5 Estate Planning Steps to Review Before December 31 (and Why They Matter)

Before December 31, review your estate plan to ensure it reflects 2025’s tax law changes, current beneficiaries, gifting strategies, and family intentions. These five year-end steps can help protect your legacy, maximize tax efficiency, and strengthen family communication.

As the year winds down, most people are focused on wrapping gifts and not reviewing estate plans. To be honest, most people aren’t reviewing their estate plans at any time of the year.

But here’s the thing: the smartest wealth decisions aren’t made in December; they’re reviewed before it. There’s never a wrong time to review your legacy plan.

If your estate plan hasn’t been revisited since before 2025’s tax law changes, or if your family dynamics, assets, or charitable intentions have evolved, now is the time for a checkup. Think of this as your financial wellness exam before the year-end rush.

1. Review and Update Your Beneficiaries — It’s Where Most Estate Plans Fail

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and annuities often override what’s written in your will or trust, and yet they’re rarely reviewed.

We’ve seen it too many times: beneficiaries left off after a 401(k) rollover or a new child that isn’t added as a contingent beneficiary.

Action Step: Log in to your custodian accounts and verify the listed beneficiaries. Make sure designations align with your broader estate plan. If your documents and your accounts don’t tell the same story, the wrong person may inherit the wrong assets.

2. Align Your Plan With 2025’s New Tax Law Changes

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, adjusted estate tax exemptions among many other changes, which you can read about here. These changes may subtly (or significantly) affect your strategy.

If your plan was drafted before this year, your exemptions, gifting structures, and even certain trust provisions might no longer align optimally.

Action Step: Meet with your estate attorney or tax advisor before year-end to confirm your plan takes advantage of the current law, particularly around gift tax exemptions, GST tax planning, and basis step-up provisions for appreciated assets.

3. Take Advantage of Year-End Gifting Opportunities

Gifting now is a great way to see the impact your gifts can make, rather than waiting until death. Gifting doesn’t just have to be to individuals – charitable giving also must be completed by December 31 to count for tax purposes in the current tax year.

Ask yourself:

• Have I taken advantage of my annual exclusion gifts (up to $19,000 per recipient in 2025) this year?
• Have I contributed to my donor-advised fund (DAF) this year?
• Now that I’m older than 70.5, do I want to make any Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) from my pre-tax retirement accounts?
• Do I want to use any QCDs to count towards my annual RMD?

Action Step: Confirm your annual gifting strategy before the calendar year closes. Those who gift early in the year have more time for appreciation to grow outside their estate, but even now, year-end action can be powerful if done intentionally.

4. Maximize Your Charitable Giving Strategy Before December 31

Charitable giving is a wonderful way to support causes you believe in, and there are many ways to go about it.

Giving outright, Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), and Private Foundations each have unique benefits and drawbacks.

For example:

• Giving outright is the simplest to accomplish – write a check and you are done.
• DAF funding can be bunched in one year to secure a deduction this year while still deferring the gift to charity until later.
• CRTs can allow for retained income streams and defer capital gains while fulfilling philanthropic goals.
• Private foundations allow for direct support of your own programs but come with significant costs and administrative rules.

Action Step: Coordinate your charitable giving strategy with your overall estate plan. If your generosity isn’t structured well, it can cost you and your heirs more than it should.

5. Revisit Family Communication and Intentions

The best estate plan isn’t just about numbers – it’s about clarity. Families often assume their loved ones “just know” their intentions. In reality, surprises frequently lead to tension, confusion, or even litigation. Studies have shown that open communication between generations leads to the greatest chance of success for lasting generational wealth.

Action Step: Schedule a family meeting (or at least a conversation) before year-end. Share your goals, clarify expectations, and explain the “why” behind your plan. This turns estate planning from a legal formality into a family legacy discussion.

Join Our Next Webinar

As the year comes to a close, many families are looking for meaningful ways to give back while planning wisely for the future. Join Andrew Kulha, Director of Estate Strategy, and Steph Bruno, Senior Wealth Advisor, on November 12 at 9:00 AM PT for a conversational fireside chat on how charitable giving can start at home and extend into your broader legacy. Register now to secure your spot!

In this session, you’ll learn simple yet powerful strategies to align your generosity with your financial plan, involve family members in giving decisions, and make the most of year-end opportunities. The discussion will include real-world examples, updates from the OBBBA, and a live Q&A session.

Key Takeaways:

• Discover how charitable giving can bring families closer together while passing down values along with wealth.
• Explore accessible giving options like donor-advised funds and other tools that make an immediate impact.
• Learn timely tips to maximize your generosity before year-end while supporting your long-term plan.

The Bottom Line: Don’t Let Your Plan Collect Dust

Estate plans are living documents. Just like you tend to a garden year over year, an estate plan needs maintenance to fully flourish.

Before you ring in the new year:

• Review your documents.
• Confirm that your strategies still align with your goals.
• Coordinate your plan with trusted advisors.

Because the best estate plan isn’t the one that looks impressive in a binder – it’s the one that actually works when it matters.

Connect with Mission Wealth to learn more.