SOUTH BAY ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL

MEMBERSHIP CATEGORIES

The Board of Directors seeks to clarify and stabilize the membership requirements of the South Bay Estate Planning Council (“SBEPC”)  to avoid arbitrary means of selecting potential members, attract quality members and speakers, and protect the integrity of the SBEPC.  Establishing a categorical approach to membership will increase the objectivity efficiency of the Board in regulating membership in the present and future years.  It will also further the SBEPC’s stated mission.  To this end, although the Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Council do not provide specifically for Entity Members, the Board has established classifications of persons and entities eligible to participate in SBEPC activities which, for convenience, are referred to as “members.”  The classifications are as follows:

General Member
General membership shall consist of two categories:  individual membership and entity membership.  Entity membership will be for entities such as corporations, partnerships, LLC’s and unincorporated associations. 

General Members are restricted to individuals or entities which are experienced in a profession primarily consisting of estate planning and/or administration, and/or which is considered part of a client’s team of professional estate-related advisors. A General Member will typically provide the clientele base that expert outside speakers and Resource Members want to access for potential business referral opportunities. A General Member is also the primary target audience that the General Meeting and Focus Group speakers speak to in terms of content. The SBEPC should seek to build a large, stable group of General Members to attract quality speakers and quality Resource Members. General Members are usually motivated to become members due to the educational content of the meetings directly relevant to their professions and to a lesser extent, continuing education credit, resource offerings, and networking opportunities.

General Members are individuals or entities which meet all of the following requirements:

• Are engaged in one or more of the following licensed and/or certified estate planning or administration-related professions:
• Attorney with at least 50% or more of his or her practice in the areas of estate planning and/or administration (may include litigation);
• Professional fiduciary or trust officer;
• Wealth or investment advisor;
• Certified Financial Planner;
• Certified Public Accountant;
• Enrolled Agent;
• Geriatric care manager; and
• Insurance professional. 

Have been in the full-time business of their professions for three (3) years immediately prior to application;

Have attended at least three (3) but no more than six (6) meetings as a Guest within the five (5) year period prior to submitting an application.

Have received two (2) endorsements from an existing General or Resource Member; and

Has submitted a completed an SBEPC Membership Application that has been reviewed and approved by the Board.

An Entity membership shall entitle the Member to have two owners or employees of its business attend the General Breakfast Meetings without additional charge.   Additional attendees shall be treated the same as guests.

Resource Member
A Resource Member is a member who does not categorically qualify as a General Member, but rather is an individual who possesses knowledge and experience in his or her field that includes a substantial nexus with estate planning or administration.

A Resource Member will typically provide as-needed, periodic, or one-off services that a General Member may often seek or make business referrals to in the course of servicing the General Member’s client base, such as realtor, appraiser, care provider, estate liquidation/ auctioneer, geriatric psychiatrist, and the like. A Resource Member is typically motivated to become a member not so much for the educational content of the meeting but to access the General Member’s client base for marketing and referral purposes. A Resource Member would categorize its membership activity as marketing/networking rather than education

The ratio of Resource Members to General Members shall be capped at one-third (1/3) of the total membership of the SBEPC, measured at the time of application.  An  Entity Member shall be considered one member for purposes of this cap.   The reason for the cap is so that Resource Members are not predominant.  Capping Resource Membership will also attract more General Members and quality speakers, and Resource Members will appreciate the cap due to less competition introduced by other Resource Members.

A Resource Member must be an individual, as opposed to an entity. 
Resource Members are restricted to individuals who meet all of the following requirements:   
Possesses the requisite licensing or certification, knowledge and experience in the member’s field that includes a substantial nexus with estate planning or administration;
Has attended at least three (3) but no more than six (6) meetings as a guest within the five (5) years prior to application;
Has received two (2) endorsements from existing General or Resource Members; and,
Has submitted a completed SBEPC Membership Application that has been reviewed and approved by the Board.

Associate Member
An individual or entity which qualifies to be a General Member in all other ways but for lack of the individual or an owner having had three (3) years of full-time experience in his or her profession immediately prior to the time of application.

EMERITUS STATUS
A General or Resource Member, who becomes retired or semi-retired, and who seeks to stay connected to the SBEPC and attend meetings (if even occasionally), may apply for an Emeritus Member status.  In order to qualify, the applicant must have been a General or Resource Member of the SBEPC for at least ten (10) years immediately preceding application for Emeritus Member status and must be approved by the Board.  The purposes of creating an Emeritus Member status are to provide an economical manner for the Member to continue to be a part of the SBEPC while on a fixed or limited income, to allow the Member to utilize the wisdom and life experience for the benefit of the group, and to recognize and reward the General or Resource Member for having a long history with and investment in the SBEPC.  

GUESTS
Any individual may attend the General Breakfast Meeting as a Guest, but is prohibited from attending Focus Groups.  Attendance at Focus Groups is restricted to General and Resource Members.

Guest attendance is capped at no more than six (6) meetings within any five (5) year time period.  If the Guest becomes a member during the course of a SBEPC year (July to June), his or her guest fees paid that SBEPC year will be credited toward to his or her annual membership fee.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Board may bar any guest at any time for any reason or no reason whatsoever in its absolute discretion.

PRESIDENT AND BOARD MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENTS

The requirements for Board Membership are as follows:

• The President of the SBEPC must be a General Member.
• No more than a total of three Resource and Emeritus Members may serve on the Board at any one time.  The remaining members must be General Members.
• Any Entity member serving on the Board must be an owner of the Entity concerned.     No more than one owner of a Entity Member may serve on the Board at any one time.
• Associate Members are not eligible to serve on the Board.

DUES

Dues shall be established by the Board of Directors from time to time.  The dues in effect at the present time are:

General Individual Annual Membership:  $360
General Entity Annual Membership:  ­­­­­­­­­­ $700
Resource Annual Membership:  $360
Associate Annual Membership:   $360
Emeritus Annual Membership:  $285
Guests per meeting charge:  $60