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NAEPC Journal of Estate & Tax Planning

Issue 49 - October, 2026

  • Editor-in-Chief Note

Council Corner

  • Sponsorship Income: The Transformational Strategy That Elevates (and Complicates) Estate Planning Councils

Features​

  • How a Young Donor’s CRUT Keeps Paying After an Early Death
  • Breaking the Myth About When to Claim Social Security Benefits
  • The Estate Plan Is Signed. The Client Is Not Moving.
  • “Rainy Day” Savings and the Long-Term Care Storm
  • Deep Roots: Estate Planning for a Working Family Forest
  • Why Smart Clients Procrastinate on Estate Planning and Trust Funding
  • Planning Solutions for Unwinding Your Concentrated Stock
  • Using Charitable Remainder Trusts to Minimize Tax Exposure in the Greatest Intergenerational Wealth Shift
  • Due Diligence for Pooled Trusts
  • Red Lights: Items that Estate Professionals Should Watch for in Oil, Gas, and Mineral Interests
  • Critical Tax Implications for Estate Planning With Unmarried Couples
  • Suitability, Best Interest and Fiduciary Duty: The Standards Differences That Need to be Understood
  • Living Fully, Planning Thoughtfully: Moving Beyond the Technical in End-of-Life Conversations
  • Financial and Estate Planning for People with Alzheimer’s Disease: 2026 Updates
  • When Farmland Is the Fortune: A Framework for Advisors
  • From Fort Sumter to Modern Planning: The Early Evolution of Life Insurance

Read the complete issue.

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Member Benefits

Members of NAEPC and affiliated local councils can take advantage of discounts on benefits, programs and services through our member benefit providers.  Visit the "Member Benefits" page of this website to learn more.

Accredited Estate Planner® Designation 

How can you gain a "leg-up" on your competition in your estate planning practice? Obtain the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) designation. Professional estate planners can achieve a nationally-recognized, graduate level accreditation that acknowledges their experience and specialization in estate planning. Awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to estate planning professionals who meet strict requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation, and character, the AEP® designation helps both clients and colleagues understand your belief in, and dedication to, the team concept of estate planning.  

The designation is available to credentialed professionals actively licensed or certified as an accountant; attorney; insurance and financial planner; philanthropic advisor; or trust officer – holding one or more of the following credentials CAP®, CFA, CFP®,ChFC®, CLU®, CPA, CPWA®, CSPG, CTFA, JD, MSFS, and MST– who are devoting at least a third of one’s professional time to estate planning. Eligible applicants must meet stringent qualifications at the time of application and commit to ongoing continuing education and recertification requirements.

Join the growing group of professionals who recognize the value of holding the premier estate planning professional designation.  Become an Accredited Estate Planner® designee. > Learn More

Estate Planning Law Specialist Certification 

The Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) certification is available to attorneys and is administered by the Estate Law Specialist Board, Inc., an attorney-run subsidiary of the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. Attorneys who become board-certified under this program demonstrate a high level of professionalism and commitment to the concept of specialization. This program is currently the only program, other than certain state bar association programs which are only for residents of their particular states, accredited by the American Bar Association to Board-certify attorneys as Estate Planning Law Specialists. Many states permit lawyers to hold themselves out as specialists if their certification is awarded by an ABA-accredited program. Each lawyer, however, must consult the rules in his or her own state to determine how such a certification can be presented to the public. > Learn more 

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