Estate Planning Father and Daughter

Estate Planning Services

Focused on your estate planning needs, Spencer Law Firm LLC provides clear, effective estate planning assistance to clients who have already devised a will or trust but have additional estate planning needs. Located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the firm serves clients locally but also maintains a national expert witness practice.

Knowledgeable and Experienced

SLF focuses on helping clients protect the assets they have worked hard to acquire. Some aspects of estate planning are complex — particularly those associated with avoiding heavy tax consequences. We work closely with our clients in order to minimize estate taxes such as federal estate and gift taxes, federal generation-skipping transfer taxes, the Pennsylvania inheritance tax, and federal and state fiduciary income taxes.

Patti Spencer and her staff bring wisdom and experience to their work with clients and are able to explain complex matters clearly so that clients understand their options and can make informed decisions.

Attorney Patti Spencer also provides estate planning consultation services to other lawyers. Comfortable with working directly with firms’ clients or in the background, Ms. Spencer has helped lawyers broaden their trusts and estates practices and more efficiently meet their clients’ needs in-house. Patti Spencer is also the author of estate planning books which serve as a reference and guide for lawyers and laypeople.

Sophisticated Estate Planning

Sophisticated estate planning in general falls in two categories. The first involves complicated family situations — a second marriage, a family business, or children with substance abuse or mental health problems. The second is related to federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax planning for significant assets. Estate planning can be complicated by many variables requiring unique solutions, such as difficult family situations, liquidity needs, and unusual assets. SLF works closely with clients to determine a plan that best suits the individuals and their situation. The firm is happy to assist you with matters such as:

  • Wills, trusts and guardianships
  • Powers of attorney
  • Family limited partnerships
  • Charitable gift planning
  • Federal gift and estate tax planning
  • Generation-skipping tax planning
  • Wealth transfer vehicles
  • Retirement plan distributions

Some of the techniques SLF employs in helping individuals and clients with federal tax and estate planning include:

  • ILIT – Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust
  • QPRT – Qualified Personal Residence Trust
  • QTIP – Qualified Terminable Interest in Property
  • CRAT – Charitable Remainder Annuity Trust
  • GRAT – Grantor Retained Annuity Trust
  • FLP – Family Limited Partnership
  • IDGT – Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust
  • SCIN – Self-Cancelling Installment Note
  • CLT – Charitable Lead Trust

Note: For an explanation of these terms, please visit the Glossary page.

Contact SLF today for the estate planning assistance you need. Call 717-394-1131 or complete the contact form.