Frequently Asked Questions
The total cost of becoming an RSP is roughly $4,750. Each of the three educational courses provided by SPEC costs $999, and books for the courses cost about $750 (the treatise for Part 1 costs about $700, the required textbooks for Parts 2 and 3 cost a total of about $50). The admission fee to the RSP Board is $1,000.
The entire program is online at the Settlement Planning Education Center’s website: Click here to visit SPEC’s website
It depends entirely on how hard you want to work and how much time you can devote to the program. In this self-paced program, the only limitation is that each course must be completed within a year of registration. Once you have completed the coursework, you must submit a comprehensive settlement plan to the RSP Board.
At this time, Settlement Planning Education Center is the only education provider approved by the RSP Board. There are three courses provided by SPEC that are required for the RSP designation: Part 1: Settlement Planning Seminar, Part 2: Law for Settlement Planners, and Part 3: Financial Planning for Settlement Planners.
Additional information can be found at http://settlementeducation.com/registered-settlement-planner-courses/
You will be provided with a certificate of completion after each course that you can provide to any professional or licensing organization. Most organizations will count the course for as many as 40 hours of continuing education credit. The RSP Board does not apply for the credits for you.
Settlement Planning Education Center’s curriculum covers each of the topics required by the RSP board to meet the education requirement of the RSP designation.
More information about the curriculum can be found at SPEC’s website.
You can register for the courses at Settlement Education Planning Center’s website. You will simply create an account, add a course to your cart, and checkout through the PayPal payment system.
You will have immediate access to the course after purchase.
The RSP designation shows that you meet the highest standards of professionalism in settlement planning. The knowledge and skills gained will set you apart from those who merely claim to be settlement planners. One of the goals of the RSP Board is to promote the designation so that plaintiff attorneys will insist on using only professionals with the RSP designation.
Application & Fee – Application filed with the RSP Board when Applicant believes the requirements have been met.
Education – Applicant must pass the courses offered through Settlement Planning Education Center.
Experience – Three years of qualifying experience in the settlement planning field.
Ethics – The RSP Board will perform a background check on each applicant. In addition, the Applicant must pledge to abide by the RSP Code of Professional Conduct.
Comprehensive Plan – A satisfactory written comprehensive settlement plan must be prepared by the Applicant and submitted to the RSP Board.
Once you have successfully completed the education requirement, submitted a comprehensive plan that meets the Board’s standards, and have worked in settlement planning for at least three years, you may apply to the RSP Board for admission to the Registry. You may not use the designation until you are notified that your application has been accepted.
Continuing Education – Members must complete 15 hours of continuing education each year.
Annual Dues – Members must remain current on any dues. (There are currently no annual dues.)
Ethics – Members must comply with the requirements of the RSP Code of Professional Conduct.
The educational courses provided by Settlement Planning Education Center are based on content originally created in collaboration with Texas Tech University. At this time, Settlement Planning Education Center remains affiliated with Texas Tech University’s Department of Personal Financial Planning.
Why Texas Tech University? The Personal Financial Planning department at Texas Tech is consistently rated as one of the best in the nation. The strength of the RSP program is drawn in large part from the significant contributions by the PFP faculty at Texas Tech.
The RSP Board is independent of Society of Settlement Planners (SSP). However, the SSP was instrumental in getting the RSP Board started and supplied the initial funding. The missions of the RSP Board and the SSP are congruent.
The RSP program is designed to certify members who are minimally qualified to practice without supervision as settlement planners to injured parties. While defense-oriented brokers have fewer opportunities to develop the type of relationship with an injured party to be trusted with in-depth knowledge of their goals and resources, the knowledge gained in the RSP program will help anyone involved in settlement planning perform their function better. Therefore, the education provided by SPEC and the RSP designation are appropriate for both defense and plaintiff brokers.