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WESTERN CPE BLOG

Providing the latest tax news, information, and updates for tax and finance professionals

The Best CPE Courses for Estate Planning (2025)

 

With the current federal estate tax exemption at $13,990,000 per individual in 2025, it’s a common misconception that estate planning is only for wealthy clients. Smart practitioners recognize that comprehensive estate planning encompasses gift tax strategies, state-level considerations, business succession planning, and family wealth preservation techniques that benefit clients across all income levels. Estate planning exists at the crossroads of estate and gift tax laws, business ownership, and family wealth transfer, and it provides opportunities for tax professionals who invest in estate planning education to easily expand their client base. Whether you’re looking to add estate planning services to your existing practice or deepen your expertise in this sophisticated field, these courses are designed to help you succeed in 2025.

Estate Planning Fundamentals

Make sure that you have the right foundations for providing estate planning services with Estate Planning Fundamentals. This 6-credit estate planning course provides essential building blocks that tax professionals at any level need for serving their clients. Learn core concepts like stepped-up basis, marital deduction planning, and trust administration that underpin all sophisticated planning techniques. Participants in this estate and trust CPE will be able to understand and identify the different types of trusts. Most importantly, this estate planning CPE course is accessible, framing the five basic goals of estate planning for ease of learning. This short estate planning course is perfect for those looking for a quick refresher or professionals looking to expand their services.

Estate Planning Essentials

Once you’ve got the fundaments for estate planning, consider Estate Planning Essentials, an intermediate-level course that takes the fundamentals of estate planning and connects them to specialized knowledge in the field. Estate Planning Essentials is a 10-credit course with focuses in advanced gift tax planning, charitable giving strategies, and sophisticated trust structures that provide both tax benefits and asset protection. You’ll develop skills in generation-skipping transfer tax planning, learn to implement qualified personal residence trusts and charitable remainder trusts, and understand the intricacies of grantor trust planning. The tax and estate planning course also covers gift tax return preparation, estate tax return requirements, and the election strategies for maximizing your client’s deductions. Take your estate planning knowledge to the next level with Estate Planning Essentials.

Estate Planning with Selected Issues

Want an exceptionally thorough look at the more niche aspects of estate planning? Estate Planning with Selected Issues is a 20-credit course covering everything from multi-generational planning for family dynasties, international estate planning for clients with global assets, and the specialized planning required for ownership interests in closely-held businesses, professional practices, and real estate ventures. The estate planning course also addresses cutting-edge planning opportunities including opportunity zone investments, and cryptocurrency estate planning issues. Set yourself apart from your competition with deeply specialized knowledge in estate planning for more affluent clients, be sure to enroll in Estate Planning with Selected Issues.

Estate Elements and Tools

Estate Elements and Tools is your go-to for developing your expertise in advanced insurance planning techniques including irrevocable life insurance trusts, split-dollar arrangements, and premium financing strategies that can provide liquidity for estate tax payments. This 9-credit estate planning CPE course covers cutting-edge valuation discount techniques, family limited partnerships, and installment sale strategies that can dramatically reduce transfer tax burdens for high-net-worth clients. Learn to excel in estate planning with the technical aspects of conservation easements, private annuities, and self-canceling installment notes that represent the most sophisticated tools in the estate planner’s arsenal.

Estate Planning with Business Issues

Estate Planning with Business Issues is exactly what ambitious tax professionals need to master the intersection of business ownership and estate planning. This 2-hour estate planning CPE course addresses a critical challenge that business owners face: how to transfer family enterprises to the next generation without triggering devastating estate taxes that could force the sale of business assets. The estate and trust CPE covers essential tools including wills, trusts, gifts, insurance strategies, and private annuities. Learn to understand 303 stock redemptions, buy-sell agreements, and valuation discounts for representing business owners. The estate planning course gives updated guidance on the unified gift and estate tax system, including the current 40% top rate and how to leverage the applicable exclusion amount effectively. If you’re working with or interested in working with business clients for estate planning services, Estate Planning with Business Issues is the right course for you.

CPE With Career And Generational Benefits

Whether you’re interested in taking one or more of these courses, you’ll be armed with the knowledge and skill necessary to provide quality estate planning services to clients. By taking estate planning CPE courses, you’re ensuring that future generations can build on the wealth and opportunity passed down to them. With estate planning, you aren’t just adding an extra service to your practice, you’re providing a service to the community with implications for families that last for decades. As tax laws continue to evolve and family wealth structures become increasingly complex, the demand for knowledgeable estate planning professionals will only grow. By prioritizing continuing education in this field, you’re building a foundation for long-term practice growth while helping to ensure the success of generations to come.

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