Membership Requirements, Benefits, & Cost

Requirements of Membership:

The membership of the Council includes Active Members, Honorary Life Members, Complimentary Annual Members, and Senior Members.

The Active Members of the Council are persons actively engaged in the field of estate planning whose principal business office is in King County, Washington  Active Members consist of persons in the following four groups:

(1) chartered life underwriters and chartered financial consultants,

(2) representatives of trust companies or banks maintaining and operating trust departments,

(3) certified public accountants, and

(4) attorneys at law.

In addition to Active Members from the four groups, persons who are ineligible for membership in one of the four groups but who are actively engaged in the field of estate planning may be elected Active Members “At Large.”  Examples of “At Large” members include planned giving professionals, business valuation professionals, and certified financial planners who emphasize estate planning in their practices.

Active members are elected by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. The Application for Membership is available on this website and by contacting the Estate Planning Council Administrator by telephone at (206)285-4066 and by using our contact us form.. 

Honorary Life Members are elected by a majority vote of the Executive committee from candidates proposed by the Executive Committee on the basis of past services rendered to the Council. Presidents of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle become Honorary Life Members upon the completion of their term.

Complimentary Annual Members are elected annually by a majority vote of the Executive Committee on the basis of their position in the community related to estate planning.

Active members may become Senior Members when they cease to be actively engaged in practice. This change in membership class occurs only after application and by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.

Benefits of Membership:

Benefits of membership in this dynamic organization and being welcomed into the multi-discipline estate planning council, include:

• Recognition as an experienced estate planning professional.
• A member of the nationally recognized Estate Planning Council of Seattle.
• Invitations to the 4 quarterly dinner meetings with nationally recognized speakers on a variety of estate planning topics and the opportunity to network with other estate planning professionals.
• Potential rebates of a portion of the EPC co-sponsored (with the Washington State Bar Association) Annual Estate Planning Seminar that occurs in the fall of each year.
• Member discounts on the EPC’s three publications: Estate Planning, 5th Edition, The Fiduciary Handbook, 2nd Edition, and Dealing with the Death of a Loved One.
• The opportunity to participate in various committees and endeavors of the Council including updating existing publications; developing, writing and/or editing new publications; writing articles for the Council’s public information campaign for the general public;writing articles for publication on the website; assisting in administering the website; becoming a Chair and Co-Chair of the Annual Estate Planning Seminar; and becoming an Executive Committee member to guide the efforts of the Council.

Costs of Membership:

The costs and requirements of membership in the Estate Planning Council of Seattle include the following:

Annual dues………………………………. $30.00 *

Annual dues with prepaid dinners...$100.00 
Cost of dinners…………………………$24.00 for members and $26 for guests, per dinner meeting
Attendance at quarterly dinner meetings…. Not required, but recommended 

* Honorary Life Members, Complimentary Annual Members, and Senior Members are not required to pay dues.