Attorney
The end of the year is a useful time to check whether your estate plan still reflects your life. A new family member, a move, a change in health or an updated account may call for attention. A focused review can help you decide what needs to be revised and what continues to work well.
Your Last Will and Testament
In the last year, you may have had a divorce or welcomed a new child into the world. Perhaps the person you wanted to serve as executor has become incapacitated, or a desired heir has passed away. Regardless of your life circumstances, take a look at who is in charge of administering the estate and who is inheriting from it. If for any reason these individuals need to be changed, it’s time to update your will. The same is true if your assets have changed significantly since last year.
Annual Gift-Tax Exclusion
The annual gift-tax exclusion applies to qualifying gifts to each recipient during the year. The amount is indexed and should be checked against the IRS’s current guidance. It is not a limit on how much you may give: a larger gift can require a return and use part of the available lifetime exclusion without producing immediate gift tax. Trust gifts, gift splitting and other situations have separate reporting rules. Coordinate gifts with your tax adviser, your own financial needs and any Medicaid-planning concerns.
Retirement and Life Insurance Beneficiaries
Review retirement-account and life-insurance beneficiary forms after a marriage, divorce or death, and whenever a beneficiary’s circumstances change. Consider whether a beneficiary needs ongoing financial management, receives needs-based benefits or would benefit from trust planning. Account forms and plan rules must be coordinated with your will and trust rather than assumed to follow them automatically.
Healthcare Proxy and Durable Power of Attorney
Review your designation of health care surrogate, living will and durable financial power of attorney. These documents serve different purposes. In Florida, a financial power of attorney generally takes effect when signed; a health care surrogate designation can expressly authorize immediate action, while you retain control of your own decisions. Confirm that your primary and backup decision-makers remain willing and able to serve and have access to the documents.
Asset Inventory
Your property inventory can easily change in the course of a year. Perhaps you have acquired stocks or bonds in the last 12 months, or maybe you bought and sold real or personal property. You may have even done something as seemingly minor as open a new bank account. Keeping an updated and detailed list of your assets can help make sure that, upon death, all of your property is dispensed according to your wishes.
Trusts
A properly funded trust can provide management and avoid probate for trust property. A standard revocable trust does not itself reduce estate taxes or protect the creator’s property from creditors. Review the trustee, beneficiaries, distribution terms and funding as part of your broader estate plan.
Notify Your Family and Financial Professionals
After you have made updates to your estate plan, you should inform your family, financial planners, and other financial professionals you work with. Doing so can eliminate much of the guesswork that many families must do after the death of a loved one. You should especially notify any new individuals you designate as an executor, trustee, or some other fiduciary.
Review Your Plan With an Estate Planning Attorney
No matter the nature of your estate plan, updating it with the assistance of an experienced attorney can help ensure that your wishes and legacy are realized after you pass. If you have never created an estate plan, our firm can also assist you. Give Verras Law a call to get started today.
Sources: IRS gift-tax questions; Florida Statutes § 709.2108; Florida Statutes § 765.202.
Updated October 26, 2026.