I am proud to announce I have been awarded the Accredited Estate Planner® Designation, by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. The AEP designation is the only graduate-level designation in estate planning. The designation is administered and is awarded only to estate planning professionals who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation, and character.
For most attorneys, attaining this designation requires high recommendations by three unrelated credentialled professionals in different disciples who have worked with the candidate as part of an estate planning team. There is also a requirement of at least 30 hours of continuing education, half of which must be in estate planning, during the two years before applying and an ethics requirement.
Candidates also must be members in good standing with an affiliated local estate planning council. Then the application is reviewed by a national committee made up of members of the AEP® Designation Committee.
Achieving this is difficult.
In my case, an officer of the organization nominated in recognition of my body of work during my career; such as leadership in the Elder Law community, teaching and publishing scholarly articles on tax, Trusts and Estates, Elder Law and Special Needs Planning. As a reflection of their understanding of my knowledge and years of experience, they waived the study and test requirement.
I am grateful for the recognition and for joining this august group.
You may wonder why at this stage in my career I felt the need to add another credential to an admittedly long list of credentials? It is because I believe in NAEPC’s vision: to foster the multi-disciplinary approach to estate planning designed to meet the needs of clients at all stages of their lives, with an emphasis on wealth preservation and legacy.
My thanks to my colleagues who provided the recommendations and to my friends and colleagues at the Estate Planning Council of Nassau County. I am honored to receive the designation as an AEP®.
Learn more about the designation and the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.