Membership Requirements

Full Membership

Following are the requirements to become a Full Member of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council (NVEPC).

  1. You must have a principal office in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.
  2. You must belong to at least one of the following eight (8) professional disciplines:
    1. Attorneys who are admitted to and in good standing with the highest court of the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, District of Columbia, or any other state, territory, or commonwealth of the United States 
    2. CLUs - Chartered Life Underwriters
    3. CPAs - Certified Public Accountants who are licensed and in good standing with the Board of Accountancy, or other applicable authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia, State of Maryland, District of Columbia, or any other state, territory, or commonwealth of the United States 
    4. Trust Officers - Trust officers of trust companies and banks
    5. CFPs & ChFCs - Certified Financial Planners or Chartered Financial Consultants
    6. Planned Giving Professionals whose employer is a charitable organization described in section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; or consultants or other professionals whose primary business is to provide planned giving services to one or more charitable organizations described in section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
    7. Accredited Valuation Experts who are members of The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), The American Society of Appraisers (ASA), The Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), The National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), or a comparable accrediting organization.
    8. Enrolled Agents - A federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical expertise in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels—examination, collection, and appeals—of the Internal Revenue Service.
  3. Sponsorship by two current NVEPC members, one of whom is in the same professional discipline as you and each of whom has had professional experience with you.
  4. Submission of a completed application form, along with a non-refundable $25 administrative fee paid by check.
  5. Payment of annual membership dues, currently $295 per year (due upon approval of your membership by the Council's Board of Directors). The annual membership term runs from November through October; the dues for membership beginning after April 30 are pro-rated at $150 for the remainder of that membership term.

Associate Membership

An associate member is a person who works or provides services in the estate planning environment but does not qualify under one of the eight professional disciplines may apply for Associate Membership. 

Following are the requirements to become an Associate Member of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council (NVEPC).

  1. Professional licensing and/or certification in a field that interacts with estate planning.
  2. Paid attendance at a minimum of two (2) Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council meetings in the twelve (12) month period immediately prior to the application date.
  3. Submission of a written statement describing their role in the estate planning process.

At least one of the two member sponsors required for the membership application will be a current member of the Executive Committee of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council. The requirement to have one (1) sponsor in the same professional discipline does not apply.

Associate Members’ benefits differ from Full Member benefits as follows:

  1. Associate Members may not vote, sponsor new members or join the Executive Committee of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council.
  2. An Associate Member may attain full membership after serving three years as an Associate Member, if they request full membership and are approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

The total number of Associate Members may not exceed ten percent (10%) of total membership.  If the number of Associate Members reaches the ten percent (10%) threshold at any time, additional applicants will be added to a waiting list until the percentage falls below ten percent (10%).

As of December 2023, the Council has reached capacity for associate memberships.  Applications received after December 20, 2023 will be placed on a waiting list until space becomes available.  At the time space becomes available, applications will be reviewed in the order they were received.

Emeritus Membership

An emeritus member is available only to long-term Members of the Council who are no longer actively engaged in estate planning but wish to retain their affiliation with the Council.

Following are the requirements to become an Emeritus Member of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council (NVEPC).

  1. Paid member of NVEPC in good standing for minimum of past 10 years.
  2. Age 60 or older.
  3. No longer actively engaged in estate planning for new clients.
  4. Must attend at least one event every year. Emeritus members not meeting this requirement may lose emeritus status to make room for new emeritus members.
  5. Pay a membership fee that is 50% of the normal membership fee.

Emeritus Members’ benefits differ from Full Member benefits as follows:

  1. Emeritus Members can attend two in-person events per year at no charge. Normal guest fees will apply for additional in-person events. There is no limit or charge for virtual events.
  2. Emeritus members may not vote or join the Executive Committee of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council.

The total number of emeritus members cannot exceed 15% of total membership. If the number of Emeritus Members reaches the 15% threshold at any time, current members who wish to become emeritus members must continue as full paying Members until additional emeritus openings become available.