1. What changed in your financial life this year?

Before reviewing individual strategies, update the facts that drive your plan.

Did you retire, sell property, exercise stock options, receive an inheritance, or help a family member financially? Are you planning a significant purchase next year? Has your health, family situation, or desired retirement date changed?

Gather your latest account statements, year-to-date income information, realized gain-and-loss reports, charitable giving records, and details of anticipated transactions.

Your review should answer three questions:

• How much income do we expect to recognize in 2026?
• What spending and cash needs should we prepare for in 2027?
• Which decisions require action before year-end?

A strategy based on last year’s circumstances may no longer fit this year’s priorities.

2. Have you reviewed capital gains and losses across all accounts?

Start with gains and losses already realized in taxable accounts. Then consider potential transactions and any expected year-end investment distributions.

Selling an investment at a loss may help offset realized capital gains. But tax-loss harvesting should also preserve an appropriate investment allocation and account for trading costs and future tax consequences.

Pay particular attention to the wash-sale rule. A loss may be disallowed when substantially identical securities are purchased within 30 days before or after a loss sale. Purchases in another account, certain retirement accounts, or a spouse’s account can complicate the analysis. Automatic dividend reinvestments also deserve attention. [1]

Ask your team: “Do we have opportunities to manage realized gains while keeping the portfolio aligned with our plan?”

Review the household’s accounts together. A sale in one account and an automatic purchase elsewhere can undermine an otherwise thoughtful strategy.

3. Does a Roth conversion make sense before year-end?

A Roth conversion moves eligible retirement assets into a Roth account and generally creates taxable income to the extent the converted assets have not already been taxed. Conversions cannot subsequently be undone through recharacterization. [2]

A year with lower income may create an opportunity worth evaluating. A year involving a business sale, significant investment gains, or substantial compensation may produce a different answer.

Before choosing an amount, examine:

• This year’s projected income and potential future tax rates.
• Available cash to pay the conversion tax.
• Upcoming spending needs.
• Potential effects on Medicare premiums and other income-sensitive tax calculations.
• The implications for a surviving spouse and eventual beneficiaries.

The appropriate conversion amount may be smaller than expected—or zero. Evaluate several amounts within a multiyear retirement projection before executing a transaction.

For a deeper discussion, read Should You Convert Part of Your IRA to a Roth?

4. Is your charitable giving coordinated with the rest of your plan?

Begin with the causes you want to support and the amount you can comfortably give. Then evaluate the assets and giving method.

Cash, appreciated investments, donor-advised fund contributions, and qualified charitable distributions have different requirements and tax treatment.

The 2026 rules deserve a fresh review. Beginning this year, itemizers generally face a charitable deduction floor equal to 0.5% of adjusted gross income. Only otherwise eligible contributions above that floor are deductible, subject to additional limitations. This makes income projections and the timing of gifts especially relevant. [3]

For eligible IRA owners age 70½ or older, a qualified charitable distribution, or QCD, may be another option. A qualifying transfer goes directly from the IRA to an eligible charity, can be excluded from income, and may satisfy part or all of an RMD. The same amount cannot also receive a charitable deduction. Donor-advised funds are not eligible QCD recipients. [4]

Ask your team: “Which giving method best supports our charitable goals, considering our income, investments, and retirement distributions?”

Start early when donating securities or other noncash assets. Transfer procedures, documentation, and valuation requirements can take time.

5. Have all required minimum distributions been addressed?

Confirm which retirement accounts require distributions, how much has already been withdrawn, and whether anything remains outstanding.

RMDs are generally due by December 31. A first RMD may qualify for an April 1 deadline in the following year, but using that delay can result in two required distributions during that following calendar year. Account-specific exceptions and inherited-account rules require careful review. [5]

Do not assume that taking money from one retirement account satisfies the requirements for every other account. Aggregation rules differ by account type. Also, an RMD cannot be rolled over or converted to a Roth IRA.

Confirm completion with the account custodian, including any charitable distributions intended to satisfy an RMD.

If distributions exceed your spending needs, decide how those funds fit into your cash reserves and broader investment plan. Our article, Which Money Should You Spend First in Retirement?, explores the coordination of different account types.

6. Has your portfolio become more concentrated than you intended?

A portfolio can become riskier without a single new purchase.

A stock that performs especially well may grow into a disproportionately large holding. Several funds may own many of the same companies. Employer stock can tie investment wealth to the same business that provides your paycheck.

Review your exposure across the entire household, including retirement accounts, taxable investments, business ownership, and real estate.

Consider:

• How much depends on one company, industry, or asset class?
• Which assets may need to fund spending in the next few years?
• Would a substantial decline force an unwanted sale or lifestyle change?
• Can diversification be coordinated with charitable giving and tax planning?

A large unrealized gain is a reason to plan carefully. It should not prevent a discussion about whether the position still fits your needs.

An investment management review should connect portfolio decisions to the purpose and timing of the money.

7. Do your family gifts and estate documents reflect your intentions?

For 2026, the federal annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient, per donor, for qualifying gifts. A gift above that amount does not automatically create an immediate tax bill, but may require a gift tax return and use part of the donor’s available lifetime exclusion. The federal basic estate and gift tax exclusion is $15 million per individual for 2026, before accounting for prior taxable gifts. [6]

Those figures are only part of an estate review.

Confirm that your wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare documents, account ownership, and beneficiary designations still reflect your wishes. Ask your attorney whether changes in family circumstances or applicable state law call for updates.

Also consider the practical questions: Does your spouse know where important records are kept? Can your executor identify the accounts and professionals involved? Are the people you named still appropriate and willing to serve?

Visit our estate planning page for more on coordinating legacy considerations with your financial plan.

8. Who is coordinating the decisions?

Consider this hypothetical situation: A recently retired couple wants to reduce a concentrated stock position, support a charity, and convert part of an IRA to a Roth.

Each decision may be reasonable independently. Together, however, the stock sale and conversion could create more income than anticipated. The assets chosen for the charitable gift could also affect the outcome.

A coordinated review would compare the transactions before any are executed, including their tax effects, cash requirements, and impact on the remaining portfolio.

This example is illustrative and does not represent an actual client or a recommended strategy.

Use a simple action list to make the review concrete:

Frequently asked questions

When should year-end financial planning begin?

October or November provides time to gather records, compare alternatives, and coordinate professionals. Complex gifts, estate work, and asset transfers may require more time. Confirm processing cutoffs with the institutions involved.

Does every financial planning task have a December 31 deadline?

No. Deadlines vary by transaction and account type. Some contributions may be permitted after year-end, while many tax-year transactions must occur within the calendar year. Have your team identify the actual deadline for each proposed action.

What should I bring to a year-end review?

Bring current account statements, your most recent tax return, year-to-date income and realized gain information, retirement distribution records, charitable giving details, and a list of expected major expenses or transactions.

Bring your year-end decisions into one coordinated plan

For families in Naples, Fort Lauderdale, and beyond, year-end is an opportunity to clarify what their wealth needs to accomplish next.

A useful review should leave you with specific decisions, assigned responsibilities, and a clear understanding of how each action supports your broader goals.

Schedule a consultation with Edwards Asset Management to discuss how your investment, retirement, and legacy priorities fit together.