By the time most people think about year-end financial planning, they're usually thinking about taxes, retirement contributions, charitable giving, or next year's goals.
Your estate plan may not make the list.
Especially if nothing seems to be wrong with it.
But that's exactly why this can be a useful time to give it a check-in.
You don't necessarily need to rewrite documents or make changes.
You can simply take a look at the pieces of your plan and ask:
Does everything still reflect my life and what I want today?
Start with what has changed
Before pulling out a single document, start with your life.
Think back over the past year - or since the last time you reviewed your estate plan.
Has there been a marriage or divorce?
A birth or death in the family?
A move?
A significant change in someone's financial circumstances?
Have your relationships or priorities changed?
You don't have to decide whether any of those things require an update.
For now, you're simply identifying what may be worth discussing.
Review your beneficiaries
Next, look at the accounts and policies that allow you to name beneficiaries.
That may include retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities, and certain financial accounts.
For each one, confirm:
Who is currently listed as the primary beneficiary?
Who is listed as the contingent beneficiary?
Does that still reflect your wishes?
If a trust is named, is the information accurate and current?
Don't rely solely on memory.
Confirm what's actually on file.
Look at your estate-planning documents
When was the last time you looked at your will or trust?
You don't have to analyze the legal language yourself.
Instead, consider whether the circumstances those documents were designed around are still the circumstances you have today.
If something has changed, or you're simply not sure how the document would work now, flag it for a conversation with your estate-planning attorney.
The same goes for powers of attorney and healthcare directives.
Are the people you've chosen still the people you want making those decisions?
Check the financial pieces
Accounts can move over time.
Financial institutions can change.
And each institution or plan administrator may have its own records, forms, and procedures.
If an account has moved or a trust is named as a beneficiary, confirm what information the institution currently has and whether any updated documentation is required.
Custodian procedures can vary, so those requirements should be confirmed directly with the relevant institution rather than assumed.
Make a list of questions, not a list of changes
This may be the most important part of the review.
You don't have to finish with a stack of forms to update.
You can finish with a list:
Ask my attorney about this.
Confirm this beneficiary with the financial institution.
Review this account with my advisor.
Talk with my family about this.
That's progress.
Because an estate-plan review isn't about one person trying to solve everything.
Your attorney, financial advisor, tax professional, and financial institutions each have different roles.
Your job is to notice what's changed and make sure the right questions reach the right people.
Give yourself time before year-end
Doing this review now gives you something valuable:
Time.
Time to gather information.
Time to ask questions.
Time to coordinate with the professionals involved.
And time to decide whether anything actually needs to change.
You may finish the process and discover that everything is exactly where you want it.
That's a good outcome.
And if you discover a loose end, you'll know what it is—and who can help you address it.
And if you'd like help reviewing the financial pieces and organizing what deserves follow-up:
Wisdom Financial is a DBA of John Boyer, Inc. Fee‐based advisory services offered through John Boyer, Inc, a Registered Investment Advisor. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification marks CFP® in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
