BURNER PRUDENTI: Fall Estate Planning Checklist, What Should You Review?

Q: With fall here and the end of the year approaching, is there anything I should be reviewing in my estate plan?

A: Yes. The end of the year is a practical time to check whether anything has changed since you last reviewed your plan. An estate plan reflects your assets, the people and causes important to you, and your wishes at the time it was signed. You do not need to revise your documents every year, but you should confirm that your existing plan still works the way you intend.

Start with what has changed in your life over the past year. Did you buy or sell a home, open a new investment account, retire, welcome a child or grandchild, lose a loved one, marry or divorce? Have the people or organizations you want to inherit changed? These events do not automatically require new documents, but they can change how your current plan operates.

Review changes to your assets. A Will or Trust controls only the assets that pass through it. If you have a Trust, a newly purchased home or newly opened account is not owned by the Trust unless it is titled in the Trust’s name (for real estate, that means a new deed). An asset left outside the Trust may need to go through probate, which is the court process the Trust was meant to avoid. Likewise, if you sold an asset that was specifically addressed in your estate plan, you should consider whether that change affects a particular gift or distribution you intended to make.

Check your beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance policies, annuities and accounts with “transfer on death” or “payable on death” designations pass directly to the named beneficiary, regardless of what your Will or Trust says. A rollover of a retirement account, a change of financial institutions, or a new account can leave a designation blank or outdated.

Under New York law, a divorce generally revokes provisions in favor of a former spouse, but federal law can override that rule for employer retirement plans, so an old designation may still pay to your ex-spouse. Also keep in mind that most non-spouse beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts must now withdraw the full balance of the inherited account within ten years of inheriting, which can affect whom you name and whether a trust should be the beneficiary.

Confirm the people you have appointed and that your documents are valid. Your named Executor, Trustee, agent under your Power of Attorney, and Health Care Proxy may have been chosen years ago. Someone may have moved away, become ill, or is simply no longer the best choice. Your beneficiaries can stay the same while the people you want handling your affairs change.

Additionally, as laws evolve, your documents may need to evolve with them. For example, New York revised its statutory Power of Attorney form in 2021. While older forms may remain valid, it is worth confirming that yours is current, grants the powers you want, and names agents you still trust.

Consider gifts made this year and taxes. In 2026, you may give up to $19,000 to any one person ($38,000 for a married couple) without filing a federal gift tax return. Larger gifts require a return but rarely result in a tax, since the federal estate and gift tax exemption is now $15 million per person.

If you made a significant gift to a child or other beneficiary, decide whether it should reduce his or her eventual inheritance, and make sure your documents say so. New York residents should also note that the state estate tax exemption is $7.35 million for 2026, far lower than the federal amount, and that estates exceeding it by more than 5% lose the exemption entirely.

Furthermore, gifts made within three years of death are added back to a New York estate. It is imperative that your estate documents account for tax planning, if applicable, to help avoid a large estate tax bill at your death. Additionally, if charitable giving has become a priority, your documents and beneficiary designations should reflect that as well.

A review of your estate plan does not always lead to changes. Often, it simply confirms that your documents, beneficiary designations, and asset ownership still accomplish what you intended. But if this year brought changes to your assets, relationships, finances, or priorities, now is a good time to make sure your estate plan is keeping up.

— Alma Muharemovic, Esq.

Alma Muharemovic, Esq. is an Associate Attorney at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C., focusing her practice areas on Estate Planning. Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. serves clients from New York City to the east end of Long Island with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, Manhattan and East Hampton.

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