Assessment Answers
Question 1 – Jessica's Personal Net Worth
$638,200
Question 1a – Approach Explanation
ES
To calculate Jessica's personal net worth, I identified all assets with quantifiable current value, including
her cash accounts, CD, Treasury bills, business equity, real estate interests (at appraised value), and
the surrender value of her whole life insurance policy. I excluded the term life insurance policy (which
has no cash value), the unvested stock options (since they have not yet vested and are not currently
C
accessible), and her salary (which is income, not an asset), while using the remaining mortgage
balances as liabilities alongside her credit card debt.
VI
R
Question 2a – Did the response avoid providing mutual funds?
SE
Answer: Yes
The response exclusively recommended ETFs throughout all sections, including the main strategy, the
high-yield dividend variation, and the ESG alternative, with no mutual funds appearing anywhere in the
recommendations. This fully complies with the user's explicit constraint of ETFs only.
LE
Question 2b – Did the response follow the formatting requirements?
C
Answer: No
A
The response failed to follow the formatting requirements in two ways. First, the bullet point list
instructions specified that each step should be its own single sentence, but the fourth bullet point
R
contains two sentences. Second, the user explicitly stated they refuse to invest in international equities,
yet the response included a total international stock market ETF in the main strategy and ESG
O
International Stock ETF in the variation funds list, which contradicts the user's stated restriction.
Question 3 – Original Finance Prompt
Prompt: Marcus is a 42-year-old self-employed consultant earning $180,000 per year in net
self-employment income. He is married with two children (ages 8 and 11) and files taxes jointly with his
spouse, who earns $65,000 per year as a salaried employee. Marcus wants to maximize his
tax-advantaged retirement contributions for the current tax year. He currently contributes $7,000
annually to a Roth IRA and has a Solo 401(k) through his consulting business. Assuming the 2024 IRS
contribution limits apply, what is the maximum total amount Marcus can contribute across both
accounts, and how should the Solo 401(k) contributions be structured between the employee and
employer portions?
Rubric 1: Did the response correctly calculate the Solo 401(k) employer contribution as 25% of net
self-employment income (after the self-employment tax deduction) and accurately combine it with the
employee elective deferral limit to arrive at the correct total Solo 401(k) ceiling?
Rubric 2: Did the response correctly assess Marcus's Roth IRA eligibility by evaluating the couple's
combined MAGI against the 2024 joint filing phase-out threshold, and reflect that determination
appropriately in the final total contribution figure?
ES
Question 4 – Best Response Selection
Answer: Answers A and C should receive the same high score
C
Both Response A and Response C correctly identify Priscilla's federal income tax basis as $550,000,
VI
which is the proper answer under IRC § 1014(b)(6), the special community property rule that allows a
full step-up in basis for both halves of community property upon the death of one spouse. Response B
is materially incorrect because it applies a partial step-up limited to Roy's half-interest, which would be
R
the treatment for separate property or common law property states — not for community property
transmuted under California law. While Response A is slightly less precise in its legal citations, it still
SE
reaches the correct conclusion and explains the reasoning clearly, and Response C is the most concise
and legally accurate of the three. Both A and C are helpful, honest, and harmless, making them
deserving of equally high scores despite minor differences in citation precision.
LE
C
A
R
O