Experience with irrevocable trusts indicates that the candidate understands asset protection practices. While an estate attorney sets up the trusts, a financial planner at your company should introduce consumers to the concept. Clients who accumulate high-volume wealth and assets need protection to ensure that their assets are safeguarded for their heirs. Your financial planner provides information to consumers about asset protection and wealth accumulation through financial planning practices. What to look for in an answer:

• Experience with asset acquisition and protection
• Superior customer service for all clients
• Knowledge of protecting assets their clients accumulate

Testing the financial planner's knowledge of college funds and other financial opportunities determines if the candidate understands the full scope of all products available to their clients. You want an applicant who presents all possible college savings opportunities for customers from every income level. You don't want a financial planner who restricts clients' options to limited financial means of generating adequate funds for their children's college education. What to look for in an answer:

• Experience with college tuition saving funds
• Knowledge of financial planning for all income levels
• Experience with all college savings opportunities

Pay attention to the candidate's answers and determine if he or she is more concerned with the clients' interests or the commission. You want a financial planner who helps customers realize their dream of becoming homeowners, but you don't want a planner who fails to show consumers how to get the most out of the venture. The financial planner should advise clients to increase their credit ratings to get better mortgages. What to look for in an answer:

• Knowledge of predatory lending laws
• Efficient financial planning without future consumer hardships
• Experience with mortgage loans and real estate

Financial planners with knowledge of generating residual income help consumers earn more throughout the year. The income helps consumers save more money for future financial plans. You want a financial planner who understands how helpful additional income streams are to all clients and how to put the plan into action. You don't want a financial planner who fails to consider the potential financial rewards the additional income streams give to consumers. What to look for in an answer:

• Providing a higher level of financial customer services
• Knowledge of residual income streams
• Offering clients more detailed financial planning information

You're testing the candidate's knowledge of profits and losses as well as the best practices for building a company's stock portfolio. An experienced financial planner knows that diversification offers a business owner more chances to earn dividends and mitigate the risk of financial losses. It is a way of purchasing stocks in different sectors and generating residual income without taking on more high-risk actions while protecting the company's interests. What to look for in an answer:

• Has previous experience with stock portfolios
• Advanced knowledge of stock portfolio cultivation for companies
• Knowledge of better financial planning practices