ACTEC

What ACTEC does

ACTEC (The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel) is a Washington, D.C.-headquartered, non-profit professional membership organization founded in 1949 that serves as the peer-elected fellowship body for leading trust and estate counsel lawyers in the United States. Its membership spans all 50 U.S. states and 16 countries, and admission is governed by peer election based on professional reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to the practice of trust and estate law, functioning as a lifelong professional credential analogous to a "college of fellows." ACTEC serves four primary audiences: (i) its elected Fellows, who gain access to a members-only portal, listservs (ACTEC-PRAC, ACTEC-TECH), a Find a Lawyer directory, and peer-governed events; (ii) law associates and law students, served through seven regional Fellows Institutes that deliver a six-day intensive curriculum for 3rd–6th-year associates; (iii) wealth-planning professionals and financial services firms, served via publications, podcasts, and an "AI and Trust and Estate Law" resource hub; and (iv) the general public, served through the Estate Planning Essentials video series, guides on wills, trusts, probate, advance directives, and special needs planning, plus a public Find a Lawyer directory.

The organization's underlying technology stack is a conventional content-and-community platform rather than a proprietary product: a public website (actec.org), a gated member portal (members.actec.org), iOS/Android ACTEC Meeting applications for annual and regional events, podcast and video hosting (YouTube, ACTEC Trust & Estate Talk), and a public-facing attorney directory. There is no evidence of proprietary AI/ML products, custom models, or data flywheel mechanics in the input; AI appears only as a topic covered in a resource page and a podcast episode.

ACTEC's revenue mechanics are those of a professional society rather than a commercial enterprise. Reported revenue streams include recurring membership dues, event and meeting registrations, publication and store sales, and tuition/fees for the Fellows Institutes programs. Pricing is not publicly disclosed. Sponsorship revenue from a small set of wealth-management brands (Bessemer Trust, J.P. Morgan, Northern Trust, BNY Wealth, Sotheby's, Christie's, South Dakota Trust Company LLC, and MPI Business Valuation & Advisory) supplements member-driven income. The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, no disclosed outside investment, and an affiliated entity — the ACTEC Foundation — that supports education, podcasts, and a student writing competition. Leadership rotates through peer election; Margaret G. Lodise was installed as President for 2026–2027 at the Tampa annual meeting, where 29 new Fellows were also admitted.

Name

ACTEC

Legal name

American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Inc.

Website

https://actec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1949

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ACTEC is a 1949-founded, peer-elected non-profit fellowship of leading U.S. trust and estate counsel lawyers spanning all 50 states and 16 countries, serving members, law associates, wealth-planning professionals, and the public with education, events, directories, and publications.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Legal Association

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Law School Continuing Legal Education (CLE) & Executive Programs (EDAHAIAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Private Client (Trusts & Estates) Law (BPAHAAAK), Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC), Trust & Estate Tax Planning & Compliance (FSAEAKAE), Legal & Compliance (CLE, Paralegal CE) (EDAAALAB)

Keywords

• Trust and estate law
• Estate planning education
• Professional membership association
• Fiduciary counsel fellowship
• Wealth transfer planning

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Fellows pay membership dues to ACTEC. The organization collects dues annually from its membership base of leading trust and estate counsel attorneys across all 50 states and 16 countries.
2. Event Registrations: ACTEC generates revenue from annual meetings, regional meetings, and other professional events for members and attendees.
3. Publications and Store: Sale of publications, educational materials, and resources through the ACTEC store (members.actec.org/online-store/publications).
4. Fellows Institutes Programs: Educational programs offered through regional Fellows Institutes for law associates, including Florida Fellows Institute, Heart of America Fellows Institute, Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute, New England Fellows Institute, Rocky Mountain Fellows Institute, Southeast Fellows Institute, and Western Fellows Institute.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

ACTEC is a peer-elected professional membership college for trust and estate counsel attorneys across all 50 U.S. states and 16 countries. The organization delivers membership services, continuing professional education (including the ACTEC Fellows Institutes), a member portal and listservs, the Find a Lawyer directory, and public-facing educational content on estate planning topics such as wills, trusts, probate, and advance medical directives.

Product overview

ACTEC (The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel) is a professional membership organization comprising leading trust and estate lawyers across all 50 states and 16 countries. The organization offers a portfolio of educational resources and member services including the ACTEC Estate Planning Essentials video series (covering wills, trusts, probate, advance medical directives, special needs planning, and business owner topics), ACTEC Fellows Institutes (seven regional intensive education programs for law associates), the ACTEC Meetings App (mobile application for meeting attendees), the ACTEC Trust & Estate Podcast, a Find a Lawyer directory, and Fellow services including Listservs and professional development resources. The product suite is designed to support both member attorneys and the public seeking trust and estate planning education.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ACTEC Estate Planning Essentials A comprehensive video series featuring ACTEC Fellows providing educational content on estate planning topics including wills, trusts, assets, taxes, probate, advance medical directives, special needs planning, and business owner considerations. Targeted at the general public seeking estate planning education.
• ACTEC Fellows Institutes Six-day intensive trust and estate education programs for third through sixth-year law associates, delivered through seven regional institutes (Florida, Heart of America, Mid-Atlantic, New England, Rocky Mountain, Southeast, and Western).
• ACTEC Meetings App A mobile application used for ACTEC National, Regional, and certain State Meetings, providing access to attendee lists, schedules, professional program materials, sponsor contacts, schedule updates, and engagement opportunities.
• ACTEC Trust & Estate Podcast A podcast series featuring ACTEC Fellows discussing estate planning topics including AI for document review, directed trusts, family offices, neurodiversity, and trust administration strategies. Produced by the ACTEC Foundation.
• Find a Lawyer Directory A searchable online directory allowing users to locate ACTEC Fellows (trust and estate attorneys) by location and specialty to obtain professional legal services.
• ACTEC Fellow Services (Membership) Exclusive member services for ACTEC Fellows including Listservs (ACTEC-PRAC, ACTEC-TECH), Roster/Blue Book, New Fellows Guide, policy manuals, and Listserv Q&A resources. Membership is peer-elected based on professional reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to trust and estate law.
• ACTEC Foundation Student Writing Competition An annual writing competition for law students interested in trust and estate law, administered by the ACTEC Foundation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Fellows elected based on professional reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to trust and estate law

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Christie'sminorOthersChristie's serves as a sponsor of ACTEC events and activities, supporting the organization's mission to advance trust and estate law practice.
• Bessemer TrustminorOthersBessemer Trust serves as a sponsor of ACTEC events and activities, supporting the organization's educational programs and professional development initiatives.
• South Dakota Trust Company LLCminorOthersSouth Dakota Trust Company LLC serves as a sponsor of ACTEC, supporting the organization's mission and professional community.
• J.P. MorganminorOthersJ.P. Morgan serves as a sponsor of ACTEC events, supporting the organization's professional development and educational activities.
• Sotheby'sminorOthersSotheby's serves as a sponsor of ACTEC, supporting the organization's events and educational mission.
• Northern TrustminorOthersNorthern Trust serves as a sponsor of ACTEC, supporting the organization's professional community and educational programs.
• MPI Business Valuation & AdvisoryminorOthersMPI Business Valuation & Advisory serves as a sponsor of ACTEC, supporting the organization's events and activities.
• BNY WealthminorOthersBNY Wealth serves as a sponsor of ACTEC, supporting the organization's mission and professional activities.
• ACTEC FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACTEC Foundation is the affiliated foundation supporting ACTEC's mission through podcasts, law student writing competitions, and educational resources. The Foundation produces the ACTEC Trust & Estate Talk podcast and supports student development.
• Regional Fellows InstitutescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven regional Fellows Institutes (Florida Fellows Institute, Heart of America Fellows Institute, Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute, New England Fellows Institute, Rocky Mountain Fellows Institute, Southeast Fellows Institute, Western Fellows Institute) partner with ACTEC to deliver intensive trust and estate education programs for law associates.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP): The leading global professional body for trust and estate practitioners, with comparable membership, qualification (TEP designation), continuing education, and policy commentary. Functions as ACTEC's primary international peer.
• American College of Trial Lawyers: A peer-elected 'American College' of leading trial lawyers, structurally identical to ACTEC in being a fellowship of distinguished attorneys nominated by peers. Most direct structural peer in the 'American College' legal college model.
• National Association of Estate Planners & Councils: A U.S. association serving estate planning professionals across multiple disciplines (attorneys, CPAs, financial planners, insurance). Competes for the same professional membership and education audience as ACTEC at the estate planning layer.
• American College of Tax Counsel: Another peer-elected 'American College' restricted to tax lawyers. Closely mirrors ACTEC's college-of-fellows governance model and elects Fellows based on reputation and contribution in an adjacent legal specialty.
• American College of Real Estate Lawyers: A peer-elected 'American College' of real estate lawyers with matching governance and membership standards. A near-clone structural peer serving an adjacent transactional legal specialty.
• American College of Legal Medicine: Another 'American College' structure of peer-elected lawyers (and other professionals) in a specific legal niche. Operationally analogous to ACTEC in fellowship governance, member-only education, and credentialed admission.

Emerging players

• Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning: Hosted at the University of Miami School of Law, the Heckerling Institute is the longest-running U.S. conference on estate planning and a direct continuing-education competitor to ACTEC's Fellows Institutes and Annual Meetings.

Broad incumbents

• American Bar Association: The largest U.S. legal professional association, including a dedicated Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section. Competes indirectly with ACTEC in CLE provision, publications, and policy advocacy but addresses all practice areas.
• The American Law Institute: A prestigious independent legal organization producing Restatements, model codes, and CLE programs. Overlaps with ACTEC in thought leadership on trust and estate law but operates with broader scope across all areas of law.

Regional players

• International Academy of Estate and Trust Law: An international honorific body of leading trust and estate lawyers and academics, originally independent and now administered under STEP. Most comparable international peer to ACTEC's International Fellowship track.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/actecnews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/actecorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/ACTECFellow
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/american-college-of-trust-and-estate-counsel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ACTEC