NW MONTANA ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

Membership Rules

All members must be in good standing with their regulatory body and/or professional association, and actively engaged in estate planning. A member or prospective member shall be deemed to not be in good standing if such individual is subject to a disciplinary action for ethical violations by a regulatory body and/or professional association. A member shall live or primarily practice or work in northwest Montana. Members shall have 3 years’ experience in their fields.

Membership Classifications. Membership in the Corporation shall be limited to one hundred (100) persons divided into classifications, as defined below:

Accounting. A member must be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and licensed by the Montana State Board of Accountancy.

Financial Planning. A member must hold the professional designation Certified Financial Planner TM (CFP®), Certified Public Accountant/Personal, Financial Specialist (CPA/PFS), Chartered Financial Consultant® (ChFC®), or Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and a Montana State Investment Advisor Representative or SEC appointment. 

Insurance. A member must hold the Chartered Life Underwriter® (CLU®) designation and a Montana life insurance license.

Law. A member must hold a Juris Doctor (JD) or equal degree and belong to the Montana State Bar Association.

Trust & Planned Giving. Membership in this classification is limited to trust officers or other individuals working significantly in a fiduciary capacity as well as individuals who, on a full-time basis, are actively engaged with respect to charitable and planned giving matters. Although members are not required to hold any professional designation, the Certified Trust & Financial Advisor (CTFA) and/or Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) are desirable.

Allied Professions. A member must be an academician or service specialist whose expertise is directly relevant to estate planning. The Membership Committee will review all applications and recommend individuals for membership as allied professionals on a case-by-case basis. Eligibility for membership in this classification shall be construed narrowly and the total number of members in this classification shall be limited to not more than 5% of the maximum membership of the Corporation.

Emeritus Members. A member must be at least 60 years of age, retired (no longer engaged in the conduct of business or a profession), and have at least 1O years of active membership in the Corporation.

Student/Emerging Professional. A member must be either: l) a currently enrolled student who is pursuing a degree which would lead them toward eligibility in another membership classification, or 2) an emerging professional who is currently employed in the estate planning field and who is actively working to obtain an applicable professional designation which would make them eligible in another membership classification. Membership in this classification is limited to a period of 36 months (after which a member must either qualify for another classification or resign) and is nonvoting.

Although an individual member may transfer from one membership classification to another if qualified to do so (with the approval of the Membership Committee), no membership shall be transferrable from one person to another.

Membership Limits. The Membership Committee will review membership classifications annually, and it may make recommendations to the Board of Directors periodically. No classification may represent more than 40% of the maximum membership of the Corporation. Each employer is limited to 5 members. 

Membership Application. Any person of good reputation who meets the requirements set forth in Paragraphs I and 2 of this Article may become a member of the Corporation, if he or she is sponsored by two members, pays the membership fee, is recommended for membership by the Membership Committee, and approved by the voting membership as set forth below.

Primary Sponsor. The primary sponsor of the applicant will submit a membership application to the Chairman of the Membership Committee. The primary and secondary sponsors must be voting members of the Corporation and in good standing.

Membership Committee. The Membership Chairman will distribute all applications to his/her committee for its review and recommendation. Recommendations will be     announced to the general council. Applications that are not recommended will be returned to the primary sponsor.

Board of Directors. The Board will publish the names of all applicants recommended for membership, their proposed membership classifications, and primary sponsors in its announcement for the next regular meeting of the Corporation.

Voting by Membership. A voting member may oppose an applicant's membership by contacting the President or Membership Committee, verbally or in writing, no later than five (5) business days before the next regular meeting of the Corporation. If no opposing       votes are received the applicant will be deemed to be approved by the membership and invited to attend the next regular meeting.  If an opposing vote is cast by a voting member of the Corporation, the applicant shall be voted upon by all voting members in attendance at the next regular meeting. The applicant will not be invited to attend that meeting.

Waiting List. The Membership Committee will maintain a waiting list for approved applicants when no vacancy exists in his/her membership classification. Such applicants will not pay an annual membership fee and they may not attend regular meetings.

Voting Privileges. Members of the Accounting, Financial Planning, Insurance, Law, Trust &  Planned Giving, and Allied Professions classifications are voting members of the Corporation. Other members may express their opinions with regards to matters of the Corporation, but they may not vote.

Annual Dues. From time-to-time, the Board of Directors will fix the annual dues for members of the Corporation. In doing so, it may discriminate between voting and nonvoting members, except that the annual dues for Emeritus Members may not exceed 2/3 of the annual dues for voting members.

General Members:  $350 annually

Emeritus Members:  $230 annually

Student/Emerging Professional Members: $230 annually

Guest Attendance.  Members can bring a guest by paying a guest fee of $50/meeting, but guests are limited to attending once per calendar year. 

These membership rules may be amended by the corporation’s board of directors from time to time.