How To Become An Estate Planning Attorney: What It Is and Career Path

What is an estate planning attorney and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

An estate planning attorney is a type of lawyer who understands how to advise clients on getting their affairs to prepare for the possibility of mental disability and eventual death. They have years of mentoring, continuing legal education, and experience.

They may need to earn a CTEP, which requires at least three years of estate planning or trust experience. Additionally, they must also have an undergraduate or graduate degree in finance, tax, accounting, financial services, or law--or an MBA, MS, Ph.D., or JD from an accredited school or organization.

Estate planning attorneys in America make an average salary of $74,192 per year or $36 per hour. Their pay rises to 4.6 percent every year. Depending upon the type of clients they may get, they may very well be in a six-digit figure range.

What general advice would you give to an estate planning attorney?

Charity Rohlfs J.D.

Associate Professor of Paralegal Studies, Website

Find a mentor and be involved with your local legal associations. Porter Gale said, “your network is your net worth.” And, I couldn’t agree more! As a new paralegal, legal operations specialist, or attorney, growing your network helps in all aspects of your career. You will gain new skills, increase your business development ability, engage in meaningful volunteering opportunities, and truly find an area of law you want to specialize in.

ScoreEstate Planning AttorneyUS Average

Salary

6.4

Avg. Salary $81,446

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

10.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.31%

Asian 6.54%

Black or African American 5.72%

Hispanic or Latino 7.96%

Unknown 4.40%

White 75.08%

Gender

female 54.78%

male 45.22%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

10.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.9

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an estate planning attorney

Explore estate planning attorney education requirements

Most common estate planning attorney degrees

Doctorate

47.3 %

Bachelor's

45.5 %

Master's

3.6 %

Start to develop specific estate planning attorney skills

Skills	Percentages
Law Firm	23.79%
Litigation	20.51%
Probate	16.36%
Real Estate	13.09%
Estate Administration	6.40%

Complete relevant estate planning attorney training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New estate planning attorneys learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an estate planning attorney based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real estate planning attorney resumes.

Research estate planning attorney duties and responsibilities

Meet with clients, draft petitions, discovery, participate in mediation, and manage staff
Review various transaction models to determine the ROI and other project result indicators.
Meet with clients regarding probate cases, intake probate documents, prepare probate pleadings in formal and summary administrations.
Handle probates, and trust litigation, including issues such as undue influence, disqualify persons, international issues and bigamy.

Prepare your estate planning attorney resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your estate planning attorney resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an estate planning attorney resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable estate planning attorney resume templates

Build a professional estate planning attorney resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your estate planning attorney resume.