2026 has brought several meaningful changes and considerations that may affect how you approach your financial life. We’ve highlighted a few areas that may warrant a conversation before year-end.

Three Changes

1. Estate Planning: A Larger, More Permanent Exemption

The federal estate and gift tax exemption is now $15 million per person in 2026, with the exemption indexed for inflation going forward (and initial projections suggest it will increase to $15.48 million in 2027). The annual exclusion is now $19,000 per donee and is also indexed for inflation (and is initially projected to increase to $20,000 per donee in 2027). This creates an opportunity to revisit whether your current estate and gifting plan still reflects your goals. 

Action: Evaluate year-end gifting opportunities, including contributions to 529 plans, which may be front-loaded with up to five years of gifts under the current rules. 

Consider:

• Have you used your additional exemption, or intentionally preserved it?
• Where do you stand in terms of annual exclusion gifting?
• Are your existing trusts still structured appropriately?
• Have changes in your family's wealth or circumstances created new planning opportunities?

2. Charitable Giving: A New Deduction Floor in 2026

Beginning in 2026, taxpayers who itemize can deduct only the portion of their charitable contributions that exceed 0.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI). Amounts below that threshold do not generate an itemized charitable deduction. For example, if your AGI is $2 million, the first $10,000 of charitable contributions would not be deductible. If you give $100,000, only $90,000 would be eligible for the charitable deduction, subject to other applicable limitations.

Action: For families with significant charitable commitments, we recommend reviewing your 2026 giving before year-end rather than simply repeating last year's strategy. Consider bunching charitable deductions by using a Donor Advised Fund to maximize the potential tax benefits. 

3. Trump Accounts: A New Way to Fund for the Next Generation

2026 also introduced 530A accounts, a new type of tax-advantaged account for eligible children. Families can contribute up to $5,000 per year into a custodial account that grows tax-deferred for their child. For families who are already intentional about teaching the next generation about wealth, the account may also provide an opportunity to pair financial education with long-term investing.

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Three Changes

1. One in Three

Nearly 1 in 3 families have already begun the process of transferring wealth and responsibility to the next generation. They are not simply inheriting financial assets but increasingly being asked to take on responsibility for family businesses, philanthropy, and family legacy.

If you haven’t started these conversations yet, there is no need to tackle everything at once. Preparing the next generation can begin with small, intentional steps that give them opportunities to learn about money, understand the family’s values, participate in financial decisions, and gradually build the skills they’ll need to steward wealth responsibly.

2. Nearly 60%

Among family offices that identify inflation as their primary risk, approximately 60% of their portfolios are allocated to alternative investments, compared with roughly 38% for the broader family-office population surveyed by J.P. Morgan.

The statistic is not a recommendation to increase alternative investments. Rather, it illustrates how families are thinking about the relationship between risk, portfolio construction, liquidity, and long-term purchasing power. It may be worth asking whether your current portfolio is still aligned with the risks that matter most to your family.

3. 92%

92% of Americans entered 2026 with financial goals. However, among those who had financial goals in 2025, 81% said they did not stick to them. The lesson may be less about setting goals and more about turning those goals into an actionable financial plan.

For families with significant wealth, the question isn't necessarily whether you have enough resources to accomplish your goals. It may be whether your wealth is intentionally structured around the things that matter most to you. Our financial planning process is designed to help answer that question and bring your goals, resources, and priorities together into a clear path for what comes next.

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Three Questions

We’ll leave you with three questions to consider before year-end.

1. What has changed?

What changed in your family's wealth, income, family structure, business interests, philanthropy, or priorities this year, and does your financial plan reflect those changes?

2. What are you preparing for?

Are there decisions coming in the next 1–5 years (a business sale, retirement, major gift, inheritance, liquidity event, or wealth transfer) that would benefit from planning today?
 
3. What does your wealth need to accomplish?

Beyond investment returns and tax efficiency, what do you want your wealth to make possible for your family, your children, and/or the causes you care about?

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Please reach out to a Sapient Advisor if you would like to discuss any of these areas before year-end.