A Look at Recent Past Papers for the CII J02 Exam – February 2025
In this article, we are taking a look at the questions asked in four past exam papers of the CII’s Diploma in Financial Planning J02 exam – this is the unit that tests trusts.
This article is correct as at 23 January 2025.
The table below shows the topics that were tested in the J02 2023 and 2024 exams.
| Why a trust would be created. | Pros and cons of creating a trust. | Legal definition of a trust. | Legal vs beneficial ownership of a trust. |
| Trust vs contract law. | Death of a trustee and appointment of new. | Types of beneficial interest. | Retirement of a trustee. |
| Secret trusts. | Corporate trustee vs a family friend. | Delegation of powers under Trustee Act 2000. | Discretionary trusts vs bare trusts. |
| Charitable trusts. | Transfer into a discretionary trust. | Benefits of life policies under trust. | Perpetuity and accumulation periods. |
| Bare trusts vs discretionary trusts. | Trust deed information. | Will trusts and TRS. | Immediate Post Death Interest Trusts. |
| Duties of a UK trustee. | Definition of implied trusts, successive trusts and constructive trusts. | IIHT treatment of IIP trusts. | Charitable trusts vs private trusts. |
| Powers of Attorney. | Variation of trusts. | Income Tax treatment of income in an IIP trust. | Lasting Powers of Attorney. |
| Laws of intestacy. | General powers of attorney. | Factors to consider when investing cash in a bare trust. | Laws of intestacy. |
| Deeds of Variation vs disclaimer. | Duties of an executor. | CGT implications of transferring OEICs into a discretionary trust. | Deed of variation. |
| Income Tax and parental gifts. | Trustee in bankruptcy. | Enduring Powers of Attorney. | Impact on trusts of bankruptcy of a trustee and a potential beneficiary. |
| Capital Gains Tax calculation. | Ending a trust and distributing funds. | Mutual Wills. | Chargeable lifetime transfers and IHT payable. |
| Income tax on investment bonds in trust. | Relevant life policies. | 18 to 24 trusts. | Personal Representatives responsibility for payment of Income Tax. |
| Factors to consider when setting up a DGT. | Trust Registration Service. | Taxation for a beneficiary of a discretionary trust. | Share purchase arrangements. |
| The transferable NRB. | Factors to consider when transferring to a discretionary trust. | Loan Trust Schemes. | Flexible reversionary trusts. |
| Events that may prompt a trust review. | Trust review. | Removing a trustee due to mental incapacity. | Review of a trust/ disputes between trustees and beneficiaries. |
As you can see there are some common themes running through each paper; namely tax calculations, powers of attorney and some trust law with some questions being repeated over these sessions. It does show how important it is to use past exam guides as well as revise the whole syllabus. The J02 manual may be dry in places but it is one of the more manageably sized texts.
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