Free Family Guide

The Year-End Estate Plan Checklist

7 Parts, 23 Steps Printable PDF MVP Law Group, APC

The end of the year is the easiest time to check your estate plan, because everything that changed this year is still fresh. Most of this checklist takes about an hour.

Tick each step as you go. Your progress is saved on this device, so you can come back to it before December 31.

Why before December 31

What makes the end of the year a good deadline

Some tax decisions, like this year's gifts and charitable donations, have to happen before the year ends.
Life changes from the year, such as a new home, a new baby, or a divorce, are easy to remember now.
The holidays bring the family together, which makes it easier to tell people where things are.
You start January knowing exactly what, if anything, needs fixing.

Free Printable PDF

Want this checklist as a printable PDF?

The whole checklist is below, free to use, with nothing hidden. If you would also like a printable copy to keep with your papers, tell us where to send it and it downloads right away.

All 7 parts formatted to print, with boxes you can tick by hand
A one-page list of where your documents are
A copy emailed to you so it is easy to find again next December

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Look back at the year

Tick anything that happened to you or your family this year.

A marriage, divorce, or new partner
Each one can change who should inherit and who should make decisions.

A birth, adoption, or a child turning 18
New children need to be included. A child who turns 18 needs their own documents.
A death in the family
Especially anyone named in your plan.
A home purchase, sale, or refinance
A refinance can take a home out of a trust without anyone noticing.
A new business, a move, or a change in health
Any of these is a reason to review the plan.

Find your documents

Locate your will or trust.
Know where the signed original is.

Locate your power of attorney for finances.
Durable means it keeps working if you cannot act for yourself.
Locate your advance health care directive.
It names who makes medical decisions and records your wishes.

Check the people you named

Your successor trustee or executor
Still the right person, still willing, still able?

Your agent for finances and your health care agent
Still close by and still someone you trust completely?
The guardian for your minor children
Still the person you would choose today?

Review your beneficiaries

Retirement accounts
401(k), 403(b), IRA. These pass by the beneficiary form, not by your will.

Life insurance
Confirm the primary and backup beneficiaries.
Bank accounts with a payable on death designation
Make sure they match the rest of your plan.

Check your trust funding

Your home is titled in the trust.
Especially after a refinance this year.

New accounts opened this year are titled in the trust or name it as beneficiary.
Ask your bank which applies.
Any new real estate or business interests are in the trust.
If not, our trust funding checklist walks through each step.

Talk to your CPA before December 31

Gifts you want counted for this year
The federal annual gift tax exclusion resets every January 1.

Required minimum distributions
If you have reached the required age, confirm this year's distribution has been taken.
Charitable donations
Gifts you want counted for this tax year need to be made before the year ends.

Tell the right people

Make a short list of where everything is.
Documents, accounts, insurance, the deed, and passwords.

Tell one trusted person where the list is.
Your successor trustee or a family member you rely on.
Schedule any updates for January.
If anything on this checklist needs fixing, put a date on it now.

Fill in and keep with your papers

Where my documents are

Document	Where it is	Date signed
Will or trust
Power of attorney
Health care directive
Deed to the home
Insurance policies
Account and password list
MVP Law Group	Estate plan reviews and updates	(818) 788-7881

Plan reviews

Found a gap? Start January with it fixed

We review existing plans, update trusts, and prepare new plans for California families, in Woodland Hills or by video, in English, Spanish, or Russian.

Book a Free Consultation (818) 788-7881

This checklist is general information about California law as of November 2026, not legal or tax advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For tax questions, speak with your CPA. For advice about your estate plan, speak with an attorney. Attorney Advertising.