Thank you for your interest in nomination and election as an ACTEC Fellow! This webpage can guide you as you prepare for your first steps on the journey. The destination is worth every step!

If elected, you will be joining the thought leaders of the trust and estate profession. ACTEC Fellows are at the forefront of the profession, and ACTEC’s three national meetings (open to ACTEC Fellows only) are unmatched opportunities to network and hear cutting-edge insights into trust and estate research and law.

Listen to ACTEC Fellows express what they value about being a Fellow of the College and how it has impacted their careers.

Private Practice T&E Attorneys and Fiduciary Counsel Membership

Find a Nominator

The first step is to identify and work with an ACTEC Fellow nominator. Your nominator can help you assess your professional contributions. Your nominator may help you find opportunities to add to your speaking, writing, leadership, or other professional contributions to help you prepare for nomination. Your nominator may introduce you to other ACTEC Fellows. Preparing for nomination prior to reaching the ten-year mark can be helpful.

Nomination Form for Fellow

ACTEC makes the Nomination Form for Fellow available to those who are considering pursuing nomination and election to the College. Use this form as your guide! You may use this form to keep track of your professional affiliations with firms and banks (start and end dates are critical for tracking your ten years) and your professional contributions. Make sure you track the dates of things such as joining professional associations and the years you serve as committee chairs in local, state, and national bar associations, and the years you work on state and federal trust and estate legislation.

Remember, the Nomination Form for Fellow must be signed and submitted by an ACTEC Fellow in good standing who will serve as your nominator. But you can begin tracking your professional contributions to assist your nominator in submitting your nomination materials.

Prerequisites for Nomination and Election

To be elected into the College, you must:

1. Have been predominantly in the active practice of trust and estate law for at least ten years or have served primarily as fiduciary counsel with a fiduciary services company for at least ten years, or a combination thereof;
2. Made substantial professional contributions to the field of trust and estate law by lecturing, writing, teaching, being involved in bar activities or in the enactment of significant state or federal trust and estate legislation, or outreach, education, and mentoring to communities that have been historically underrepresented in estate planning (“diverse communities”) on topics and issues connected to estate planning, probate, and trust;
3. Have a well-deserved, outstanding reputation in the field of trusts and estates;
4. Be a lawyer to whom the other Fellows in one’s jurisdiction would readily refer a matter within one’s field of expertise without reservation;
5. Be licensed to practice in the highest court of any state or jurisdiction of the United States;
6. Demonstrate exceptional skill in trust and estate law.

Polling and Initial Review

Once nominated, your Nomination Form for Fellow will be reviewed by Amy Michaud, Senior Membership Director for ACTEC. The State Chair for your primary jurisdiction will also review it. It is not unusual to have revisions suggested. A background check is also part of the process. Once finalized, your nomination will be sent out for polling in your primary jurisdiction. Polling is important because it allows Fellows to comment on whether the nominee has a well-deserved, outstanding reputation and whether the nominee is someone to whom they would readily refer a matter. If you have taught or practiced in any other jurisdiction in the last ten years, separate polls will be conducted in those jurisdictions. If you are being nominated as a Fiduciary Counsel Fellow, a plenary poll of all other voting Fellows of the College will be conducted. Polls are open for 30 days.

Post Polling

Once the polls close, Amy Michaud prepares a report on the results of the polls, which go to the State Chairs, who convene their State Membership Committees. The State Membership Committees review the Nomination Form for Fellow and the poll reports, deliberate, and take a formal vote.

The ACTEC Membership Selection Committee and Board of Regents Review

The ACTEC Membership Selection Committee meets twice a year, in March and October, to review nominations. All of the materials for each nominee (the Nomination Form for Fellow, poll reports, and report from the State Chair of the deliberations and vote of the State Membership Committee) are reviewed carefully for each nominee. A recommendation is made to the Board of Regents. The Board of Regents, at its meeting in March and September, determines if an invitation to become a Fellow will be issued.

Depending on when you begin the process, it usually takes between six and nine months. There is no guarantee of election. If an invitation to become a Fellow is not issued, a nominee is usually invited to return to the Membership Selection Committee again after completing additional professional contributions.

Need more trust and estate knowledge? Check out the ACTEC Institutes.

ACTEC Fellows Institutes offer a six-day program of intensive trust and estate education over a one-year period for third through sixth-year law associates. Programs are designed to develop the trust and estate profession’s future leaders through a series of in-depth educational presentations.

The Florida Fellows Institute (FFI) was formed in March 2015 to educate attorneys in Florida. ACTEC Fellows coordinate and manage FFI.

The Heart of America Fellows Institute (HOAFI) began in 2018 to educate attorneys in the middle of the United States. ACTEC Fellows from Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa and Nebraska coordinate and manage the HOAFI. 

The Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute (MAFI) began in 2018 to educate attorneys from the Mid-Atlantic region. ACTEC Fellows from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C. coordinate and manage MAFI.

The New England Fellows Institute (NEFI) began in 2020 to educate attorneys from the Northeast region. ACTEC Fellows from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont manage NEFI. 

The Rocky Mountain Fellows Institute (RMFI) was formed in 2023, with its first programs slated to begin in 2024. ACTEC Fellows from Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming manage RMFI.

The Southeast Fellows Institute (SEFI) began in 2020 to educate attorneys in the Southeast region. ACTEC Fellows from Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia manage SEFI.

Western Fellows Institute (WFI) was established in 2025 and educates attorneys in Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. ACTEC Fellows from these states coordinate and manage the WFI.

Free Resources for T&E Professionals

The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, ACTEC, is committed to improving the trust and estate profession through lifelong learning. Our trust and estate resources and educational materials provide lawyers, financial services professionals, and clients with valuable information at no charge.