| Course | GF593 Estate Planning |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Beneficiary designation audit |
| Length | About 880 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | MS in Finance |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for GF593 Unit 7
Five Forms, One Empty Trust: A Unit 7 Beneficiary Designation Audit for an Illinois Couple
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
GF593: Estate Planning
Unit 7 Beneficiary Designation Audit
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The couple, their children, their accounts and every amount are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real; this audit is coursework, not legal advice.
Finding
Steven and Alicia Brennan signed a revocable trust four years ago. It holds everything for their children, Maya and Jonah, until each turns 30, with a trustee who can pay for school, health and support along the way. Their pour-over wills send any probate property into the trust. But their five largest assets pass by beneficiary form or account registration, and the forms were never changed when the trust was signed. A plan administrator or custodian pays the person named on its own form, not the person a will or trust intends (Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, 2009).
Method
Each form was obtained from the plan administrator, insurer or custodian, not taken from the couple's memory. For each account the audit records the owner, the value, the primary and contingent beneficiaries as written, what the trust intends, the disagreement and the corrected designation. The test case is the second death, the point at which the children inherit.
Audit Table
1. Alicia's 401(k), $410,000. Primary: Steven. Contingent: Maya and Jonah equally. Trust intends: held for the children until 30. Disagreement: at the second death the money goes to the children outright. Corrected: primary Steven, contingent the trust.
2. Steven's rollover IRA, $188,000. Primary: his mother, who died in 2022. Contingent: none. Trust intends: the trust after Alicia. Disagreement: with no living beneficiary, the custodian's agreement pays the surviving spouse, then the estate, so the account's path depends on fine print nobody has read. Corrected: primary Alicia, contingent the trust.
3. Steven's group life, $330,000. Primary: his estate. Disagreement: the proceeds enter probate, wait for the court and become available to estate creditors before reaching the trust. Corrected: primary Alicia, contingent the trust.
4. Term policy on Alicia, $1,000,000. Primary: Steven. Contingent: none. Disagreement: if Steven dies first, the proceeds go to Alicia's estate and through probate. Corrected: primary Steven, contingent the trust.
5. Joint brokerage account, $260,000. Registered to both spouses with right of survivorship, transfer on death to the children. Disagreement: at the second death the account goes to the children outright. Corrected: transfer on death to the trust.
The trust the Brennans paid for would receive money only by the slowest route, through probate, and the two largest direct transfers would skip it entirely.
Tracing Each Disagreement at the Second Death
Outright to the children: $670,000. Alicia's 401(k) and the brokerage account would pass straight to Maya and Jonah. Because both are minors, an Illinois court would appoint a guardian of each child's estate, require court approval for spending and annual accountings, and release everything at 18. The trust's age of 30 would never apply.
Through probate first: $1,518,000. Steven's group life names his estate, and Alicia's policy and Steven's IRA would reach an estate whenever their own beneficiary was missing. Each dollar would wait for probate to close, typically many months in Illinois, before the pour-over will moved it into the trust. During that time the money could be used to pay estate debts, and the court process is public.
Directly to the trust: $0. Not one form names the trust, so the document the Brennans spent the most time and money on would be the last place their money arrives. Every dollar it eventually holds would come through a courtroom first, and the dollars that matter most for young children, the life insurance, would be the slowest to arrive.
Why Retirement Accounts Need Care in the Trust
Naming the trust as contingent beneficiary of the 401(k) and the IRA is right for this family, but the trust must be written to receive retirement money. If it qualifies as a see-through trust, a minor child of the account owner may take withdrawals over a longer period until age 21, and the rest of the account must then be withdrawn within ten years (Internal Revenue Service, 2025). Without that language, withdrawals could be required sooner. The couple's attorney should confirm the trust contains it before the forms are changed.
Why the Forms Fell Out of Line
The forms were signed at different times for different reasons: the 401(k) at hire, the IRA after a job change, the term policy when Jonah was born. Nobody owned the job of reconciling them with the trust. That pattern is typical, because beneficiary forms are contracts with each institution, and none of them knows about the others or about the will (Sitkoff & Dukeminier, 2022).
Corrections in Order
1. Confirm with the attorney that the trust can receive retirement accounts.
2. File the five corrected forms listed in the audit table, and keep each confirmation.
3. Re-register the brokerage account's transfer on death designation to the trust.
4. Schedule a check of all five forms every two years and after any birth, death, marriage or job change.
After these steps, all $2,188,000 would reach the trust at the second death without a court and without passing to minors.
References
Internal Revenue Service. (2025). Distributions from individual retirement arrangements (Publication 590-B). https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b
Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont Savings and Investment Plan, 555 U.S. 285 (2009).
Sitkoff, R. H., & Dukeminier, J. (2022). Wills, trusts, and estates (11th ed.). Aspen Publishing.
The Purdue Global GF593 Unit 7 instructions
GF593's seventh unit gives you a client's plan and the forms that are supposed to carry it out, and asks whether they agree. State the reference document first, usually a trust or will, and summarize what it intends. Obtain each form from the institution rather than relying on the client's memory, and record the owner, value, primary and contingent beneficiaries as written. Compare each one with the plan, name the disagreement and propose the corrected designation. Then follow every disagreement to its consequence at the second death: money to minors outright, money through probate or money to the wrong person. Explain how inherited retirement accounts are paid out when a trust is the beneficiary, since the trust's wording affects timing. Close with corrections in order and a schedule for future reviews. Reference Publication 590-B, the Supreme Court ruling on plan documents and one trusts casebook in APA 7.
How the GF 593 Unit 7 example is put together
A one-paragraph finding states that no form names the trust, and Kennedy v. Plan Administrator for DuPont explains why the forms control. The method section describes obtaining each form and testing the second death. Five numbered audit lines follow: Alicia's 401(k), Steven's IRA naming his late mother, group life naming his estate, the $1,000,000 term policy with no contingent and the joint brokerage account registered to the children. The highlighted sentence summarizes the result. Three tracing sections follow, showing $670,000 to minors with guardianship and release at 18, $1,518,000 through probate, and nothing directly to the trust. A retirement section explains see-through trust status and the rules for a minor child under Publication 590-B. A paragraph citing Sitkoff and Dukeminier explains how forms drift apart from a plan. Four corrections and a two-year review schedule close the audit at $2,188,000.
Where the points sit in the GF593 Unit 7 rubric
Most of the points in this GF593 audit come from an accurate table and from tracing each disagreement to its result. Instructors check that the forms were read as written, including missing contingents and deceased beneficiaries, and that each correction fits the plan. A submission that lists problems without following the money to the second death misses the consequence the unit is built around. The retirement account discussion is weighted because naming a trust there requires specific language, and an audit that ignores it could create a new problem. Explaining why forms drift out of line shows insight that helps the clients prevent a repeat. Corrections are graded on whether they are complete and in a sensible order, starting with confirming the trust can receive retirement money. Its conclusions rest on IRS Publication 590-B, the Kennedy decision and the Sitkoff and Dukeminier casebook, all in APA 7.
GF593 Unit 7 help from the desk
GF593 Unit 7 audits often rely on the client's description of the forms instead of the forms themselves, which hides exactly the errors the unit is looking for. A deceased primary beneficiary with no contingent is easy to miss and sends money to a default the client never chose. Some audits correct the primary beneficiary and leave the contingent wrong, though the contingent is what matters at the second death. Others name the trust on retirement accounts without checking whether the trust can receive them. Money passing to minors is sometimes described as reaching the children, without explaining the guardianship and the early release at 18. Probate routes are often treated as harmless because the pour-over will eventually reaches the trust. Keep each account on its own line, follow its money to the end, give the corrected form, and add a schedule so the forms stay aligned after future life events.
Get a GF593 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
Forms and the document they ought to match, usually a trust or will, are the two inputs an audit needs; send both with the Unit 7 prompt and rubric. Every disagreement is traced to its route at the second death and paired with a corrected designation. First sample free, in 24-48h. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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GF593 Unit 7 questions, answered
What if the case gives no trust, only a will?
Then the will is the reference document, and the audit tests each form against its dispositive plan. The findings change shape, since a form naming the estate might then agree with the will while still sending money through probate. The sample's method holds either way: name the reference, test every row, and state the route and consequence of each disagreement.
Why does naming a trust on an IRA need special care?
Because the payout rules depend on who the beneficiary is. A trust meeting the see-through requirements can be treated as a designated beneficiary, and a minor child of the owner may qualify for longer treatment until the age of majority. A trust that fails those requirements can accelerate distributions. The sample flags this for drafting counsel rather than resolving it.
Where can I find a free GF593 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page carries a full GF593 Unit 7 beneficiary designation audit for an Illinois couple's five accounts, with an audit table, the money traced at the second death, corrected forms and APA 7 references.
Why does a form naming the estate cause problems?
Proceeds paid to an estate must go through probate, wait for the court and become available to estate creditors before the pour-over will moves them into the trust. Naming the trust directly avoids all three, which is why the audit corrects Steven's group life.
What happens if a beneficiary on the form has died?
If no contingent is named, the account follows the default in the plan or custodial agreement, often the spouse and then the estate. Steven's IRA still names his late mother, so its path depends on fine print, and the audit names Alicia and then the trust.