When a family has accumulated $10 million or more in wealth, their financial life involves a complexity that most checklists don't account for. The standard estate planning checklist covers basics like having a will and naming beneficiaries. For high-net-worth families, those are the starting point — not the finish line.
This checklist is designed for families with more complex estates: multiple entities, trusts, investment accounts, real estate, business interests, and a genuine stake in what happens to their wealth across generations.
How to use this checklist: Work through each section with your estate attorney, CPA, and wealth advisor. Items marked as gaps should be prioritized by the professional best positioned to address them. Not every item applies to every family — but every gap represents either a missed opportunity or an unmanaged risk.
Section 1: Core Estate Documents
- Will (Last Will and Testament) — Does each family member have a current, properly executed will? Has it been updated in the last 3–5 years or after any major life change?
- Revocable Living Trust — Is the primary estate held in a revocable trust with the goal of simplifying probate administration? Is it properly funded — meaning assets are actually titled in the trust's name?
- Durable Power of Attorney — Does each spouse and adult family member have a financial POA designating a trusted person to manage financial affairs if incapacitated?
- Healthcare Directive / Living Will — Are end-of-life healthcare wishes documented? Is a healthcare proxy named?
- HIPAA Authorization — Are the appropriate people authorized to receive medical information in an emergency?
Section 2: Trust Structures for Wealth Transfer
- Irrevocable trusts — Has any portion of the estate been moved into irrevocable trust structures (SLATs, GRATs, dynasty trusts, ILITs) to remove assets from the taxable estate?
- Generation-Skipping Trust (GST) — For families with grandchildren or a multi-generational wealth vision, has GST exemption been allocated to any trusts?
- Trust funding — Are all trusts actually funded? A trust that exists on paper but holds no assets may not accomplish the intended planning objectives.
- Trustee succession — If the initial trustee becomes incapacitated or dies, is there a clear successor? Is a corporate trustee appropriate for long-duration trusts?
- Distribution standards — Are the distribution standards in each trust appropriate for the intended beneficiaries and the family's actual goals?
Section 3: Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s), life insurance policies, and annuities generally control the distribution of those assets and may override the instructions in your will. This is one of the most overlooked sources of unintended consequences in estate planning.
- Have all retirement accounts been reviewed for primary and contingent beneficiaries within the last two years?
- Have beneficiaries been updated after divorce, death of a named beneficiary, or birth of a child or grandchild?
- Are trust-as-beneficiary designations properly structured to address applicable distribution rules under the SECURE Act?
- Do life insurance policies reflect current wishes for who receives the proceeds?
Retirement accounts require special attention. Under the SECURE Act, most non-spouse beneficiaries must distribute inherited IRAs within 10 years. For large IRAs, this may result in substantial income tax liability, depending on the beneficiary's tax rate and distribution timing. Roth conversions, charitable remainder trusts, and life insurance may be considered, depending on the family's objectives and advice from qualified professionals.
Section 4: Lifetime Gifting Strategy
- Is the family using the annual exclusion gift systematically, based on the amount in effect for the relevant year?
- Has any portion of the federal lifetime exemption been used, and if so, is the filing (Form 709) current?
- Has direct payment of tuition and medical expenses — which are excluded from gift tax when paid directly to the institution — been explored?
- Are 529 accounts in place for grandchildren? Has superfunding been considered?
- Has any use of the exemption before potential legislative changes been discussed with the estate attorney?
Section 5: Life Insurance
- Is life insurance held personally (and thus inside the taxable estate) or inside an ILIT?
- Is the coverage amount still appropriate given current estate size and any estate tax liability?
- When were the policies last reviewed for performance relative to their original illustrations?
- Are the insurer's financial strength ratings current?
Section 6: Business Interests and Illiquid Assets
- If the family owns a business, is there a documented succession plan?
- Has a current business valuation been obtained for estate planning purposes?
- Are buy-sell agreements in place and properly funded?
- For real estate held in the estate, is ownership structured to allow for efficient transfer (LLCs, outright ownership)?
Section 7: Investment Account Coordination
- Are all investment accounts titled correctly — in individual names, trust names, or entity names — consistent with the estate plan?
- Are asset location decisions optimized for both growth and estate planning?
- Has the portfolio been reviewed with estate transfer in mind — minimizing embedded capital gains in assets that will pass to heirs who receive a step-up in basis?
Section 8: Heir Preparation and Family Governance
- Do the heirs know that wealth is coming? Do they have a sense of the magnitude?
- Have adult children been given meaningful exposure to investment and financial concepts?
- Has the family discussed what the wealth is for — values, goals, and expectations?
- Are there regular family meetings that include financial topics?
- Do any heirs have circumstances — spending habits, relationships — that should influence how and when they receive assets?
Section 9: Professional Team Coordination
- Are the estate attorney, CPA, and wealth advisor working from the same current plan?
- Has the estate plan been reviewed after any major tax law change?
- Is there a clear professional responsible for implementing plan updates — or do items fall through the cracks between advisors?
- Are copies of all key documents accessible to heirs or a trusted person in an emergency?
What to Do After Completing the Checklist
Most families who work through this checklist discover gaps — not because they have been negligent, but because wealth accumulates faster than estate plans are updated, and because no single advisor sees the whole picture at once. The purpose is not to generate anxiety but to create a clear action list. Prioritize gaps by consequence, assign each item to the appropriate professional, set timelines, and build in a follow-up review to confirm completion.