Ryan Szczepanik is a Senior Wealth Strategist with BNY Wealth. He works closely with families, corporate executives, and business owners in Hawai‘i and throughout the West Region of the U.S. to provide trusts, estates, and tax planning services. Prior to joining BNY Wealth, Ryan was a partner at a prominent Bay Area trusts, estates, and tax law firm. He is Certified by California as a Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law, and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Trusts and Estates Section of the California Lawyers Association (TEXCOM). He received a BA from Amherst College, a JD from Emory Law School, and a Certificate from Harvard Law School’s Executive Education Accelerated Leadership Program.
Can we start with the basics? What is a foundational estate plan?
Estate planning is an opportunity to craft a family and charitable legacy that reflects personal values and creates a testament to your life’s achievements. The starting point is developing a clear understanding of your personal assets and your intent for the distribution of those assets during life and at your passing. The next step is drafting comprehensive foundational documents — a revocable living trust, a pour over will, a financial power of attorney, and an advance health care directive — to effectuate that intent. The revocable living trust is the cornerstone of the foundational plan. It allows you to maintain control over your assets during life while providing an orderly transfer upon your passing.
Estate planning is an opportunity to craft your legacy.”
How do irrevocable trusts complement the foundational estate plan, particularly for family members?
The potential tax liability at your passing can be substantial. Transferring appreciating assets to an irrevocable trust during your lifetime, using your annual gift tax exclusion ($19,000 per person in 2025), lifetime gift and estate tax exemption (“Lifetime Exemption,” which is $13.99 million in 2025), and/or sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts, so that the asset appreciation occurs outside your estate, is a proven strategy to lower your eventual federal and state estate tax liability. Irrevocable trusts also can achieve income tax savings, asset protection, and succession planning for family business assets.
What is the significance of the Lifetime Exemption in estate planning, and why is timing important?
The Lifetime Exemption is scheduled to drop in half on January 1, 2026 (to approximately $7 million) if Congress does not pass a law to prevent that drop. Thus, strategic planning now, with irrevocable trusts and other entities such as limited liability companies (LLCs), which can achieve valuable discounts on the value of assets transferred, can minimize tax and preserve more wealth for your chosen beneficiaries.
Why should charitable giving be incorporated into your estate plan, and what benefits does it provide?
Most people care deeply about supporting organizations they care about such as HPA. They do not, however, fully grasp the power of pairing tax planning with a thoughtful charitable giving plan. For example, contributing to a donor-advised fund (DAF) or private foundation can achieve a charitable income tax deduction, avoid the tax on the contributed asset’s embedded capital gain, and prepare the next generation to be stewards of the family wealth by involving them in the charitable giving decision-making process.
A well-designed estate plan provides peace of mind that your wishes will be followed.”
How do charitable trusts work within an estate plan, and what are their benefits?
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) can defer income tax, provide the donor with an annual payment to cover expenses while the donor’s other assets remain invested thereby avoiding capital gain, and benefit a charitable organization at the end of the trust’s term. A charitable lead trust (CLT) can provide annual payments to a charitable organization while achieving a tax optimal wealth transfer to family members. A properly structured CLT established at the donor’s passing can altogether eliminate estate tax. Naming rights or endowments at an educational institution such as HPA can associate your name with a cause you care about for generations.
What is a qualified charitable distribution, and how does it benefit donors of a certain age?
A donor who is at least 70 and a half years old in 2025 can avail themselves of another potent strategy called a qualified charitable distribution (QCD). The donor of a QCD can distribute directly to a charitable organization up to $108,000 from their individual retirement account (IRA). That distribution otherwise would be included in the donor’s taxable income at the highest (ordinary) income tax rates. If the donor is at least 73 years old, the QCD can count towards that donor’s required minimum distribution (RMD), further reducing tax.
Proactively incorporating these charitable giving strategies into your estate plan is often overlooked yet essential for achieving a lasting positive impact on your family and the world.
If you have questions about planning your legacy and would like Ryan’s help, you can reach him at Ryan.Szczepanik@bny.com