Avidian’s 2025 Estate Planning Checklist

For high-net-worth families, estate planning is often a lifelong process, as tax laws, family dynamics, and financial goals never stop evolving. That’s why having a structured approach to reviewing your estate plan is essential for helping protect your family’s future and preserving your wealth — and doing so with as little headache as possible. 

This comprehensive estate planning checklist helps simplify the complex process of estate plan maintenance, focusing on key areas that deserve your attention in 2025:

1. Evaluate your current estate planning documents
2. Review beneficiary designations and trust arrangements
3. Assess your gifting and tax minimization strategies
4. Adapt your plan to recent legal changes
5. Verify that your healthcare and incapacity planning remains current

While this checklist for estate planning serves as a valuable starting point, estate planning for high-net-worth families is not a one-time or a one-checklist endeavor. Working with an experienced financial advisor who understands your unique circumstances can help when developing and maintaining an estate plan that truly serves your family’s needs.

Learn before you read: What is estate planning? And should you update your estate plan before the end of the year?

1. Evaluate your current estate planning documents

A thorough review of your estate planning documents helps verify they reflect your current wishes and continue to align with existing laws. Your core estate planning documents typically include:

• Last Will and Testament
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Medical Power of Attorney
• HIPPA Statements
• Living Will/Advanced Healthcare Directive
• Revocable Living Trust (if applicable)
• Irrevocable Trust (Learn more: How does an irrevocable trust protect assets?)
• Business Succession Plans (if applicable)

Life changes such as marriages, divorces, births, deaths, or significant changes in wealth can impact the effectiveness of these documents. Additionally, changes in state or federal laws may affect how your estate plan functions. Regular document reviews help identify outdated provisions, incorrect beneficiary designations, or gaps in your planning that could lead to unintended consequences for your heirs.

Consider whether named executors, trustees, and agents in these documents are still appropriate and able to serve in their designated roles. If you’ve relocated to a different state, some documents may need to be updated to comply with local laws.

2. Review beneficiary designations and trust arrangements

​​Your beneficiary designations and trust arrangements should match your current estate planning goals and family situation. These designations typically supersede instructions in your will, making them key components of your estate plan.

Accounts and policies to review include:

• Retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs, pension plans)
• Life insurance policies
• Transfer-on-death (TOD) accounts
• Bank and investment accounts
• Real estate titles
• Business ownership documents

For trusts, examine whether:

• The trust structure still serves its intended purpose
• Trustees and contingent trustees remain capable and willing to serve
• Trust provisions align with current tax laws and regulations
• Asset ownership is properly titled to your trust
• Trust distributions match your current wishes for beneficiaries

Regular reviews of these designations can help prevent assets from passing to unintended recipients or becoming subject to unnecessary taxation. This is particularly important following major life events such as marriages, divorces, births, or deaths in the family.

3. Assess your gifting and tax minimization strategies

A key component of any comprehensive estate planning guide is understanding and utilizing available gifting and tax minimization strategies. The 2024 federal estate tax exemption increased to $13.61 million per individual ($27.22 million for married couples), but state-level estate taxes may apply at lower thresholds.

Consider these tax-efficient gifting options:

• Annual gift tax exclusion ($18,000 per recipient for 2024)
• Direct payments for medical expenses or tuition
• Charitable giving strategies
• Family limited partnerships
• Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs)
• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)

Evaluate your gifting strategy to optimize tax benefits while maintaining sufficient assets for your lifetime needs. You should also take into account any recent market shifts or tax law changes that may impact your wealth transfer goals.

4. Adapt your plan to recent legal changes

Staying current with legal changes is one of the most valuable estate planning tips for better protecting your legacy. Recent legislative updates and proposed changes could significantly impact your estate plan.

Key areas to monitor in 2025:

• Federal estate tax exemption amounts and potential sunset provisions
• State-specific estate and inheritance tax laws
• Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules for inherited retirement accounts
• Trust tax reporting requirements
• Changes in basis step-up rules
• Gift tax annual exclusion adjustments

Here are essential estate planning tips for navigating these changes:

• Review your plan’s flexibility to adapt to future tax law modifications
• Consider incorporating disclaimer provisions in your documents
• Evaluate whether your current plan maximizes available exemptions
• Assess the impact of state-specific laws if you own property in multiple states
• Document your planning decisions and the reasoning behind them

The potential sunset of current estate tax provisions in 2026 makes it particularly important to review your strategy now. Planning ahead can help provide more options for adjusting your estate plan as needed to prepare for any changes in the future.

5. Verify that your healthcare and incapacity planning remains current

When seeking estate planning services, many families focus primarily on asset distribution while overlooking crucial healthcare and incapacity planning documents. These documents help protect your medical wishes and financial interests if you become unable to make decisions for yourself.

Essential healthcare and incapacity documents to review:

• Medical Power of Attorney
• Living Will/Advanced Healthcare Directive
• HIPAA Authorization Forms
• Durable Power of Attorney
• Long-term Care Insurance Policies
• Digital Asset Access Instructions

As part of comprehensive estate planning services, consider whether:

• Your healthcare agents still have the capacity to serve
• Contact information for all agents remains current
• Your stated medical preferences still reflect your wishes
• Powers granted to your agents are sufficient for their roles
• Your family members know where to find these documents
• Digital asset provisions address your current accounts and holdings

Healthcare laws and privacy regulations continue to evolve, making regular reviews of these documents essential. Additionally, medical facilities and financial institutions may hesitate to accept documents that are several years old, even if technically still valid.

Protect your assets and preserve your legacy with estate planning from Avidian Wealth Solutions

While this estate planning checklist provides a strong framework for organizing your review, it shouldn’t replace personalized estate planning advisor services from a qualified advisor.

At Avidian Wealth Solutions, we understand that maintaining an up-to-date estate plan is crucial for protecting your family’s legacy. With offices in Houston, Austin, Sugar Land, or The Woodlands, our experienced advisors can help you review your current plan, identify potential gaps, and implement strategies tailored to your unique situation.

Schedule a conversation with us today to learn more about our estate planning solutions. Whether you’re starting fresh or updating an existing plan, we’re here to guide you through every step of the process.

More Helpful Articles by Avidian: 

• How Does Inflation Affect Investments?
• Should You Update Your Estate Plan in 2026?
• Retirement Planning for a Non-Traditional Career
• What to Know About the New 401(k) Catch-Up Contribution Rules
• SALT Tax Deduction Changes and High-Income Earners

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