Accredited Estate Planner Designation

Professional Estate Planners - Attorneys, Chartered Life Underwriters, Certified Public Accountants, Trust Officers, Chartered Financial Consultants & certified Financial Planners - can now be designated as an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER upon meeting certain qualification requirements and passing two graduate level courses administered by The American College. By achieving accreditation, an individual demonstrates he or she has attained a specialized level of knowledge in estate planning.

Qualifications

The ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER applicant must meet ALL of the following requirements as established by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils: 

1. Be a member of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Dues are $75.00 per year. Maintain annual membership in NAEPC.
2.  Provide documentation that he or she is
(a) is an Attorney, a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), or a Trust Officer;
(b) has a minimum of 5 years of experience in estate planning in one or more of these professions; and
(c) is presently engaged in estate planning.
3.  Provide documentation of participation in an estate planning assignment with professionals in each of the three disciplines other that his or her discipline. Reference forms from professionals in each of the other three disciplines are to be completed by those professionals and returned to the applicant in sealed envelopes (furnished by the applicant). The UNOPENED reference envelopes should be enclosed with the completed application forms and sent to the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils office. Any reference opened prior to receipt in the NAEPC office will not be accepted.
4. Provide verification of current membership in a local or regional estate planning council, where membership is available if applying as a local member. (A Council officer must complete the Estate Planning Council Membership Verification form and return it in a sealed envelope furnished by the applicant. The UNOPENED envelope should be included with the completed application form and references.) Maintain membership in local Council.
5. Acknowledge the understanding of and personal commitment to the team concept of estate planning.
6. Be in good standing with his or her professional organization (e.g. State Bar Association for attorneys, etc.) and not be subject to disciplinary investigation.
7. Satisfy a minimum of 30 hours of continuing education completed during the previous 24 months. A minimum of 15 of the 30 CE hours in estate planning is required. Applicants may be requested to produce documentation to substantiate any activity claimed; therefore, it is important to retain such documentation of CE credit claimed for two years after the current reporting year.

       

Educational Requirements

The American College is working with the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) to offer education toward completion of NAEPC’s Accredited Estate Planner (AEP) designation. In addition to the requirements list above, applicants for the AEP designation must successfully complete two courses through The Richard D. Irwin Graduate School of The American College.

Select one required course and one elective course form the following:

One required course selected from:
GS 815 - Advanced Estate Planning I
GS 836 - Business Succession Planning I**

One elective course selected from:
GS 812 - Business Valuation GS 838 - Business Succession Planning II**
GS 814 - Advanced Pension and Retirement Planning I GS 842 - Executive Compensation
GS 817 - Personal Tax Planning GS 816 - Advanced Estate Planning II
HS 336 - Financial Decision Making at Retirement

** Available as an on-campus course only.

To qualify courses must be completed within the seven-year period prior to the AEP application. Graduate courses taken by AEP designees may also be applied to the College’s MSFS degree program.

Accredited Estate Planner Check List
Instructions to Applicant

Please make sure that all of the following materials are included when returning your application to our offices. Should you have any questions or need additional information, please call (610) 526-1389.

 

Please forward completed packet to:                 NAEPC
                                                                      P.O. Box 46
                                                                      Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2196

                        Completed Application

                        Completed Applicant declaration

                        Reference Number 1, UNOPENED

                        Reference Number 2, UNOPENED 

                        Reference Number 3, UNOPENED

                        Membership Verification Form, UNOPENED or

                        $75.00 Individual NAEPC membership dues

                        $250.00 Application Fee

COMMENTS:                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                               

 ALL REQUIRED FORMS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS PACKET

APPLICATION

 FOR DESIGNATION AS ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER

 PERSONAL INFORMATION (Please print or type) 

Name                                                                          S.S. No.                                           

Name of Firm or Organization                                                                                            

Business Address                                                                                                                

City                                                     State                          Zip                                         

Telephone Number                                        Fax Number                                                 

E-Mail Address                                                                                                                    

Telephone Number                                                    Fax Number                                     

Home Address                                               Telephone Number                                       

City                                                     State                          Zip                                         

Correspondence should be sent to (  ) business address or (  ) home address.

PROFESSIONAL INFORMATION

My professional license/officer designation (listed below) is currently in effect:

CPA Certificate #                                             by State of                       Year Issued                

State Bar License #                                         by State of                       Year Issued              

q CLU            q ChFC          q CFP                        q MSFS                     Year Attained             

Trust Officer Title                                                                                                                    

NAEPC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

I am an Individual Member of the NAEPC     (   ) Yes            (   ) No

If No, my check for $75.00 annual dues is enclosed    (   ) Yes            (   ) No

OR

I am a member of the                                                                             Estate Planning Council.

APPLICANT DECLARATION

Years of Experience in Estate Planning:                   

I certify that I have the required experience in estate planning activities in one or more of the aforementioned disciplines. Detailed below is the percentage of my time devoted to estate planning activities (practice, educational activities, etc.) in the indicated years.

1999       %  1998       %  1997       %  1996       %  1995       %

I hereby acknowledge that I understand the team concept of estate planning and agree to abide by such concept while holding the designation of ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER.

I certify that I have completed 30 acceptable CE credits during the previous two years. I understand that I may be requested to produce documentation substantiating any activity for which I claim credit.

Further, I agree, upon receiving the designation of ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER, to maintain membership in the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, and to abide by any continuing education or recertification requirements for ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNERS that may be subsequently adopted by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

I hereby certify that the information in this application is true and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief. Should any of the above statements by determined to be false, or should I not, in fact, meet the aforementioned requirements, I agree to surrender any certificate that may have been awarded and promptly cease to represent myself as an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER and I authorize the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to publicize the removal of my designation as an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER.

NAME (Please print or type)                                                                                                 

Signature                                                                                 Date                                       

MAILING INSTRUCTIONS

Mail all the completed forms (Application; Declaration, 3 UNOPENED references; and the Estate Planning Council Membership Verification form) along with the appropriate checks as indicated below made payable to the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

Mail to: P.O. Box 46, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010-2196

 

                                                            $250 Application Fee

                                                            $75.00 NAEPC annual dues

REFERENCE FORM

 FOR DESIGNATION AS ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER  

PLEASE PRINT OR TYPE

                                                            , as an applicant for designation as an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER, has selected you as a reference. Your response to this inquiry is very much appreciated and will be held in the strictest confidence.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM

1.         Use this form for your response. Please avoid writing a separate letter.
2.         Base your responses only on the work performed by the applicant with which you are personally familiar.
3.         Seal the completed form in the envelope provided by the applicant and return to them. (The applicant is to submit the envelope UNOPENED with the application.)

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS 

1.         How long have your known the applicant?                                                        

2.         Please describe the services provided by the applicant in the area of estate planning in which the applicant participated with you as a member of an estate planning team.

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                        

3.         Does the applicant perform in a professional manner?

             Yes                             No

4.         Please make any additional statement about the applicant that may be helpful to the Certification/Education Committee in considering this application.

                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                        

 

YOUR NAME                                                                                                                         

YOUR PROFESSION:       Attorney  CPA          CLU/ChFC/CFP         Trust Officer

ARE YOU ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN ESTATE PLANNING? (     ) Yes   (     ) No

NAME OF YOUR FIRM OR ORGANIZATION:                                                                           

ADDRESS:                                                                                                                               

CITY, STATE, ZIP                                                                                                                   

TEL NO. (   )                                         FAX NO. (   )                                                               

SIGNATURE                                                                          DATE                                        

 

ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

MEMBERSHIP VERIFICATION
Please Print or Type:

                                                            , an applicant for designation as an ACCREDITED ESTATE PLANNER, requires verification of the following information. Your response to this request is very much appreciated and will be held in the strictest confidence.

 

INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING THIS FORM

1.  Use this form for your response. Please avoid writing a separate letter.
2. Base your response of information personally known to you or officers of your Estate Planning Council.
3. Seal the completed form in the envelope provided and return to applicant

(The applicant is to submit the UNOPENED envelope with the application.)

 

PLEASE ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

            1.         Is the applicant a member in good standing of your Council?
                                                 Yes                             No

            2.         If “Yes”, under which designation is the membership held?

                        ____ Attorney _____ CPA ______ Trust Officer ____ CLU ____ Other 

            3.         The applicant has been a member             Under 5 years           Over 5 years. 

            4.         Are you satisfied that the applicant has 5 or more years experience in the

                        field of estate planning?              Yes           No 

            5.         Is your Council currently affiliated with the National Association of Estate

                        Planners & Councils?                 Yes                 No

 

NAME OF COUNCIL                                                                                                             

LOCATION OF COUNCIL                                                                                                      

YOUR NAME                                                 OFFICE                                                          

ADDRESS                                                                                                                           

CITY, STATE ZIP                                                                                                                  

TEL. (        )                                                     FAX  (         )                                                 

SIGNATURE                                                              DATE