability buy-out coverage protect business continuity, including the tax treatment of premiums and proceeds

Synthesize business and personal planning by drafting solutions for four integrated cases that combine entity structure, buy-sell, key person, and personal estate liquidity

Complete a full-length timed practice exam under exam conditions and score each domain separately

Re-teach the ten lowest-scoring concepts from the practice exam in written form without notes, then verify against source material

Build a flashcard set of at least 60 terms and formulas drawn only from missed or flagged items across Domains 1 and 4

Identify and schedule the two weakest domains from the practice exam into the final week's review blocks

Recompute, from a blank sheet, the ten most testable formulas across life insurance and estate planning, including needs analysis, exclusion ratio, gross estate, and estate tax base

Complete two additional timed full-length practice exams, each scoring 80% or better overall and 75% or better in every domain

Resolve every remaining flashcard flagged as uncertain by writing the correct rule and a one-line example for each

Rehearse a 10-minute verbal summary of each domain's planning framework to confirm retrieval without notes