Estate Planning Team

What Estate Planning Team does

Estate Planning Team (EPT) is a privately held membership organization headquartered in Indian Wells, California, that markets and distributes the Deferred Sales Trust (DST) — an IRS-compliant capital gains tax deferral strategy built on an IRC Section 453 installment sale structure — to financial, legal, and real estate professionals across the United States. The company was founded by Robert Binkele, who serves as CEO and is also an independent financial advisor with the affiliated DST Wealth Management, LLC, and was joined by Michael Boden as COO in 2021. EPT recruits members from eleven professional segments — financial advisors, insurance professionals, real estate agents, CPAs, attorneys, title representatives, mortgage lenders, qualified intermediaries, trustees, DST attorneys, and banks — offering them personalized lead-generation websites, turnkey marketing materials, client presentations, a web-based tracking system, and access to a vetted network of tax and legal professionals who execute DST transactions for end clients.

The product surface extends beyond the flagship DST to include Premium Financing for life insurance portfolio management, a Private Retirement Trust structured under California Code of Civil Procedure section 704.115 for asset protection and retirement planning, and a 1031 Exchange offering for real estate tax deferral. The underlying technology is a web-based membership and marketing platform; no proprietary algorithms, AI components, or software patents are described in the source material, and the company's intellectual property is centered on the exclusive access to the DST methodology and the curated marketing and execution infrastructure around it.

EPT monetizes primarily through recurring monthly membership fees of $50 plus a one-time $50 setup for financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs, insurance professionals, and other paid segments, supplemented by one-time purchases of customized marketing materials and turnkey marketing plans. Membership is offered at no charge to real estate agents, title representatives, mortgage lenders, qualified intermediaries, and banks/financial institutions, positioning those segments as referral feeders for the paying core. Distribution is US-only, driven by a sales-led motion that combines self-serve website sign-up, professional referral and networking channels, content marketing across LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, newsletters, and webinars, and field outreach through Robert Binkele's speaking engagements.

Name

Estate Planning Team

Legal name

Estate Planning Team

Website

https://www.myept.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Estate Planning Team is a US-based membership organization that markets and distributes the Deferred Sales Trust (DST) capital gains tax deferral strategy to financial, legal, and real estate professionals, supported by personalized marketing websites, referral networks, and affiliated tax and legal execution partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tax Deferral and Estate Planning Services

NAICS

Trusts, Estates, and Agency Accounts (52592), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Estate Planning & Trust Structuring Advisory (FSAEAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Private Wealth Planning (Tax, Estate & Succession) (FSAAABAE), Estate & Legacy Planning Advisory (FSAEAAAG)

Keywords

• Capital gains deferral
• Deferred sales trust
• Estate planning services
• Tax deferral strategies
• Professional membership network

Headquarters

HQ city

Palm Desert

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees - Standard: Financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs, insurance professionals, and other professional members pay monthly membership fees for access to the Deferred Sales Trust strategy, marketing materials, personalized websites, and professional networking support. Revenue is recurring subscription-based from the membership fees.
2. Marketing Products and Services: The company offers customized Deferred Sales Trust marketing materials, turnkey marketing plans, and related products. Members can purchase additional marketing products from Estate Planning Team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Estate Planning Team is a nationwide membership organization that provides financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs, insurance professionals, and real estate professionals with exclusive access to the Deferred Sales Trust (DST) strategy, an IRS-compliant IRC Section 453 installment sale structure that enables clients to defer capital gains taxes on the sale of highly appreciated assets. Members receive turnkey marketing materials, personalized lead generation websites, web-based tracking systems, and access to a nationwide professional referral network spanning complementary financial and legal service providers.

Product overview

Estate Planning Team offers a membership-based platform providing access to four core financial and estate planning products centered on capital gains tax deferral strategies. The flagship product is the Deferred Sales Trust (DST), an IRC Section 453 installment sale structure that enables deferral of capital gains taxes on appreciated assets. Supporting products include Premium Financing for life insurance portfolio management, Private Retirement Trust for California asset protection, and 1031 Exchange for real estate tax deferral. Members—comprising financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs, insurance professionals, and real estate agents—receive marketing materials, lead generation websites, and access to a network of professionals to implement these strategies for their clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Deferred Sales Trust (DST)

Quantifiable outcome

• Average DST case value: $1M-$3M, with some cases exceeding $50M
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments11 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• DST Wealth Management, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRobert Binkele, founder and CEO of Estate Planning Team, is also an independent financial advisor with DST Wealth Management, LLC. The company provides exclusive access to market the Deferred Sales Trust, a proprietary capital gains tax deferral solution that is executed through DST Wealth Management.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Capital Gains Tax Solutions: Capital Gains Tax Solutions is a direct competitor that markets and facilitates the Deferred Sales Trust strategy to advisors, CPAs, attorneys, and real estate professionals. It competes head-to-head with EPT for professional members promoting the same IRC 453 installment sale capital gains deferral solution.
• National Association of Estate Planners & Councils: NAEPC is a membership-based association of estate planning professionals that offers networking, education, and credentialing for financial advisors, attorneys, CPAs, and insurance professionals — overlapping directly with EPT's professional membership model in the estate planning category.
• Garrett Planning Network: Garrett Planning Network is a membership organization of fee-only financial advisors that provides coaching, resources, and a referral network for independent planners — directly comparable to EPT's professional membership, marketing collateral, and referral-driven GTM motion targeting financial advisors.
• XY Planning Network: XY Planning Network is a membership-based organization for fee-only financial advisors offering marketing support, compliance resources, and peer community — directly parallel to EPT's subscription-and-referral-network model serving independent advisors.

Emerging players

• Wealth.com: Wealth.com is a modern estate planning platform providing digital estate documents and tools to financial advisors and their clients. It overlaps with EPT at the estate planning and advisor enablement layer but takes a software-first approach versus EPT's strategy and membership focus.

Others

• IPX1031: IPX1031 is one of the largest qualified intermediaries facilitating 1031 like-kind exchanges for real estate investors. It is adjacent to EPT because both operate in the capital gains tax deferral space, but IPX1031 focuses exclusively on real estate 1031 exchanges rather than the broader DST solution.
• Equity Multiple: Equity Multiple is a real estate investment platform connecting accredited investors with income-producing commercial real estate, often used alongside 1031 strategies. It is thematically adjacent to EPT as an ecosystem participant serving investors managing appreciated real estate holdings.

Broad incumbents

• Advisor Group: Advisor Group is a large network of independent wealth management firms supporting thousands of financial advisors with technology, compliance, and practice management. It overlaps with EPT's financial advisor member base but operates at much broader scale across the full wealth stack.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@estateplanningteam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-estate-planning-team
• Instagraminstagram.com/estateplanningteam

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 Estate Planning Team