North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 27 - STATE BAR › Chapter 01 - RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BAR › Subchapter D - RULES OF THE STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE BAR › Section .2300 - CERTIFICATION STANDARDS FOR THE ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW SPECIALTY › Section 01D .2305 - STANDARDS FOR CERTIFICATION AS A SPECIALIST IN ESTATE PLANNING AND PROBATE LAW

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
Each applicant for certification as a specialist in estate
					 planning and probate law shall meet the minimum standards set forth in Rule
					 .1720 of this subchapter. In addition, each applicant shall meet the following
					 standards for certification as a specialist in estate planning and probate
					 law:
(a) Licensure and Practice - An
				  applicant shall be licensed and in good standing to practice law in North
				  Carolina as of the date of application. An applicant shall continue to be
				  licensed and in good standing to practice law in North Carolina during the
				  period of certification.
(b)
				  Substantial Involvement - The applicant shall affirm to the board that the
				  applicant has experience through substantial involvement in the practice of
				  estate planning and probate law.
(1)
				  Substantial involvement shall be measured as follows:
(A) Time Spent - During the five years
				  preceding the application, the applicant has devoted an average of at least 500
				  hours a year to the practice of estate planning and probate law, but not less
				  than 400 hours in any one year;
(B)
				  Experience Gained - During the five years immediately preceding application,
				  the applicant shall have had continuing involvement in a substantial portion of
				  the activities described in each of the following paragraphs:
(i) counseled persons in estate planning,
				  including giving advice with respect to gifts, life insurance, wills, trusts,
				  business arrangements and agreements, and other estate planning
				  matters;
(ii) prepared or
				  supervised the preparation of (1) estate planning instruments, such as simple
				  and complex wills (including provisions for testamentary trusts, marital
				  deductions and elections), revocable and irrevocable inter vivos trusts
				  (including short-term and minor's trusts), business planning agreements
				  (including buy-sell agreements and employment contracts), powers of attorney
				  and other estate planning instruments; and (2) federal and state gift tax
				  returns, including representation before the Internal Revenue Service and the
				  North Carolina Department of Revenue in connection with gift tax
				  returns;
(iii) handled or advised
				  with respect to the probate of wills and the administration of decedents'
				  estates, including representation of the personal representative before the
				  clerk of superior court, guardianship, will contest, and declaratory judgment
				  actions;
(iv) prepared, reviewed or
				  supervised the preparation of federal estate tax returns, North Carolina
				  inheritance tax returns, and federal and state fiduciary income tax returns,
				  including representation before the Internal Revenue Service and the North
				  Carolina Department of Revenue in connection with such tax returns and related
				  controversies.