The Essential End-of-Year Estate Planning Checklist

Sometimes the most thoughtful gifts don’t come wrapped in Christmas paper. They come printed on letterhead and provide peace of mind and protection.

As the year draws to a close, many of us are wrapping up projects, winding down work, and preparing to spend time with family and loved ones.

It’s a natural point of reflection. A chance to make sure everything important is in order before the New Year begins.

While the end of the financial year tends to be taken over by tax and compliance deadlines, the end of the calendar year is a chance to focus on your personal admin and estate planning. This is the perfect time to make sure your Will and other crucial Estate Planning documents still reflect your current wishes and circumstances.

And as you catch up with family over the festive season, you may have the ideal opportunity to reconnect with those you’ve appointed as Executors, Powers of Attorney, or Medical Treatment Decision Makers – to confirm they’re across any updates to your plans.

If you’re planning to travel over the holidays, having your Powers of Attorney and Corporate Power of Attorney in place is particularly important. These documents allow trusted people to make or sign decisions on your behalf if you’re overseas, uncontactable, or unable to act. This ensures personal, financial, and business matters can continue without disruption.

A few simple reviews now can give you peace of mind heading into 2026. You will know that your personal and business affairs are organised and protected.

✔️ Review Your Will

Ensure your Will reflects your current wishes, beneficiaries and executors.
Confirm your executor knows where you store the signed original.
Consider if there have been significant life events in 2025 that may impact your final wishes. For example: marriage, children, divorce, family relationship breakdown.
Consider testamentary trust provisions for minors or vulnerable beneficiaries.

✔️ Set Up A Corporate Power of Attorney

If you’re a sole director, part of a small board, or a trustee/director in a trust or SMSF, consider putting in place a Corporate Power of Attorney. This ensures a trusted person can authorise payments, sign documents, and keep operations moving if you’re unavailable, especially if you’re travelling over the holidays. This simple document ensures business continuity even when key decision-makers are away, or if they become unable to act.

For trusts and SMSFs, check the trust deed provides the necessary delegation powers.

✔️ Review Your Personal Powers of Attorney & Medical Planning

Ensure documents comply with Victorian (or your relevant state or territory) law and your appointees are still appropriate.
Who is your Enduring Power of Attorney for financial and/or personal matters? Is that still suitable?
What about your Advance Care Directive and Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker for health decisions?

✔️ Check Your Superannuation & Other Beneficiaries

Super generally does not cover your Will. Benefits are paid according to your fund rules. Any valid death benefit nomination (binding or non-binding) to eligible dependants or your legal personal representative.

Confirm whether your fund uses lapsing (often 3-year) or non-lapsing binding nominations and diarise renewals if needed. A calendar event and scheduled email notification is a great trick to stay on top of this.
For SMSFs, the trust deed governs whether nominations lapse.
Review life insurance and the tax position for adult children or non-dependant beneficiaries.

✔️ Map Your Assets (Including Digital)

Maintain a succinct register of assets, liabilities and digital items (investment accounts, entities, passwords, crypto, cloud storage), and ensure a trusted person can access it if needed. Store it securely alongside copies of the documents listed above.

If you are seeking a simple yet secure method for organising your digital assets and estate planning documents – we recommend taking a look at our Aintree Custodian Digital Vault, to see if it’s a good fit to simplify your estate administration needs.

✔️ Communicate & Confirm

A well-crafted estate plan only works if key people know it exists. Use the holiday period to confirm roles and expectations with executors, attorneys and decision-makers. You can also share where you store your documents.

Ready to get holiday-ready?

If you’d like guidance on reviewing or updating your Will, Enduring Power of Attorney or Corporate Power of Attorney (at any time of year) we can help. Our team can make sure everything is in order, so you can relax and enjoy your break with peace of mind. Get in touch today!

This is general advice only and has not been prepared with your situation and needs in mind. For individual and personalised advice, we highly recommend that you seek out proper professional advice from your lawyer.