| Course | BUSI 354 Estate Planning (BUSI354) |
|---|---|
| Module/Week | 7 |
| Assignment | Discussion Board Forum 6 |
| Paper type | Discussion thread with one reply |
| Length | about 553 words (thread and replies). Course guide: a thread that elaborates on the textbook material and analyzes the question posed in the prompt, plus a reply to a classmate's thread |
| Format | APA 7 citations and reference list |
| Points | 50 |
| School | Liberty University Online |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Where it sits | Module/Week 7 in Liberty's published BUSI 354 course guide; current sections can differ |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for BUSI 354 Week 7
Discussion Board Forum 6: Charitable Transfers
BUSI 354 Estate Planning, Discussion Board Forum 6 Thread and Reply
Thread by [Student Name]
The forum prompt and the classmate's thread are composites; the textbook, research and Scripture cited are real.
Tax benefits should shape how a client gives, but not whether the client gives; the right charitable tool depends on what the donor wants to accomplish.
Dalton and Langdon (2017) describe a range of charitable transfers. A simple bequest in a will or trust costs nothing during life and is fully deductible for estate tax purposes. A donor-advised fund lets a donor contribute now, take an income tax deduction and recommend grants over time. A charitable remainder trust pays the donor or another beneficiary income for life or a term of years, then passes the remainder to charity, which makes it useful for highly appreciated assets the donor wants to convert to income without an immediate capital gains tax. For IRA owners over 70 and a half, a qualified charitable distribution sends money directly to a charity and keeps it out of taxable income.
Taxes do influence giving. Auten et al. (2002) studied panel data on taxpayers and found that charitable giving responded to its after-tax price, particularly to persistent changes in tax rates. But taxes are not the whole story. Andreoni (1990) explained that donors also give because of the warm glow of giving itself, not only because of what the gift accomplishes. A tax deduction can make a gift larger, but it rarely creates the desire to give.
That is why the planning question should start with the donor's purpose. A client who wants to support a church's ministry for decades might choose a bequest to an endowment; one who wants income now and a gift later might choose a charitable remainder trust. A retiree who already gives each year and must take required distributions from an IRA can make those gifts through qualified charitable distributions, giving the same amount at a lower tax cost. A family that wants its children involved in giving might use a donor-advised fund and recommend grants together each year, teaching generosity as well as practicing it.
Paul teaches that each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, 2 Corinthians 9:7). Good planning lets that cheerful decision go as far as possible, so that less of the gift is lost to taxes and more reaches the work the donor loves.
Reply to Hannah
Hannah, your thread described a widow who wants to leave $200,000 to her church and the rest to her children, with the cash and brokerage account going to the church and her IRA to her children. Her goals are clear, and Dalton and Langdon (2017) would support the bequest. The order of assets could be better, though.
An IRA carries built-in income tax: her children will owe income tax on every dollar they withdraw, generally within ten years. A church pays no income tax at all. If she names the church as beneficiary of $200,000 of the IRA instead, the church receives the full amount, and her children inherit the brokerage account with a stepped-up basis, owing little or no tax on the gain built up during her lifetime.
Jesus told his followers to lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys (English Standard Version Bible, 2001/2016, Matthew 6:19-21). Would she be willing to change the beneficiary form to split the IRA this way?
References
Andreoni, J. (1990). Impure altruism and donations to public goods: A theory of warm-glow giving. The Economic Journal, 100(401), 464-477. https://doi.org/10.2307/2234133
Auten, G. E., Sieg, H., & Clotfelter, C. T. (2002). Charitable giving, income, and taxes: An analysis of panel data. American Economic Review, 92(1), 371-382. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282802760015793
Dalton, M. A., & Langdon, T. P. (2017). Estate planning (8th ed.). Money Education.
English Standard Version Bible. (2016). Crossway. (Original work published 2001)
What the BUSI 354 Week 7 instructions ask
Module/Week 7 brings chapters 10 and 12 of Dalton and Langdon, a presentation, Quiz 7 and Forum 6, the final discussion before the estate plan exam and memo in Module/Week 8. Like the five forums before it, this one asks students to elaborate on the textbook material, analyze a question it raises and reply to a classmate's thread. Since the guide sets no word or source minimum, the sample combines a developed thread, using the textbook, two outside studies and Scripture, with a reply of about two hundred words. Together they count for 50 points. Charitable planning rewards precision, because each tool has different tax effects and different rules about who benefits and when.
How this BUSI 354 Week 7 example is built
First, the thread separates the decision to give from the method of giving. It then explains four tools with Dalton and Langdon's terms and matches each to a type of donor: a simple bequest, a donor-advised fund, a charitable remainder trust for appreciated assets and a qualified charitable distribution for IRA owners over 70 and a half. Two studies on how donors respond to taxes and why they give explain why tax benefits influence the form more than the fact of giving. The verse from 2 Corinthians frames the motive. The reply corrects the order of assets in a classmate's plan, using the income tax treatment of inherited retirement accounts.
BUSI 354 Week 7 grading rubric: where the points go
Instructors grade the thread on its elaboration of the charitable transfer material and its analysis, and the reply on the value it adds. Accurate distinctions among outright gifts, bequests, donor-advised funds, charitable remainder and lead trusts, and qualified charitable distributions show command of the chapter. Analysis appears in matching tools to donors and in weighing tax and non-tax motives. Research on charitable behavior strengthens the argument. A reply that improves a classmate's plan with a specific tax point, such as which assets carry built-in income tax, shows applied understanding. Current APA citations and Scripture integrated with the topic complete the forum.
BUSI 354 Week 7 help: mistakes that cost points
Start by asking what the donor wants to accomplish, then choose the tool. Learn the key features of each tool in Dalton and Langdon's chapter, including who receives income, when the charity receives the remainder and what deduction is allowed. Pay attention to which assets carry built-in income tax, such as retirement accounts, because charities pay no income tax on them. Find economics research on charitable giving and taxes. Choose Scripture on giving and connect it to the motive behind planned gifts. Use the reply to test whether the classmate's plan sends the most heavily taxed assets to the charity. Compare at least two charitable tools on who receives income and when the charity benefits, since that comparison is the heart of most prompts on this chapter.
Related BUSI 354 sample papers
Other BUSI 354 weeks
- BUSI 354 Week 1: Forum 1 Thread and Reply
- BUSI 354 Week 2: Forum 2 Thread and Reply
- BUSI 354 Week 3: Forum 3 Thread and Reply
- BUSI 354 Week 4: Forum 4 Thread and Reply
- BUSI 354 Week 5: Client Interview Analysis
- BUSI 354 Week 6: Forum 5 Thread and Reply
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- BUSI 360 Week 7: Forum 4 Thread
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BUSI 354 Week 7 questions, answered
What is BUSI 354 Discussion Board Forum 6 about?
The closing forum, paired with chapters 10 and 12 of Dalton and Langdon, asks students to analyze charitable and family transfers and answer one classmate's post.
Where can I find a free BUSI 354 Week 7 sample paper?
Scroll down for a full BUSI 354 Week 7 thread comparing bequests, donor-advised funds, remainder trusts and IRA distributions to charity, with a reply on which assets to give.
What is a qualified charitable distribution?
A direct transfer from an IRA to a charity by an owner aged 70 and a half or older, which is excluded from taxable income and can count toward required minimum distributions.
Should I leave my IRA to charity or to my children?
If you plan to give to charity at death, leaving it the IRA is often more efficient, since the charity pays no income tax on it, while children can receive assets with a stepped-up basis instead.
What else is due in BUSI 354 Module/Week 7?
Quiz 7 is due with the forum, and the reading pairs Dalton and Langdon's tenth chapter with their twelfth, along with one recorded presentation on charitable transfers. The final module/week brings the estate plan exam and memo.
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