Andrew Kestner Becomes First to Earn Estate Planning Certificate at BU Law
Pleased by the quality and flexibility of the certificate program, Kestner will go on to earn his full LLM in Taxation.
Andrew Kestner (LLM in Taxation’20) always planned on earning an LLM in Taxation, but as a full-time attorney with a young family, adding a degree program would require a serious time commitment.
Before deciding on a full LLM degree, Kestner entered BU Law to pursue an Estate Planning Certificate with the Graduate Tax Program. Launched in spring 2017, the Estate Planning Certificate is a 12-credit program designed to give lawyers and non-lawyers access to a wide range of courses—all taught the GTP’s expert faculty—on estate planning and wealth management. He will be the first to successfully complete the certificate program.
An associate with Langrock Sperry & Wool LLP in Vermont, Kestner has more than 10 years of experience guiding clients on financial and tax matters. In order to specialize further, he looked into earning an LLM degree, but the certificate offered by BU Law caught his attention. The program provided the opportunity to take six courses solely related to estate planning.
“I had always intended to obtain an LLM, but the fact that the certificate existed made me a little more comfortable jumping into it,” he says.
As a long-distance student, Kestner appreciates how the program works into his schedule. All courses are held on weekday evenings, and he has the choice to attend lectures in person or watch virtually through recorded lectures. With a full-time job, Kestner says he can “listen to the lecture when it’s convenient—whether it’s late at night or first thing Saturday morning in a pair of sweatpants sitting on the couch.”
The recordings also allow Kestner to replay crucial information for better comprehension. “If you don’t understand something, you have the opportunity to run it back and if you have to listen to it five times, you can do that,” he says.
The certificate requires three courses—Estate & Gift Taxation, Estate Planning, and Taxation of Trusts and Fiduciary—plus three additional electives that can be chosen from the broad range of courses offered by the GTP. Students are also given the option to extend their studies by completing the LLM in Taxation. Kestner chose this route after weighing the cost and commitment needed to complete the full program.
Initially self-financing his studies, Kestner viewed the certificate as a more affordable option than a full degree. “Paying out of pocket, I only had the resources to go so far,” he says. But after beginning the program, his firm provided financial support, acknowledging the skills he would take back to the practice. He believes pursuing the certificate showed a degree of commitment to his firm. “Once I got a few courses under my belt, my firm saw the benefit of what I was learning, and agreed to make a significant contribution to my tuition,” he says.
With the 12 credits transferring from the certificate program, Kestner is already halfway toward the 24 credits required to complete the LLM.
As he has progressed through the program, he has found ways to connect what he is learning in the classroom to his current work. “I found just about every class that I have taken is directly applicable to the legal work that I’m doing on a day-to-day basis,” he says. “The program has also allowed me to extend the breadth of my practice, working with private foundations for example, an area of the law in which I was not previously involved in.”
The opportunity to serve his clients more fully with this specialization is an invaluable way to advance his career. “Practicing in Vermont, there are only a handful of people with LLMs,” he says. “Going forward in my practice, and as many of these folks are nearing retirement, it’s nice to be one of the few people with this level of expertise.”
By Josee Matela (CAS/COM’20)
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