How Can I Review My Estate Plan Before Year-End?

Understandably, the end-of-year holiday festivities may have gotten hectic for you, and you could not conduct your routine year-end review of your estate plan before New Year’s Day. However, there is no need to wait until the end of 2026 to look back at your established estate planning documents. After all, a lot may have happened in the year 2025, and you do not want to forget anything, as these memories can fade with time. With that being said, please follow along to find out how and when to review your estate plan, and how a proficient estate planning attorney in Putnam County, at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, can help you execute this well before year-end.

How often should I review my estate planning documents?

It is a general rule of thumb to review your estate planning documents yearly for annual changes to the federal and state estate tax exemptions. For example, from 2024 to 2025, the federal estate tax exemption changed from $13.61 million to $13.99 million per individual. As for New York State, this jumped from $6.94 million to $7.16 million per individual. And so, you should ensure your plan still minimizes the assets subject to hefty taxes so your beneficiaries can receive the maximum inheritance possible.

However, there may be a need for event-driven reviews that supersede following the calendar year. That is, you may experience changes in personal relationships. Namely, you may get married or divorced, welcome new children and grandchildren, or sadly say goodbye to loved ones who have suddenly passed. In these cases, it is critical to adjust beneficiary designations within your will and trust documents, along with your life insurance and retirement accounts, promptly.

On a similar note, you must respond to changes in medical circumstances. For one, within the past year, there may have been significant medical advancements that directly correlate to your underlying health conditions. Therefore, you may want to express your interest in receiving these treatments when necessary in your established powers of attorney and advanced healthcare directive. Modifications to these estate planning documents are, of course, also necessary if you have sadly received a devastating medical diagnosis this year.

How can I get started on reviewing my estate plan before year-end?

Simply, you should schedule an appointment to review your estate plan with the attorney who helped you establish it in the first place. Again, this does not have to be a year-end appointment, but whenever you deem it critically necessary. Ahead of your appointment, you should locate and organize all your estate planning documents, as this will give your attorney a good reference point when conducting their assessment.

At your appointment, your attorney may identify gaps and inconsistencies that have popped up within your estate plan, given your new goals, new legal statutes, etc. From here, they may introduce you to new legal tools that you may have skipped previously (i.e., trusts, special needs trusts, pet trusts, etc.), but that now make more sense given the changes you have undergone in the past year.

No matter what specific estate planning matter you are currently dealing with, a talented estate planning attorney in Putnam County, at the Law Office of Andres D. Gil, PLLC, is willing and able to step in and facilitate the process. Retain our legal services today.