American College Exam HS330 Topic 1 Question 112 Discussion

Actual exam question for American College's HS330 exam

Question #: 112
Topic #: 1

Mr. Barlow died early this year. Under the terms of his will he left all his real estate and tangible personal property to his son. All the remainder of his probate estate was left to his wife, Mrs. Barlow. The following is a list of Mr. Barlow's probate assets and their fair market values at the time of his death:

Commercial real estate $150,000

Furniture and fixtures 75,000

Listed common stock 300,000

Other securities 200,000

In addition, Mr. Barlow also owned a $1 00,000 life insurance policy on his life with Mrs. Barlow designated as beneficiary. Based on this information, what is the amount of property in Mr. Barlow's estate qualifying for the federal estate tax marital deduction?

A$400,000

B$500,000

C$600,000

D$825,000

Show Suggested Answer

Suggested Answer: C

by Glynda at Jun 15, 2025, 12:27 PM

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Daisy

7 days ago

This reminds me of the time I had to file my own taxes. Talk about a headache! Anyway, I think the answer is B) $500,000. Gotta keep it simple, you know?

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Lai

10 days ago

Ah, the old 'what's in the estate' question. Classic! I'm going with C) $600,000. The listed common stock and other securities add up to $500,000, and the life insurance policy of $100,000 should also qualify for the marital deduction.

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Arletta

15 days ago

Hmm, I'm not so sure. The life insurance policy also seems to be part of the estate, and that was left to the wife. Shouldn't that be included in the marital deduction calculation? I'm leaning towards D) $825,000.

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1 months ago

I think the answer is A) $400,000.

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