Year-end offers a natural opportunity to pause and revisit your wealth plan. While your long-term goals may remain the same, the landscape around them—from market conditions to legislation to family circumstances—could have changed. Now is a great time to take stock of what has shifted and where your plan may need attention.

01 | REVIEW

Revisit your estate plan and essential documents.

Review

• Wills and revocable trusts
• Powers of attorney, health care proxies and living wills
• Beneficiary designations for retirement accounts and life insurance
• Asset ownership and titling
• Trustees, executors and other fiduciaries
• Who knows where key information is held and whom to contact

Ask: If your plan were put into action tomorrow, would it work the way you intend?

02 | GIVE

Align your philanthropy with your values and long-term goals.

Consider

• The impact you want your philanthropy to have
• Gifting long-term appreciated securities or other non-cash assets with potential for liquidity
• Donor-advised funds, charitable remainder trusts and other giving vehicles
• Clarifying charitable intentions in your estate plan
• Involving family and especially the next generation in giving

Ask: What do you want your philanthropy to accomplish, and does how your giving strategy support that?

03 | POSITION

Reassess your goals, wealth strategy and opportunities ahead.

Consider

• Cash and liquidity needs
• Risk tolerance shifts as goals or circumstances evolve
• Realized and unrealized gains and losses
• Rebalancing after appreciation
• Concentrated positions
• Tax-managed investment strategies
• Fixed income opportunities

Ask: Does your Neuberger Wealth team have the full picture of what’s changed for you this year?

04 | SECURE

Take a fresh look at your retirement strategy, whether you’re contributing now or already retired.

Consider

• Your mix of taxable, tax-deferred and Roth assets
• Maximizing retirement contributions, if still contributing
• Whether a Roth conversion fits your broader tax strategy
• Consolidating accounts, such as old 401(k)s
• Taking Required Minimum Distributions (RMD), where applicable
• Directing RMDs to charity through Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)
• Revisiting your retirement plan on a regular basis

Ask: What decisions today could create greater flexibility in the years ahead?

05 | PREPARE

Prepare your family and the next generation for what comes next.

Consider

• Family giving and volunteering heading into the holiday season
• Financial education
• 529 plans and other education funding
• Identifying future family decision-makers
• Family governance
• Introducing the next generation to trusted advisors
• Conversations around wealth, its purpose, expectations and responsibility

Ask: Does your family understand not only what you have planned, but why?

06 | PROTECT

Revisit your insurance, liability and other financial safeguards.

Consider

• Life insurance and estate liquidity
• Property and casualty coverage
• Personal liability and umbrella coverage
• Significant homes, collections and other assets
• Long-term care considerations
• Business-related exposures
• Personal cybersecurity and fraud preparedness

Ask: Have the risks around your wealth changed since you last reviewed how you are protected?

07 | TRANSFER

Consider your estate and wealth transfer strategy.

Consider

• Evaluate lifetime gifting alongside longer-term estate objectives
• Consider whether existing trust structures still support your intentions
• Review liquidity needs, particularly where significant illiquid assets are involved
• Revisit succession plans for closely held businesses and other significant family assets
• Consider the timing, structure and purpose of intergenerational transfers
• Clarify governance, roles and responsibilities as wealth moves to future generations

Ask: Are you planning only for the transfer of wealth, or for what happens after it?

BEFORE THE YEAR CLOSES

Take stock of the whole picture.

Year-end is full of deadlines, but it isn’t a race to the finish line. It’s a chance to notice what has changed, what still holds true and what deserves a closer look. The families who navigate change well are not necessarily those with the most complete plan. They are generally the ones who keep coming back to the task, asking honest questions and letting the plan grow alongside them.

This is also a natural time to talk with the people closest to you, not just about what’s changed, but about why it matters.

We encourage you to bring any questions to your Neuberger Wealth team; we are here to support what matters most to you.