The aging of the baby boomer generation has set the stage for the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history. This, combined with the increasing complexity of income tax, wealth transfer tax, property laws, and today’s changing economic environment, has created a demand for attorneys with expertise in individual and estate planning.
Attorneys can meet this growing demand by attending our LL.M. program in estate planning, offering a unique combination of tax and non-tax estate planning courses unavailable elsewhere.
Full-time study is 2 semesters
Part-time is 2-3 years
Choose From a Variety of Career Paths
The Heckerling Graduate program offers career development for students seeking successful and rewarding professions. Job opportunities for attorneys with an LL.M. in Estate Planning can include:
Large law firm attorney
Boutique estate planning firm attorney
Bank or trust company officer
Internal Revenue Service position
Wealth manager at bank or investment house
In-house or independent attorney for public or private charity
Ranked as a top school for estate planning by preLaw Magazine.
How Does this Degree Differ from a Tax LL.M.?
This unique program prepares attorneys to deal with the tax implications of wealth transfers and with the related non-tax, investment, and business succession planning issues. The breadth and depth of coverage of both the tax and non-tax aspects of individual and estate planning distinguishes the curriculum from traditional graduate tax programs. While tax LL.M. programs may offer a cluster of survey courses on the tax aspects of estate planning, they cannot match the in-depth, practical focus of Miami Law’sspring semester classes. Our unique one-week classes in the spring offer advanced level coverage of essential issues in estate planning, including fiduciary administration, charitable giving, planning for retirement benefits, the Generation Skipping Tax, asset protection, the marital deduction, life insurance, investment planning, tax procedure, elder law, valuation, IRC Chapter 14, ethics, and drafting.
The graduate program fosters close connections with fellow students who progress together through two semesters of small seminar style classes. Lifelong relationships are nurtured by annual alumni reunions at the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and students join a national network of distinguished estate planners upon graduation.
The graduate program begins with a traditional 14-week fall semester of foundational course work covering core conceptual topics that provide the foundation for the spring semester. Building on the fall, the Graduate Program’s unique spring semester consists of a series of one-week, one credit modular courses on advanced-level tax and estate planning to give students a high level of technical expertise. Students are also invited to attend the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, the nation's largest educational conference for estate planning professionals.
Unmatched in graduate-level legal education, nationally recognized experts and faculty in the field of estate planning teach in the program. Select program size also allows for personalized attention - students prepare and draft an estate plan working under the direct supervision and guidance of an experienced estate planning attorney.
A History of Excellence
The late Philip E. Heckerling was a Miami Law faculty member from 1963 to 1983. A professional to the core, Professor Heckerling was an active member of the FL Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American College of Probate Counsel, and the American Law Institute. From his early years in trust work, he was a man with a passion for improving the technical competence of estate planners. In pursuit of his goal, he created the University of Miami School of Law's Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in 1967 as a place for experts to gather and refine their skills. He nurtured it through the years of its phenomenal growth to its position as the largest and most respected continuing education program for estate planners today. That passion led him also to establish this graduate LL.M. program in estate planning, which is named in his honor.
"I had been practicing commercial litigation for 7 years, and I wanted to make a change. Judge Celeste Muir, with a similar legal background as mine, encouraged me to pursue the LLM program in Estate Planning, and I am so glad that I did. The LLM program gave me the educational foundation that I needed, and I would recommend this program to anyone wanting to practice in the area of estate planning.”
Janine N. Kucaba Special Counsel McCarter & English, LLP
"The Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning solidified my career and gave me the most comprehensive foundation in trusts, estates and tax planning. This has allowed me to grow in my practice and feel confident in the representation that I am able to provide to my clients and to my colleagues. I made lasting friendships and connections through the program which I can always rely on to discuss the most current issues facing the estate planning world."
Kaley N. Barbera, J.D., LL.M, Partner Snyder & Snyder, P.A.
"The Graduate Program in Estate Planning at UM is mandatory for a successful career in sophisticated estate planning and complex trust and estate administrations."
Ganon J. Studenberg, J.D., LL.M. '08 Studenberg Law, Melbourne, Florida
"Estate Planning LLM graduates leave the program with more advanced technical knowledge than most lawyers acquire in a decade of practice. If you want to be at the top of the estate planning field, this is how you get there."
Please reach out with any questions to Laura Adams, Manager, Programs Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning Phone: 305-284-4918 Email:ladams@law.miami.edu
The late Philip E. Heckerling was a Miami Law faculty member from 1963 to 1983. A professional to the core, Professor Heckerling was an active member of the FL Bar Association, the American Bar Association, the American College of Probate Counsel, and the American Law Institute. From his early years in trust work, he was a man with a passion for improving the technical competence of estate planners. In pursuit of his goal, he created the 