[jhd7]

I passed the cpa exam in june of this year. I’m finishing up my MST in may of 2015. I work in tax at a public firm. I’m really into trusts and estates, and I like personal returns way more than corp/partnership. I’m thinking about what to do next in terms of law school or taking the CFP exam to position me to hopefully one day exclusively work with individuals and trusts and estates. I’m still in my early 20s so I could get a good return on my investment if I went with the cfp or law. I’ve heard law school is a horrible idea though. Advice?

AUD- 78
BEC- 79
REG- 91
FAR- 83

Licensed NJ CPA

DONE

[jaredo155]

I am in a somewhat similar situation, I have my CPA and am about a year away from finishing my MST. I however work in corporate, but have been seriously thinking of moving to a regional accounting firm and working more with individuals, trusts, and estates and adding financial planning to my tool belt.

So in full disclosure all of my information is second hand from friends I have who work in this industry currently. I would say if you are primarily interested in working with high net worth individuals, trusts, and estates, doing tax and financial planning, then the JD is going to be an absolute waste of money (especially if you already have the CPA/MST). I have a couple friends who work in estate and trust management, they work at banks, and they have chosen the CTFA (certified trust financial advisor) certification instead of the CFP. The CFP is going to have a broader appeal, but the CTFA is going to be more applicable to really high net worth clients.

The real answer is it depends on specifically what client base you want to work with. The only scenario where I would see a JD even possibly being a good investment, is if you want to get into tax controversy litigation where you would represent your clients before the tax court.

AUD - 2/2013 - Passed!
BEC - 5/2013 - Passed!
FAR - 8/2013 - Passed!
REG - 11/2013 - Passed!
"Do or do not, there is no try." - Yoda

[Anonymous]

Go to law school if you want to be a lawyer.

Spend that time working harder if you want to be an accountant.

[jhd7]

Thanks for the input guys. Really helpful. I've never heard of the ctfa before. It sounds appealing though. Does anyone have any input on this cert? I may be more likely just to pick the CFP because it's more recognizable

AUD- 78
BEC- 79
REG- 91
FAR- 83

Licensed NJ CPA

DONE

[Author]

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