STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients (England and Wales)

The course will give you a thorough understanding of the legal and practice framework encompassing issues of mental and physical incapacity and enable you to improve professional efficiencies, manage risk in a highly complex service area, develop business opportunities and offer a specialist service. 

Students completing this course will be able to adopt a more holistic approach to advising elderly and vulnerable clients to safeguard their future and their assets which are especially topical in an ageing population. 

The programme is delivered in two parts, which together provide you with the full qualification. The course includes relevant and topical end-of-life issues, such as assisted suicide, addressing recent legislation in this area. 

PLEASE NOTE: Enrolment for the current STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients will close in May 2024, after which time the course model will no longer be available for booking. We will be updating the course material and delivery model before it returns for the next cohort beginning in 2025. Students enrolled on the upcoming 2024 sitting will be eligible to receive a free copy of the updated manual when it goes live in 2025.

Also from the end of 2024, students studying the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients as part of their STEP Diploma will be required to take a paper from Set 1(Private wealth administration and governance) and a paper from Set 2 (Tax and Compliance). Find out more about the STEP Diploma and the Sets

You will be able to

• Comply with current best practice and professional standards.
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the mental capacity legal landscape.
• Assess the mental capacity of a client for different transactions.
• Assist clients with international aspects to their estates.
• Reduce the risk of disputes and overcome problems when planning ahead.
• Advise those making decisions on behalf of a person who lacks mental capacity.
• Advise clients and their families on end-of-life concerns.
• Make various court applications with confidence.
• Draft trusts for vulnerable people.
• Seek state support and challenge the provision of state support.
• Advise on the sustainability of care.
• Manage disputes and difficult situations.

The course is designed for professionals who work with vulnerable clients and require a thorough understanding of the legal and practice framework encompassing issues of mental and physical incapacity.

Students of this course typically include:

• Legal and trust professionals
• Support staff and paralegals
• Accountants and banking professionals
• Tax advisors
• Independent financial advisors
• Executorship administrators

 This course provides a much more in-depth view of the practice area than any other qualification in the industry; successful completion will evidence your higher level of study and specialist knowledge of law and practice in this area. 

• Successful completion of the course will award students with 30 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership. 
• Ideal for practitioners looking for professional accreditation. 
• Can be taken as a standalone qualification or as part of the STEP Diploma in Advising Vulnerable Clients. 
• Blended delivery, including structured workshops designed and taught by an experienced practitioner and access to an online learning platform. 
• Provides students with the ability to grow their own professional network, interact with students online from a range of professions, build relationships and share study tips/support as a cohort. 
• Enrolled students are given permanent access to the online learning platform and community of practice. 

60 Entry-Level Credits 

Note: Applicants must have obtained 60 STEP Entry-Level credits to enrol onto this course or be a member of STEP. Visit STEP's Qualifications and Membership to understand how to apply. 

Course Fee: £3705

This course is available for study once annually, with intakes beginning in May (and assessments taking place in December). The programme is delivered in two parts using a combination of online learning and three workshops for each part. Part 1 will take one month to complete and Part 2 will take six months to complete. We recommend that you spend four to six hours per week on private study for the duration of the course.

Enrolment onto this course will include the following:

• bespoke soft copy course manual, containing precedents, checklists and support tools
• three workshop days for each part of the course
• access to the online learning platform containing:
  • self-assessment materials
  • distance-learning support
  • access to an online community of practice
• assessment fees.

The course is assessed by way of an end of course written assignment based on a published case study. The case study will be published two months ahead of the submission date. Candidates will produce a written assignment of between 3,500 and 4,000 words to address the questions contained within the case study. Candidates must achieve 50% in order to pass the Advanced Certificate. 

Once you have successfully completed this course, you will gain 60 Diploma-Level credits towards STEP membership and be awarded the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients (England & Wales).

Course Timetable 2024

Please note all courses are being delivered fully online. 

Thank you for your interest in CLTI or STEP products. Due to government regulations, we are unable to accept online payments from, or, on behalf of students from certain countries and territories without prior agreement. Please contact us for further details on cltinternational@centlaw.com, +44 (0) 121 362 7733.

To enrol for this course, you must select your preferred course start date, and the corresponding events and location.

A discounted fee is available for students purchasing both Part 1 and Part 2 of this course that together make up the STEP Advanced Certificate in Advising Vulnerable Clients. To enrol for both parts, simply select the combined package. 

Students must complete both parts and attend all workshops in order to gain this qualification.

The STEP discounted fee applies only to students with Full STEP Membership.

Please be aware that workshops have a limited capacity to guarantee optimum teaching conditions. Therefore, where several dates are listed per workshop, we are unable to guarantee your selection of dates will be allocated to you.

Please check your final booking confirmation for your final workshop dates. If you have any queries, please email cltinternational@centlaw.com