The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) is a national organization of professional estate planners and affiliated estate planning councils focused on establishing and monitoring the highest professional and educational standards. NAEPC fosters public awareness of the quality services rendered by professionals who meet these standards. NAEPC seeks to build the "team" approach involving cross-professional disciplines to better serve the public's estate planning objectives. The NAEPC's particular focus is on:
- Accounting
- Insurance
- Law
- Trust Services
- Financial Planning
A primary goal of the NAEPC is to encourage specialization programs to increase recognition and acceptance of estate planning as a specialty. NAEPC has two separate and distinct specialization programs:
- Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) is available to individuals in all NAEPC-recognized disciplines. This designation is for individuals who have met the requisite requirements, including estate planning experience and recommendations by colleagues, and currently requires completion of certain graduate estate planning courses. All individuals obtaining the AEP® designation demonstrate commitment to the team approach in estate planning.
The Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) program is available to attorneys practicing in the estate planning arena.
NAEPC serves to assist its affiliated local estate planning councils, their members, and the Individual/At-large NAEPC membership by providing a forum to maintain and strengthen:
- Their cutting-edge awareness of the continually changing and expanding opportunities.
Communication and development of a common language between the five disciplines.
A unified point-of-approach.