C. Douglas Welty is certified as an Estate Planning Law Specialist by the Estate Law Specialist Board, a private organization accredited by the American Bar Association and affiliated with the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.
To become and remain an Estate Planning Law Specialist, an attorney must have extensive estate planning experience, pass a comprehensive examination in estate planning and estate & gift tax law, and be recommended and endorsed by peer estate & trust attorneys. To remain board-certified, one must participate in continuing legal education to keep abreast of – and teach others about – new legal and tax developments.
You should know that the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, an organization established by the Supreme Court of Texas, also certifies estate law specialists, and that there are some fine trust & estate attorneys who are not board-certified at all. However, if you are searching for an estate planning attorney, board certification certainly is a good place to start.
Doug Welty also holds the multidisciplinary Accredited Estate Planner (AEP) designation, which is conferred by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils upon both estate planning attorneys and highly experienced non-attorney estate planning professionals (such as certified public accountants, financial planners, insurance specialists, and corporate and private trust administrators).
The requirements for the AEP designation are rigorous and comprehensive. Doug Welty is one of only four attorneys in Central Texas who hold the AEP designation, which is held by fewer than 500 estate & trust attorneys nationwide.