ACCT 614 Week 5 Case Study 3 Example

Reviewed by Thomas Kerrigan, MBA, CPA · Liberty University · Updated

This ACCT 614 Week 5 sample case study asks whether a widow should file an estate tax return for a husband who died in 2024 with an estate far too small to owe tax. Filing would elect portability and move his unused exclusion to her. The page works out the deceased spousal unused exclusion amount from his $13,610,000 exclusion and the $1,000,000 he left to his children, explains the five-year relief route of Rev. Proc. 2022-32, sets the cost of filing against the protection it buys if her estate grows or the law changes, and frames the choice as prudence. Third of four cases in Liberty University ACCT 614, this one is worth 75 points toward the MS in Accounting course grade and lands in Module/Week 5 with Homework Assignment 2.

CourseACCT 614 Estate, Trust, and Gift Taxation (ACCT614)
Module/Week5
AssignmentCase Study 3
Paper typeCase study
Lengthabout 354 words, 1 double-spaced pages plus title page and references. Course guide: a case answered within one page, in APA form, preceded by a title page with running head and followed by references that include 2 or more CCH Intelliconnect items beyond the textbook and Bible
FormatAPA 7 student paper
Points75
SchoolLiberty University Online
ProgramMS in Accounting
Where it sitsModule/Week 5 in Liberty's published ACCT 614 course guide; current sections can differ
UpdatedOctober 2026

Free sample paper for ACCT 614 Week 5

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Claiming a Late Husband's Unused Exclusion: Should the Okafor Estate File Form 706 Two Years After His Death?

 

[Student Name]

School of Business, Liberty University

ACCT 614: Estate, Trust, and Gift Taxation

Case Study 3

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

 

The family and amounts are a composite written for this sample; the Code section, regulation, revenue procedure and Bible passage cited are real.

Why this part earns its pointsThe facts that decide the case are the date of death, the size of the estate and who received what.
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Claiming a Late Husband's Unused Exclusion: Should the Okafor Estate File Form 706 Two Years After His Death?

The Facts

Samuel Okafor died in March 2024 with a $3,000,000 estate. His will left $1,000,000 to his two children and the rest to his wife, Grace. Because the gross estate was well under the exclusion, his executor filed no estate tax return. Grace, now 68, has an estate of $7,000,000 that includes a growing business interest, and she asks in 2026 whether filing now is worth the cost.

Why this part earns its pointsThe computation uses the year of death and removes the marital bequest, the two points most students miss.
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The Unused Exclusion

A surviving spouse may add the deceased spouse's unused exclusion to her own, but only if the executor elects portability on a timely, complete Form 706 (I.R.C. § 2010, 2025). Samuel's basic exclusion for 2024 was $13,610,000. The $2,000,000 passing to Grace is removed by the marital deduction, so his taxable estate is the $1,000,000 left to the children, and the unused amount is $12,610,000. An estate that owes nothing can still hand the survivor more than $12 million of exclusion. Added to her own $15,000,000 for 2026, Grace's total exclusion would be $27,610,000. The amount is fixed at Samuel's death and does not rise with inflation, and Grace may draw on it for lifetime gifts as well as at her own death.

Filing Late

Because Samuel's estate was not required to file, Rev. Proc. 2022-32 lets the executor file a complete return any time before March 2029, the fifth anniversary of death, with a statement at the top that it is filed under the revenue procedure to elect portability (Rev. Proc. 2022-32, 2022). For property passing to Grace, values may be estimated in good faith rather than appraised (Treas. Reg. § 20.2010-2, 2025).

Why this part earns its pointsThe recommendation weighs the cost of filing against the protection it buys.
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Recommendation

Grace's estate is below her own exclusion today, but her business is growing and the exclusion could be reduced by a future Congress. A return costing a few thousand dollars preserves $12,610,000 of protection. The Proverbs picture of the prudent person who sees danger and takes refuge fits the case (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Proverbs 22:3). The executor should file. Grace should also know that the unused amount comes only from her last deceased spouse, so a remarriage followed by the death of a new spouse could replace Samuel's figure (I.R.C. § 2010, 2025).

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References

English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)

I.R.C. § 2010 (2025).

Rev. Proc. 2022-32, 2022-30 I.R.B. 101 (2022).

Treas. Reg. § 20.2010-2 (2025).

What the ACCT 614 Week 5 instructions ask

In ACCT 614, Module/Week 5 pairs Case Study 3 with Homework Assignment 2 and a double reading, chapters 5 and 6 of Hoffman et al., with one presentation. The case comes from the instructions, and the student answers it on a single APA-formatted page, with the running head on a title page before it and references after it. At least two of those references must be found in CCH Intelliconnect, and the textbook and the Bible are cited on top of them rather than in their place. A portability case suits the midpoint of the course because it joins the estate tax computation to planning, showing that a return nobody owes can still be the most valuable document a family files.

How this ACCT 614 Week 5 example is built

The sample answers in the order a reviewer would ask. It first confirms that the estate had no filing duty, because the gross estate was far below the exclusion, which is what opens the relief route. It then computes the unused amount: the exclusion for a 2024 death less the taxable estate, with the bequest to the widow removed by the marital deduction. A third paragraph explains how to file within five years under the revenue procedure and what the return must say at the top. The closing paragraph sets the cost of a complete return against the exclusion it preserves, gives a recommendation, and ties the decision to the Proverbs picture of a prudent person who sees trouble ahead and takes cover.

ACCT 614 Week 5 grading rubric: where the points go

Grading for this case turns on the computation and on recognizing the deadline. The unused amount must use the exclusion for the year of death, not the current year, and must subtract only the taxable estate, so a paper that subtracts the marital bequest misstates the figure. Instructors also expect the right relief path, with its conditions, cited to primary authority from CCH Intelliconnect. A recommendation that weighs cost against benefit earns more than a bare yes. Marks also ride on keeping to one page, on APA details such as the running head and reference entries, and on an ethical evaluation rooted in Scripture; neither the textbook nor the Bible counts toward the two CCH sources.

ACCT 614 Week 5 help: mistakes that cost points

Check first whether the estate was required to file, since the five-year relief applies only to estates that were not. Use the basic exclusion for the year the spouse died, $13,610,000 for 2024, and subtract the taxable estate after the marital deduction. Remember that the unused amount does not grow with inflation once it is fixed, which matters when comparing it with the survivor's own exclusion. Note the statement the revenue procedure requires at the top of the late return, and the fifth anniversary of death as the last day. Valuation can be estimated for property passing to the spouse, which keeps cost down. End with a recommendation and a reason, not a list of considerations.

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ACCT 614 Week 5 questions, answered

What is ACCT 614 Case Study 3?

The 75-point third case study, due in Module/Week 5, answering a tax case from the instructions on one page in current APA format with two or more CCH Intelliconnect sources.

Where can I find a free ACCT 614 Week 5 sample paper?

Here you can read a full ACCT 614 Week 5 case study on a late portability election, computing a deceased husband's unused exclusion and the filing route under Rev. Proc. 2022-32.

What is the DSUE amount?

The deceased spousal unused exclusion amount, the part of a deceased spouse's basic exclusion left unused at death, which a surviving spouse can add to their own exclusion if portability is elected.

How long does an estate have to elect portability?

An estate not otherwise required to file can elect on a complete Form 706 filed by the fifth anniversary of death under Rev. Proc. 2022-32; other estates must file on time.

What else is due in ACCT 614 Module/Week 5?

Homework Assignment 2 shares the week, five mostly numerical problems in an Excel workbook, and students read chapters 5 and 6 of Hoffman et al. with one presentation.

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