Answer (2026): An estate plan review checks whether your signed documents still match your family, your assets, and your intent. Gather the documents first (every adult needs a will, powers of attorney, health care documents, and current beneficiary designations; property owners, business owners, and trust households need more), then confirm who is in charge, who receives what, and whether each asset is titled or designated so the plan actually controls it. A review is a reality check, not a rewrite.
Context: For households that own real estate, a business, or more than one entity, or that hold assets in a trust. Those are the households where documents that are each correct on their own can still conflict.
Last reviewed: September 23, 2026.
Advisory firms evaluating software can compare Wealth.com vs Vanilla or FP Alpha vs Wealth.com. X1 publishes these guides and offers its own estate-review tool.
- Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance generally control over the will. An old form can send an account somewhere the plan never intended.
- A trust governs what reaches it: assets titled to it, and assets that pass to it through a beneficiary designation or a pour-over will (which may still need probate). A trust that was never funded is just a binder.
- Business documents are part of the estate plan. An operating agreement can restrict who may inherit your share, and a buy-sell agreement decides what your family actually receives.
- One table, mapping every asset to the way it transfers, surfaces conflicts faster than rereading every document.
- If your family can't find the documents quickly, the plan isn't usable when it matters.
Start at Tier 1 and add each tier that applies.
| Tier | Who it applies to | Documents |
|---|
| 1 | Every adult | Will, durable financial power of attorney, health care directive and proxy, HIPAA authorization, beneficiary designations, letter of instruction |
| 2 | Property owners | Deeds, loan documents, title insurance, property and umbrella policies, transfer-on-death deeds where used, HOA documents |
| 3 | Business owners | Operating agreement or bylaws, buy-sell agreement, formation documents, key person insurance, succession plan, a recent valuation |
| 4 | Trust and multi-entity households | Trust agreements and every amendment, a schedule of assets titled to each trust, an entity diagram, the beneficiary map, trustee succession documents, charitable instruments |
- Will. Names an executor, directs how probate assets pass, and is the document that names guardians for minor children. It goes through probate, so for most households with meaningful assets it is necessary but not sufficient.
- Durable financial power of attorney. Lets someone manage your finances if you can't. Without one, a family may need a court-appointed guardian or conservator to reach your accounts. Name a successor agent as well as a primary one.
- Health care directive and proxy. A living will states your treatment preferences, and a proxy names who decides if you can't. Some states combine them in one form. Add a HIPAA authorization so your proxy can actually get your medical information.
- Beneficiary designations. Pull the current form for every retirement account, life insurance policy, annuity, and payable-on-death account, and confirm the primary and contingent beneficiaries. If you have a trust, whether the trust or individuals should be named has tax consequences, so ask your attorney and CPA.
- Letter of instruction. Not a legal document. It tells your executor where everything is: accounts, policies, the safe deposit box, key contacts. Keep passwords in a password manager with an emergency access feature, not in the letter.
- Deeds. How a property is titled decides how it passes: joint tenancy with right of survivorship passes to the survivor, a tenant-in-common share passes through the estate, community property states have their own rules, and trust-titled property follows the trust. A frequent mistake is signing a trust and never retitling the house into it.
- Loan documents, title insurance, and property and umbrella policies. Your executor needs to know what is owed, to whom, and what coverage is in force on each property, including rentals.
- Transfer-on-death deeds. Many states allow a deed that passes real estate to a named beneficiary at death without probate or a trust. Check whether yours does.
- Operating agreement or bylaws. Governs ownership, management, and transfer restrictions. If it limits transfers to family members, the estate plan has to account for that. With no agreement, state default rules apply.
- Buy-sell agreement. Sets what happens to an owner's interest at death, disability, or exit, how the price is set, and who can buy (a cross-purchase, an entity redemption, or a wait-and-see structure). It is usually funded with life insurance on each owner. If you have partners and no signed buy-sell, that is often the most urgent gap on this list.
- Formation documents. Articles, the EIN letter, state filings, any S corporation election, and amendments, for every entity.
- Key person insurance, a succession plan, and a recent valuation. The succession plan should say who runs the business if you are incapacitated, what happens at retirement, and what happens at death, and it should agree with the buy-sell and the insurance.
- Each trust agreement, every amendment, and a current schedule of the assets titled to it. The gap between what a trust says and what is actually in it is one of the most frequent failures in trust-based planning. Check titling every year.
- An entity diagram. Every entity, who owns and controls it, and how the entities relate. It isn't a legal requirement, but it saves your attorney, CPA, and advisor from rebuilding the structure each time.
- Trustee succession. Primary and successor trustees, contact details, acceptance letters, and any compensation terms.
- Charitable instruments. Donor-advised fund successor designations, charitable remainder or lead trust terms, and foundation documents, coordinated with the rest of the plan.
This one table is the quickest way to spot conflicts between a will, a trust, beneficiary forms, and business agreements. List every asset and entity interest, and how it would actually pass if something happened today:
| Asset or entity | Current owner | How it transfers | Who receives it |
|---|
| 401(k) | You | Beneficiary designation | Spouse, then the trust as contingent |
| Roth IRA | You | Beneficiary designation | Children, equal shares |
| Life insurance | Irrevocable life insurance trust | Trust terms | The trust, per its schedule |
| Primary residence | Revocable trust | Trust terms | Surviving spouse |
| Rental LLC | You 60%, a partner 40% | Operating agreement and buy-sell | Partner buys your 60% |
| Operating S corporation | You | Succession plan and trust | Per the trust |
| Brokerage account | Joint with survivorship | Survivorship | Surviving spouse |
This is an illustration. Build yours from the actual forms and agreements, then review it every year and after any change below.
- Who is in charge. Executors, trustees, agents under the powers of attorney, and health care proxies, with backups, are still the right people and still available.
- Who gets what, and when. Distribution ages and conditions still match how you want the next generation to receive assets.
- How assets flow. Each asset is titled or designated so the plan actually controls it. Compare the beneficiary map with the trust.
- Health care authority. The right person can act, and the forms fit your current state of residence.
- Business continuity. The operating agreement, buy-sell, insurance, and succession plan agree with each other and with the estate plan.
- Federal exemption. For 2026 the basic exclusion for estates and gifts is $15,000,000 per person. If the trust has formula clauses tied to the exemption, ask your attorney what they do at the current amount.
Review every two to three years regardless, and whenever one of these happens:
| Event | What to review |
|---|
| Marriage or divorce | Will, trust, beneficiary designations, powers of attorney, health care documents |
| Birth or adoption | Guardianship in the will, trust distribution terms, beneficiary designations |
| Death or loss of a named fiduciary | Executor, trustee, agents, and proxy, with their successors |
| Move to another state | Health care forms, power of attorney recognition, property titling, community property rules |
| New business or new partner | Operating agreement, buy-sell, formation documents, key person insurance, the entity diagram |
| Major purchase or sale | Trust titling, beneficiary designations, insurance, the beneficiary map |
| Tax law change affecting exemptions | Formula clauses and gifting documents |
- Beneficiary forms are older than your last major life change.
- You have new assets or entities that were never titled to the trust.
- You have business partners and no signed, funded buy-sell agreement.
- Your chosen trustee or executor is no longer a good fit.
- You moved to a new state and never updated documents.
- Nobody but you could find the documents today.
- Tier 1 documents exist, are signed, and fit your current state.
- Every beneficiary designation was pulled and checked within the last 12 months.
- Deeds match the plan, and trust assets are actually titled to the trust.
- Every entity has its governing and formation documents on file.
- A buy-sell agreement exists if you have partners, and it is funded.
- The beneficiary map exists and was reviewed this year.
- Your executor and the professionals who need them can reach the documents.
- Which documents am I missing, given my property, business, and trusts?
- Are my beneficiary designations consistent with my trust and will?
- Do any operating agreements restrict transfers in a way that conflicts with the plan?
- If I were incapacitated today, do my powers of attorney cover both personal and business affairs?
- For property in more than one state, which state's law governs each asset?
- Given my entities, what estate and income tax consequences should my heirs expect?
- Does the trust have formula clauses that reference the federal exemption?
- Is my charitable structure still efficient under current law?
- You, one to two hours: pull every beneficiary designation and start the beneficiary map.
- You, one to two hours: list the documents from each tier that applies, what you have, what's missing, and where each one is.
- You and your estate attorney, 60 to 90 minutes: bring the list, the map, and the decision checklist, and focus on gaps and conflicts between documents. Share the map with your CPA and advisor before the meeting.
You can add each estate and business document to your X1 Vault and file it under the person, trust, or entity it belongs to, so the tiers above become a list you can check rather than a search. The Estate Planning review gives a plain-English read of what your documents say. X1 doesn't draft legal documents or give legal advice; your attorney does.
No. A review checks whether your current documents still match your family, assets, and intent. Updates come after you identify the gaps.
Retirement accounts and life insurance generally pass by their beneficiary forms, not by the will. If those forms are stale, the plan can break.
The operating agreement or bylaws, a buy-sell agreement and the insurance that funds it, formation documents, key person insurance, a succession plan, and a recent valuation, reviewed together with the personal documents.
Every two to three years, and after any marriage, divorce, birth, death, move to another state, new business, or major purchase or sale.
This checklist is for planning and coordination only. It does not provide legal, tax, or investment advice. Estate law varies by state. Confirm document requirements, titling, and beneficiary designations with a qualified estate attorney and CPA.
