The trust, wills and estate course that leads to the CTEP™ charter
Master trust structures, will drafting, succession law and intergenerational wealth transfer in one structured program — and earn the Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ designation recognised across 151+ countries.
A complete grounding in trust, wills and estate planning
The CTEP™ program is structured as six curriculum units that take you from estate-planning fundamentals through to advanced cross-border structures — grounded in India's actual legal framework.
India has tens of thousands of finance, legal and advisory professionals, yet almost none with dedicated training in the instruments that actually determine whether a client's estate reaches the next generation intact. Wills are drafted without understanding their interaction with nominations. Trusts are left unused because the advisor does not know when to recommend them. Family businesses transfer at death without a succession structure in place.
The Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ program closes this gap. Delivered as approximately 65 on-demand video lessons with one year of platform access, it covers every domain a practicing estate adviser needs: the governing laws, will drafting and its limits, the full range of trust structures available in India, intestate succession under each personal law, cross-border and NRI planning under FEMA, and the practical mechanics of probate, executors and family settlements.
The course does not require a prior legal background. The law is introduced from first principles in a practical, case-based way — so finance professionals without legal training and legal professionals without a financial planning background can both complete it and apply it immediately.
Trust structures
Private, family, MWP Act, testamentary and discretionary trusts — when to use each and how to structure them for the client's specific situation.
Will drafting and succession
How wills work, how they fail, how nominations interact with them, and the role of probate and succession certificates in carrying out the testator's wishes.
NRI and cross-border estates
FEMA repatriation, OCI heir succession rights, and planning for Indian assets with non-resident beneficiaries in the UK, US, Singapore or UAE.
Intergenerational transfer
Family-governance structures, succession planning for multi-generational families, and protection of vulnerable or minor heirs through discretionary and testamentary trusts.
Business and IP succession
Shareholders' agreements, business trusts, estate equalisation and the treatment of intellectual property and goodwill as estate assets — so family businesses do not lose value at a founder's death.
Estate liquidity planning
How to quantify an estate's closure costs — probate, taxes, loan repayments, outstanding liabilities — and ensure liquidity is available on day one without forcing distressed asset sales.
Why trust planning is at the heart of this course
Trusts are among the most flexible and powerful instruments in estate planning — yet they are among the most underused by Indian advisors, largely because the training has not existed until now.
Unit 5 of the CTEP™ curriculum is dedicated entirely to trust planning in India, covering the full range of structures a practicing estate planner needs to understand and recommend: discretionary trusts (including their use to protect spendthrift or vulnerable heirs), living trusts, testamentary trusts, private and family trusts, MWP Act trusts, religious and charitable trusts and business trusts.
The MWP Act trust is a particularly important structure for insurance advisors and financial planners: a life insurance policy written under the Married Women's Property Act creates a trust over the proceeds from the moment of execution, placing them beyond the reach of the policyholder's creditors and outside the estate for succession purposes. Most advisors know it exists; very few understand exactly how it is structured, when to use it, and what its limits are. This course gives you that depth.
The unit also covers trust taxation in India and the respective roles of trustee, protector and beneficiary — including how trustees are appointed, supervised and replaced. Candidates who complete this unit are equipped to advise clients on trust structures as practical planning tools, not just as abstract legal concepts.
Why wills fail — and what to do instead
A will is only as good as the adviser's understanding of what it can and cannot do. This course teaches both.
Units 3 and 4 of the CTEP™ curriculum address succession law and testamentary succession in depth. Unit 3 covers personal and intestate succession laws: the Indian Succession Act 1925, the Hindu Succession Act including the 2005 amendment that gave daughters full coparcenary rights, the Guardianship Act 1956, Muslim Personal Law and the Goa Civil Code. Understanding what the law will do in the absence of a will — and which personal law governs which client — is essential background for every estate-planning conversation.
Unit 4 turns to testamentary succession: the will-making process, the scope and limits of what a will can achieve, common failure patterns (unclear asset descriptions, conflict with nominations, partnership assets that dissolve on death, property held jointly), the probate and succession certificate process, and the duties of an executor. A critical focus is the frequently misunderstood relationship between a will and a nomination: a mutual fund nomination does not automatically follow a will, and in some circumstances a nomination overrides it. Advisors who do not understand this create planning gaps they cannot see.
| Planning situation | What this course teaches you to do |
|---|---|
| Client has a will but no estate plan | Identify conflicts between the will, nominations, asset titling and personal law — and resolve them before death surfaces the conflicts |
| Family business with multiple heirs | Structure business succession through shareholders' agreements, buy-sell arrangements and business trusts so the enterprise does not dissolve or lose value at the founder's death |
| NRI children inheriting Indian assets | Advise on intestate succession, executor appointment, FEMA repatriation requirements and RBI approvals so the estate can actually be administered and transferred |
| Vulnerable or minor heir | Use a private discretionary trust with appropriate trustee selection and a letter of wishes to protect the heir's share from their own decisions or from creditors |
| HUF with daughters asserting coparcenary rights | Explain the effect of the 2005 amendment to the Hindu Succession Act and advise on restructuring the HUF or the succession plan to account for daughters' equal rights |
Built for every client-facing professional
Whether you come from finance, law or advisory, this course adds the estate-planning dimension your current practice is missing.
This course is right for you if…
- You advise HNI families, business owners or investors who have assets to transfer across generations
- You are an MFD, RIA or insurance advisor who needs to lead succession and estate conversations — not defer them to someone else
- You are a CA or lawyer who wants to serve clients through the full lifecycle of wealth: accumulation, protection, transfer and succession
- You work in private banking, wealth management or a family office where estate planning is part of the client relationship
- You are a graduate or working professional entering wealth advisory and want a specialist credential that sets you apart
This may not be the right fit if…
- You are looking for a general personal-finance or investment course — this is a specialist estate-planning program
- You expect to provide legal opinions or practice law — this builds advisory knowledge and estate-planning competence, not a legal licence
How this course leads to the CTEP™ designation
The trust, wills and estate course content is the CTEP™ curriculum itself. Completing it and passing the examination earns you the Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ charter.
The Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ (CTEP™) is awarded by AAFM (American Academy of Financial Management) — recognised in 151+ countries under AAFM/GAFM international standards. AAFM has been operating since 1996 and has awarded certifications to over 3,00,000 professionals globally.
Completing the six-unit curriculum and passing the online examination qualifies you to use the CTEP™ post-nominal designation and to present yourself as a specialist in trust, wills and estate planning — a field with very few certified practitioners in India relative to the scale of the market.
The designation is a positioning credential, not a legal licence. It demonstrates to clients, employers and referral sources that you have studied the full discipline formally — the law, the instruments, the planning process and the cross-border dimension — rather than picking up estate-planning knowledge piecemeal.
Free counselling call
Confirm fit, eligibility and timeline with an AAFM India advisor — no obligation.
Enrol and access the platform
Register and unlock approximately 65 on-demand lessons across six units, accessible on mobile and desktop for one full year.
Complete the curriculum at your pace
Most candidates complete the six units in 3 to 6 months, studying around existing professional commitments.
Sit and pass the examination
A 2-hour online MCQ paper — 50% to pass, no negative marking. Available at 5,000+ authorised test centres worldwide.
Receive your CTEP™ designation
The Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ charter is awarded under AAFM/GAFM standards — use the CTEP™ mark and join a global community of estate-planning specialists.
Explore every step of the CTEP™ journey
The Chartered Trust & Estate Planner pathway is a connected set of pages — start anywhere, each links back here.
Become the trusted name in trust & estate planning
Give a course advisor 15 minutes and walk away with a clear plan, fee options and your next batch date — no pressure, no jargon.
Trust, wills and estate course — questions answered
The course covers the complete estate-planning discipline as delivered in the CTEP™ program: trust structures (private, family, MWP, testamentary and discretionary trusts), will drafting and its interaction with nominations and personal law, intestate and testamentary succession, probate and succession certificates, family settlements, intergenerational transfer and cross-border (NRI/FEMA) estate planning — across six curriculum units.
No. The CTEP™ curriculum builds the law from first principles in a practical, advisory context. Finance professionals without a prior legal background complete it successfully and apply the knowledge directly with clients.
Yes. The course covers both instruments in depth, including the situations where a will is sufficient and where a trust adds protection — for example, protecting a vulnerable heir, holding insurance proceeds under the MWP Act, or managing business succession where a will alone cannot address a partnership dissolution clause.
The examination is a 2-hour online multiple-choice paper with a 50% pass mark and no negative marking. It is available at 5,000+ authorised test centres worldwide. Most candidates complete the program in 3 to 6 months.
You may register after completing 12th standard (10+2). Graduation in any stream is required to be formally awarded the CTEP™ designation.
The trust, wills and estate course content is the CTEP™ curriculum itself — six units covering the full estate-planning discipline. On clearing the online examination, the Chartered Trust and Estate Planner™ designation is awarded under AAFM/GAFM international standards, recognised in 151+ countries.
Start your CTEP™ journey today
Request a call back and our counsellors will share the full syllabus, fees, batch options and the next start date — and help you choose the right path.