National "Make-A-Will" Month: Why Estate Planning Should Be Coordinated With Your Financial Plan

Written by Christian West, CFP®, RSSA®
Published: August 2026 | Last reviewed: August 2026

August is National Make-A-Will Month, a useful reminder to create or review a will and, more broadly, your estate plan. But a will is only one part of the process.

A strong estate plan should coordinate with your financial plan, beneficiary designations, retirement accounts, insurance policies, real estate, tax strategy, and family goals. A well-written will can still create unintended outcomes if the rest of your financial life points in a different direction.

Key Takeaways

August is National Make-A-Will Month.
A will is an important estate-planning document, but it is not a complete estate plan by itself.
Retirement accounts, life insurance, transfer-on-death accounts, trusts, and jointly owned property may pass outside the instructions in a will.
Beneficiary designations should be reviewed alongside the estate plan and financial plan.
Estate planning is not only about distributing assets after death; it can also address decision-making during incapacity.
Financial advisors, estate-planning attorneys, and tax professionals can play different but complementary roles in coordinating a plan.
Estate plans should be reviewed periodically and after major life or financial changes.

What Is National Make-A-Will Month?

National Make-A-Will Month takes place each August and is intended to encourage individuals and families to create or review their estate-planning documents.

It is a timely reminder because estate planning is something many people understand is important but continue to postpone. According to Trust & Will's 2026 Estate Planning Report, 56% of U.S. adults reported having no estate-planning documents, while only 26% reported having a will.

Creating a will is an important first step, but it should also prompt a broader question:

Does your estate plan actually match the rest of your financial plan?

What Does a Will Do?

A last will and testament generally provides instructions for how certain property should be handled after death.

Depending on state law and an individual's circumstances, a will can be used to:

Name an executor or personal representative.
Identify beneficiaries for property passing through the estate.
Nominate guardians for minor children.
Provide instructions for personal or sentimental property.
Establish certain testamentary trusts.
Document other wishes concerning estate administration.

A will is an important legal document, but it generally only controls assets that are actually subject to the will and probate process. That distinction is where financial planning and estate planning frequently intersect.

Why Doesn't a Will Control Everything You Own?

Many financial assets can transfer according to contractual beneficiary designations or ownership arrangements rather than the instructions contained in a will.

Examples may include:

IRAs
401(k)s and other retirement plans
Life insurance policies
Annuities
Transfer-on-death, or TOD, accounts
Payable-on-death, or POD, accounts
Certain jointly owned property
Assets owned by a properly structured trust

This means someone could update a will while unintentionally leaving an old beneficiary designation unchanged. For example, updating a will alone may not change how retirement accounts, life insurance, and other assets with beneficiary designations are ultimately distributed. That is why reviewing the financial accounts themselves is an important part of estate planning.

Example: When the Will and Beneficiary Designation Don't Match

Consider a hypothetical investor who recently remarried. Their new will states that their assets should ultimately benefit their current spouse and children. However, their IRA still lists a former spouse as the beneficiary from many years earlier.

The individual may believe the updated will solved the problem, but the IRA beneficiary designation could control how that particular account transfers. The issue is not necessarily that the will was written incorrectly. The issue is that the estate plan and financial accounts were not coordinated. This is one reason estate planning should not be treated as a standalone legal-document exercise.

How Should Estate Planning Coordinate With a Financial Plan?

A comprehensive financial plan already contains much of the information needed to evaluate whether an estate plan is properly aligned.

That may include:

Investment accounts
Retirement accounts
Real estate
Life insurance
Annuities
Business interests
Cash and bank accounts
Debts
Tax considerations
Charitable goals
Family circumstances
Expected retirement income
Long-term financial objectives

Estate planning adds another question:

What should happen to these assets if you die or become unable to manage them yourself?

A financial advisor can help identify where the financial plan and estate documents need to connect, while an estate-planning attorney provides legal advice and drafts the appropriate legal documents.

Five Areas That Should Be Coordinated

1. Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations should generally be reviewed on retirement plans, IRAs, life insurance policies, annuities, and accounts that allow TOD or POD instructions.

Common issues may include:

An outdated former spouse
A deceased beneficiary
Missing contingent beneficiaries
Children who were never added
Unequal percentages that no longer reflect intent
A trust that has been changed or terminated
Beneficiaries that conflict with the broader estate plan

A beneficiary review can be one of the simplest but most important parts of estate-plan maintenance.

2. Account Ownership

How an account or property is titled can affect how it transfers.

Examples include:

Individual ownership
Joint ownership
Community property
Trust ownership
Business ownership

Ownership structure can also have tax, creditor, and estate-planning implications, so changes should generally be coordinated with the appropriate legal and tax professionals.

3. Retirement Accounts

Retirement accounts deserve special attention because they can involve both estate-planning and tax considerations.

Questions may include:

Who should inherit the IRA?
Should a spouse be the primary beneficiary?
When might a trust be appropriate?
What distribution rules could apply to beneficiaries?
How could inherited retirement assets affect the beneficiary's taxable income?

The "right" beneficiary may therefore involve more than simply deciding who receives the money.

4. Real Estate

Real estate can represent a significant portion of a family's net worth.

An estate plan may need to address:

Primary residences
Rental properties
Vacation homes
Out-of-state property
Property owned through LLCs
Joint ownership
Beneficiary deeds where permitted
Trust ownership

Real estate investors may have an especially strong need to coordinate estate planning because ownership structure, debt, property management, taxes, and succession considerations can overlap.

5. Incapacity Planning

Estate planning is not only about what happens after death.

It can also address what happens if someone is alive but unable to make financial or medical decisions.

Documents may include:

Financial powers of attorney
Healthcare powers of attorney
Advance healthcare directives
Living wills
Trust provisions addressing incapacity

These documents can help identify who has authority to act and under what circumstances.

Why Financial Advisors and Estate Attorneys Should Coordinate

Financial advisors and estate-planning attorneys generally perform different roles.

An estate-planning attorney can:

Provide legal advice.
Draft wills and trusts.
Draft powers of attorney.
Advise on state-specific estate laws.
Help structure ownership and estate documents.

A financial advisor can:

Maintain an overview of financial assets.
Review account registrations and beneficiary designations.
Identify inconsistencies between financial accounts and the estate plan.
Model retirement, tax, and cash-flow implications.
Coordinate implementation with custodians and financial institutions.
Help keep estate planning incorporated into ongoing financial reviews.

A CPA or other tax professional may also be important where estate, income, gift, business, or charitable tax issues are involved. The objective is not for one professional to replace another. It is for the professionals to work from the same financial picture and the same set of goals.

What Can Go Wrong When Estate Planning Isn't Coordinated?

Several problems can arise when estate planning is handled independently from the financial plan.

Beneficiaries May Be Outdated

A will may be current while retirement-account beneficiaries are not.

Assets May Be Titled Incorrectly

A trust may exist, for example, while assets intended for the trust were never properly transferred into it.

Estate Documents May Not Reflect Current Wealth

An estate plan created 15 years ago may have been designed around a very different balance sheet.

Family Circumstances May Change

Marriage, divorce, births, deaths, and changing family relationships may require revisions.

Tax Rules May Change

Estate, gift, retirement-account, and income-tax laws can change over time.

Business or Real Estate Holdings May Be Added

Someone who initially had only bank and investment accounts may later acquire rental properties, a business, partnership interests, or other complex assets.

A financial plan often captures these changes before estate documents are updated, which makes periodic coordination valuable.

When Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

There is no single review schedule appropriate for everyone, but major life and financial changes are good triggers.

Consider reviewing an estate plan after:

Marriage
Divorce or separation
Birth or adoption of a child
Death of a spouse or beneficiary
Moving to another state
Buying or selling significant real estate
Starting or selling a business
Receiving an inheritance
Major changes in wealth
Major changes in tax law
Changes in charitable intentions
Changes in health or incapacity concerns

It can also be helpful to periodically review an existing plan even when no major event has occurred.

A Simple Estate-Planning Coordination Checklist

National "Make-A-Will" Month can be a good time to review the following:

Do I have a current will?
Have I named an appropriate executor?
Are guardians named for minor children, if applicable?
Are my financial and healthcare powers of attorney current?
Are my retirement-account beneficiaries correct?
Are contingent beneficiaries listed?
Are life insurance beneficiaries current?
Are TOD and POD designations consistent with my estate plan?
Is my real estate titled appropriately?
If I have a trust, are the intended assets actually coordinated with it?
Have there been major family changes?
Have there been major financial changes?
Does my estate plan reflect my current charitable intentions?
Does my financial advisor have enough information to help coordinate implementation?
Has my estate-planning attorney reviewed any changes that require legal advice?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I Need a Will If I Don't Have a Large Estate?

A will can still be useful even if someone does not consider themselves wealthy. It can identify who should receive certain property, name an executor, nominate guardians for minor children, and provide instructions concerning personal property. Estate planning is therefore not exclusively a high-net-worth planning issue.

Does a Will Avoid Probate?

Not necessarily. A will generally provides instructions for the administration and distribution of assets passing through the probate estate. Assets may avoid probate for other reasons, such as properly structured beneficiary designations, joint ownership arrangements, or trust ownership. State law can materially affect the probate process, so legal questions should be reviewed with an estate-planning attorney.

Does a Beneficiary Designation Override a Will?

For many accounts, the beneficiary designation controls the transfer of that asset. This is why retirement accounts, insurance policies, TOD/POD registrations, and estate documents should be reviewed together.

Do I Need a Trust?

Not everyone needs a trust. Whether a trust is appropriate can depend on factors such as family circumstances, state law, asset ownership, privacy objectives, incapacity planning, probate concerns, tax considerations, minor beneficiaries, and the complexity of the estate. An estate-planning attorney can help determine whether a trust is appropriate for a particular situation.

Can My Financial Advisor Write My Will?

Financial advisors generally do not draft legal documents unless they are separately qualified and authorized to practice law. A financial advisor can, however, help identify planning issues, gather financial information, review beneficiary designations, and coordinate the financial plan with an estate-planning attorney.

Bottom Line

National Make-A-Will Month is a useful reminder to create or review a will, but the broader goal should be to make sure your entire estate plan works together with your financial plan. A will, trust, beneficiary designation, retirement account, insurance policy, and real estate holding should not be viewed as unrelated pieces. They are parts of the same financial picture.

For many families, effective estate planning therefore involves coordination among the client, financial advisor, estate-planning attorney, and tax professional. The goal is not simply to have estate-planning documents. The goal is to make sure the documents, accounts, ownership structures, and financial plan all reflect the same intentions.

About Rigden Capital Strategies

Rigden Capital Strategies was founded on a simple belief: financial advice should be personal, transparent, and centered around your goals—not built on generic models or product-driven sales. With decades of combined industry experience, we’ve developed a process grounded in three core values: value, integrity, and progress.

As a fee-only fiduciary, we provide personalized, goals-based wealth planning services designed to adapt with your life. Our services include investment management, retirement and tax planning, and estate coordination. We use a mix of active and passive strategies to help clients navigate market changes with clarity and confidence.

We believe in building real relationships and delivering clear, actionable strategies—focused on long-term planning and aligned with your objectives.

Your goals, our strategies. Together, let’s make your goals happen.

Sources

AARP — August Member Benefits / National Make-A-Will Month
https://www.aarp.org/membership/benefits/best-benefits-and-discounts-august/

Trust & Will — National Make-A-Will Month
https://trustandwill.com/learn/national-make-a-will-month

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission — Investment Adviser Marketing
https://www.sec.gov/resources-small-businesses/small-business-compliance-guides/investment-adviser-marketing

Important Disclosure

This material is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide individualized investment, legal, tax, estate-planning, or accounting advice. Estate-planning laws vary by state and individual circumstances can differ significantly. Individuals should consult an appropriately qualified estate-planning attorney, tax professional, and financial professional regarding their specific circumstances.

Rigden Capital Strategies is a registered investment adviser. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training.