Estate and tax planning is often influenced by specific numbers and thresholds, such as the estate/gift tax exemption, the GST tax exemption, the annual exclusion amount and income tax brackets. These numbers are periodically adjusted for inflation. This episode summarizes inflation adjustments for 2026 and provides guidance on how the new numbers might affect planning.

An estate plan can address not only what happens upon a person’s passing but also how decisions are made if the person cannot make them during life. One set of documents — called a living will, healthcare power of attorney, advance directive or advance medical directive, depending on the state — designates an agent to make healthcare decisions on the person’s behalf and communicates what care they would or would not want to receive if they cannot make those decisions themselves.

This document can be critical in providing clarity and avoiding confusion in the event of incapacity — such as if the client is in a coma or unconscious, is disabled or is in surgery. This episode explores these documents and how best to structure them.

To make sure an estate plan can be administered effectively, it takes more than putting in place the right documents, structures and strategies. The executor, agent, trustee and other important figures must have access to information that will help them administer the estate or trust – and in many cases, the successors don’t know where to begin. This episode explores one of the most popular concepts from the last 50 episodes: the “death dossier,” a collection of documents and records that help successors identify and administer the assets in the event of a client’s death or incapacity.