MJ Concentration in Estate Planning
Our MJ Concentration in Estate Planning offers aspiring professionals the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and their marketability in the field of estate planning. Financial planners, personal financial advisors, and wealth counselors will study the core estate planning fundamentals of this dynamic area. Studying in the MJ program will ultimately sharpen your ability to structure tax-efficient transactions that best suits your clients’ estates.
Our curriculum remains timely, focused, and relevant in the field of estate planning. MJ candidates will benefit from our transactional approach to estate planning, which will help you develop a comprehensive knowledge of the area. You will also benefit by acquiring new skills that will enable you to think analytically and critically in this fast-paced field. We take pride in the depth and breadth of the materials covered in our curriculum. Our faculty is committed to providing you with an outstanding educational experience.
Our curriculum emphasizes the identification of issues and prepares you to apply the law creatively to meet the client's goals. Courses are taught by experienced estate planning practitioners who are engaged in the cutting-edge aspects of their specific fields of expertise.
Learn more about the online experience at eDegrees distance education.
Requirements
Candidates pursuing the MJ Concentration in Estate Planning must have 5 years of previous tax experience and must complete 30 credit hours in order to earn their MJ degree. In addition to required courses, candidates must complete 2 introductory law courses. Thereafter, candidates pursuing the MJ degree will select elective courses from the same offerings available to attorneys seeking their LLM in Estate Planning.
Our program is flexible—all classes are offered online. To accommodate the diverse needs and experiences of degree candidates, the program may be pursued full time or part time. Most of our degree candidates complete the program within two years. Please read the Time Limits on Degree Completion Policy.
Students who matriculated prior to August 16, 2019, are subject to degree requirements in place when they first enrolled, provided they complete those requirements within the time limit for degree completion and do not interrupt their enrollment without formal approval. Degree requirements in effect prior to August 2019 are available on eCommons; students should consult their degree audit for further information.
Note: We are currently in the process of converting JMLS course numbers to new UIC course numbers. Students registering for Summer 2020 may need to use the Registrar’s course conversion table to find the JMLS course number for summer registration. When using the table, you can use the UIC course number listed on this page to find the correlating JMLS course number needed for registration. For fall 2020, students will register using the UIC course number.
Curriculum
Required Courses
Required Introductory Courses
Required MJ Courses
- Estate Planning I (EPL 505, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning II (EPL 507, 2 Credits)
- Estate Settlement & Post-Mortem Trust Administration (EPL 514, 2 Credits)
- Income Taxation of Estates and Trusts (EPL 515, 2 Credits)
- Wealth Transfer Taxation I (EPL 512, 2 Credits)
- Wealth Transfer Taxation II (EPL 513, 1 Credit)
Please review each course description to determine what prerequisites apply.
MJ Elective Courses
- Asset Protection Planning (EPL 524, 2 Credits)
- Charitable Contributions (EPL 521, 2 Credits)
- Closely Held Businesses: Taxation & Succession Planning (EPL 526, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning for Elderly or Disabled (EPL 532, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning for Multinational Clients (EPL 535, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples (EPL 534, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning for Young, Married Couples (EPL 533, 2 Credits)
- Estate Planning With Insurance Products (EPL 523, 1 Credit)
- Estate Planning With Retirement Plans (EPL 525, 2 Credits)
- Ethical Issues in Estate Planning (EPL 518, 2 Credits)
- Fiduciary Duties (EPL 516, 2 Credits)
- Income Taxation (EPL 470, 3 Credits)
- Independent Study in Estate Planning (EPL 596, 1-3 Credits)
- Personal Financial Planning (EPL 522, 2 Credits)
- Special Topics in Estate Planning (EPL 594, 1-2 Credits)
- State Inheritance and Estate Taxation (EPL 519, 1 Credits)
- Survey of Estates and Trusts (EPL 501, 2 Credits)
- Survey of Federal Income Tax (EPL 503, 2 Credits)
- Valuation Issues in Estate Planning (EPL 517, 2 Credits)