by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils on March 30, 2023.
Aiken, South Carolina – Christopher A. Austin has been certified as an Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) designee by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC).
Christopher Austin is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Austin & Pethick Law Firm, PC. He is a life-long resident of Aiken County. He graduated college from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Business Administration. Chris obtained his Juris Doctorate from Charlotte School of Law in 2010 and received his LLM (Master of Laws) in taxation from the University of Alabama in July 2021.
Chris has previously run for state office as a candidate for State House Representative for District 81. He is also a former board member of the SRP Federal Credit Union Advisory Board, Aiken Steeple Chase Association, and Boys and Girls Club of Aiken Advisory Board. He is currently a candidate to serve on the Board of Trustees at Aiken Technical College.
Chris leads Austin & Pethick’s Estate Planning, Probate, and Tax practice. He has been practicing for over ten years. Chris has experience and focuses on assisting clients with various estate planning matters ranging from simple to the more advanced and complex estate planning (estates above the unified credit, currently $12.92 million, domestic and international), asset protection, estate and trust administration (domestic and international), business succession planning, and tax planning, involving structuring of business organizations and corporate transactions. He is licensed in SC, GA, and TN, fluent in Spanish and certified to practice before the United States Tax Court. He and his firm partner are taking steps towards establishing a Christian Legal Services to benefit those in need in our community.
The Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) designation is a graduate level, multi-disciplinary specialization in estate planning, obtained in addition to already recognized professional credentials within the various disciplines of estate planning. The AEP® designation is available to actively practicing attorneys, accountants, insurance professionals and financial planners, philanthropic advisors, and trust officers who hold one of more of the following credentials in active status and good standing: JD, CPA, CLU®, ChFC®, CFP®, CFA, CPWA, CAP®, CSPG, CTFA, MSFS, or MST.
It is awarded by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils to recognized estate planning professionals who meet stringent requirements of experience, knowledge, education, professional reputation, and character. An AEP® designee must embrace the team concept of estate planning and adhere to the NAEPC Code of Ethics, as well as participate in an annual renewal and recertification process.
NAEPC is a national organization of professional estate planners and affiliated local estate planning councils dedicated to the cultivation of excellence in estate planning. NAEPC fosters the multi-disciplinary approach to estate planning by serving estate planning councils and their credentialed members and delivering exceptional resources and unsurpassed education.
For more information or to schedule a consultation with Christopher A. Austin, J.D., LL.M., AEP®, please contact Austin and Pethick Law Firm at 803-226-0453.
