Pennsylvania Trusts and Estates Blog

Spencer Fiduciary Services offers trust and estate expertise to law firms and banks

LANCASTER, PA - May 27 - BUSINESS WIRE - At a time when law firms are scaling back operations or completely dissolving, Pennsylvania-based trust and estates attorney Patti S. Spencer has taken the bold step of starting a new corporate entity.

Spencer Fiduciary Services (SFS, www.spencerfiduciaryservices.com) is a private consulting company dedicated to providing trust and estate services to law firms and financial institutions. Founding attorney Patti Spencer, head of Lancaster-based Spencer Law Firm (www.spencerlawfirm.com), saw a need in the market for outsourced trust administration and estate settlement services.

"Handling trust and estate matters for clients is a natural expansion opportunity for many law firms, but it requires specialized expertise that may not be available within a firm," says Spencer. 

SFS is designed to help Pennsylvania law firms and banks administer estates and trusts; value assets; and prepare and file inheritance, federal estate, or fiduciary income tax returns. SFS also helps clients comply with the Uniform Prudent Investor Act (UPIA), the Uniform Principal and Income Act (UPAIA), and the Uniform Trust Act (UTA).

"We work behind the scenes or directly with a firm's clients to provide a wide range of estate and trust services," says SFS Director M. Yvonne Crouse. "The client always remains the attorney of record."

Law firms and banks that partner with SFS can maintain their client relationship while gaining in-depth tax knowledge, state of the art technology, and experienced staff.  Every client of Spencer Fiduciary Services receives a password-protected Internet portal for unlimited access to all account documentation.

When trust and estate disputes lead to fiduciary litigation or arbitration, Ms. Spencer is also available to serve as an expert witness in matters relating to fee disagreements, attorney malpractice, breach of fiduciary duty, failure to pay taxes, estate violations, or fiduciary investment management.

About Patti S. Spencer, Esq.

Patti S. Spencer is a nationally recognized trusts and estates attorney, author and educator. She is a peer-nominated Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. Her publications include "Pennsylvania Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts Library" (Data Trace, 2007), and "Your Estate Matters" (AuthorHouse, 2005). Her blogs include www.pennsylvaniafiduciarylitigation.com and www.pennsylvaniatrustsandestates.com.

Contact:

Margaret Grisdela

Legal Expert Connections, Inc.

Thank you to Grant Griffiths for his suggestion for this post.

We appreciate your visits to Pennsylvania Trusts and Estates.  While many of you are stopping by to read the new post we have published, you may be missing out on what else we have to offer.

1. Don't forget about the search box

If you look in the lower left column of the blog page you will see our search box. You can use this to find posts we have done in the past. If there is a particular topic you are looking for, type in your search request. 

2. Subscribe by either email or RSS feed

As our readership continues to grow, so does the number of  subscribers to our RSS feed and/or email feed. You can find our subscription options on the left side of the blog page also. 

I  encourage our readers to use RSS if they want. If you click on this link, you will get a video explaining RSS in plain english which is posted on the commoncraft site.

3. "Taxing Matters" columns

I write a weekly column called "Taxing Matters" which is published every Monday morning in the Business Section of the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal.   If you missed it in the newspaper you can see the column on the Publications page of the Spencer Law Firm website.

If you have an idea for a column, please pass it on to patti@spencerlawfirm.com.

4. If you have a topic you would like me to post on, please tell me

I want our readers to tell me if there is a topic or a particular question they may have which they would like me to post on. I spend a lot of time considering what to post on and I do have a file folder on my desktop full of ideas. However, what makes a blog so great is when its readers and the blogger develop a community whereby the readers get involved in what is being talked about. You can leave a comment on any blog post asking me to expand on it or to write a post on a different topic. You are also always encouraged to drop me an email at patti@spencerlawfirm.com and let me know what you would like to see on Pennsylvania Fiduciary Litigation.

5. Please ask if you would like to guest post

I love it when I get someone who wants to guest post on Pennsylvania Trusts and Estates Blog. Not only does it give me a break from doing the writing, it gives our readers a different take and voice on the subject of fiduciary litigation. Please drop me an email at patti@spencerlawfirm.com if you would like to guest post on Pennsylvania Trusts and Estates Blog.

6. Connecting with me, Patti Spencer

You can always reach me by e-mail at patti@spencerlawfirm.com.  If you would like to follow me in the other social media tools I use, you can find me on Linked In at:

 http://www.linkedin.com/in/pattispencer.

You can find me on Twitter at:   http://www.twitter.com/pattispencer.

I am active on Twitter and enjoy the interaction and conversations I have with those I follow and who follow me. I also post on twitter when we put up a new post here. Twitter is a great way for you to interact and learn from those you follow and who follow you. 

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If you ever feel someone would benefit from reading what we offer and if they are not subscribed to the blog, please feel free to give them a copy. I hereby give you permission to redistribute the text of any post from Pennsylvania Trusts and Estates Blog as you want. I only ask that you give us proper credit and a link back to Pennsylvania Trust and Estates Blog.

When I graduated from law school, I had little insight into the business of running a law practice. Don't get me wrong; I had great knowledge about the law. But I did not know how to actually build a client roster, create and deliver services, administer an office, and get paid a fair fee for work performed.

Susan Cartier Leibel has provided a way for today's sole practitioners to learn all of these things, and more. She has founded Solo Practice University™. SPU is a web-based legal learning and networking community for lawyers and law students. I am very flattered to be included among this distinguished faculty of progressive lawyers, marketing professionals, technology consultants, and other legal business giants. 

I will be teaching, talking and blogging about wills, trusts, estates, and taxes. The much ballyhooed inter-generational wealth transfer from the baby boomers is upon us and this practice area will be going strong. I will help you to use the SPU community to pull together the knowledge of tax, property law, future interests, contracts, litigation, and legal writing you need in today's complex trust and estate practice environment.

I will be teaching a course on Trusts and Estates Practice as well as being available for online office hours where you can get your technical questions answered and find answers to how to run your law business and give your clients top notch service.

Lawyers who take on trust and estate matters without the necessary skills and tax experience may find themselves facing unexpected fiduciary liability. As a frequent expert witness on trust and estate matters, I will work to help you avoid common mistakes that can undermine your legal career.

Working along with SPU, I will teach you how to use the Internet more effectively to access the necessary information, forms, advice, and research you need for your trust and estates work. You will find that access to information is no longer prohibitively expensive for the solo practitioner.

Technology has made it possible for solo practitioners like you to be just as prepared, just as smart, and even more nimble than their big law competitors. Add to this the advantage of the SPU community to share tactics, solutions, and ideas. As a solo practitioner, you now have the unparalleled opportunity to expand your network, learn new skills, find the best technology, and build your practice.

Can't wait to get started!

 A safe deposit box is a metal box, usually housed in a private area in a bank. There are two locks on each box. When you rent a safe deposit box, you receive one or two keys to one of the locks The bank keeps the key to the second. The keys to both locks are required for the box to be opened. Safe deposit boxes are available in a variety of sizes. The rental is payable annually, and is usually around $40 - $70. Larger boxes, of course, have higher rent.

A safe deposit box is a convenient place to store important items that would be difficult or impossible to replace. The safe deposit box, also, offers privacy and security. Although many people keep valuables close by in a closet, safe or file cabinet at home or in the office (or under the mattress), these places are not as resistant to fire, water or theft as a safe deposit box. In addition, some insurance companies charge lower insurance premiums on valuables kept in a bank's safe deposit box instead of at home.

Who Has Access?

Who could or should have access to a safe deposit box - especially in an emergency? You can jointly rent your safe deposit box with a spouse, child or other person. Any joint owner can have unrestricted access to the box. (Merely giving someone else a key will not be enough to grant access. He or she, also, must sign the bank's rental contract as a joint-renter.) An alternative is to appoint a "deputy" or "agent" who will have access to your safe deposit box. A deputy/agent is appointed in the presence of the box renters and a bank employee, which gives the bank greater assurance about the validity of the authorization. Many banks will not permit access to someone who has only a power of attorney. It is always best to have the person you wish to have access sign the card at the bank as a deputy/agent.

What should you keep in your safe deposit box?

In general, consider putting anything that would be difficult or impossible to replace in your safe deposit box. Here are some examples:

Your Will

Power of Attorney (but please keep at least one original in a safe place outside of the box. An agent can't use a power of attorney if it is locked in a box to which he has no access.)

Originals of your insurance policies

Birth, marriage and death certificates

Military records

Citizenship Papers

Court Decrees

Social Security Card

Deeds, vehicle titles, mortgages, leases and other contracts

Stock certificates, bonds and certificates of deposit (CDs)

Jewelry, medals, stamps, coins, collections

Negatives for irreplaceable photos

Videos or pictures of your home's contents for insurance purposes (in case of theft or damage).

Copy of your passport (don't put anything in the box that you may need to get while the bank is closed)

Can you deduct the rent?

If you itemize deductions, you may be able to get some tax benefit from the rent for your box. The rent is deductible as a miscellaneous itemized deduction. However, miscellaneous itemized deductions have to exceed 2% of adjusted gross income before they have a tax benefit.

Can law enforcement authorities open your safe deposit box?

If the authorities convince the appropriate court that there is "reasonable cause" to suspect you're hiding something illegal in your safe deposit box (for example, guns, drugs, explosives, stolen cash), they can obtain a court order, force the box open and seize the contents.

What about the IRS? The IRS, following proper procedures, can "freeze" your assets by placing a hold on your bank accounts and safe deposit box until the tax dispute is settled. Any person who brings a civil suit against you can also get a court order to freeze your assets if the petitioner/plaintiff can prove to the judge that there is a legitimate dispute over a debt and a risk of moving or hiding the money or box contents.

Can safe deposit box contents escheat to the state?

Escheat is the process whereby states and federal agencies acquire custody of unclaimed property and abandoned assets. Under Pennsylvania law, property that is "dormant" for a period of time, usually five years, must be reported to the Commonwealth as unclaimed property and given to the Commonwealth for safekeeping. (Most os us don't consider no activity in five years as abandoned - but there you have it.) The escheat law applies to all kinds of property including abandoned bank accounts, forgotten stocks, checks that have not been cashed, certificates of deposit, life insurance policies, safe deposit boxes, etc.

How does a safe deposit box escheat? If you don't pay your rental fee and attempts to notify and locate you prove unsuccessful, your safe deposit box will be reported as abandoned, and the contents will be turned over to the Commonwealth's unclaimed property office. Often this happens because the renter dies and the heirs have no knowledge of the box or its contents. (It's always a good idea to have the decedent's mail forwarded to the executor.) For more information about Pennsylvania's unclaimed property law see www.patreasury.org/aboutUP.htm. If you think you may have abandoned a safe deposit box in the past, or you are the heir of someone who may have done so, there are free databases with information from most states. Check out Unclaimed.org and MissingMoney.com.

Make sure this doesn't happen to you. Call your bank to confirm that your rent has been paid and they have your correct address. It's a good idea to have the fee automatically deducted from an account. It's a good idea to visit your box at least once a year. Make sure your family or other beneficiaries know where you have a box.

Check out this article  by Al Benelli about so-called financial advisors and "free meal" seminars:

Click here

Excerpt:

"For years I have been warning consumers about the dangers of attending "free-meal" financial seminars. Local, state and federal regulators across the insurance and securities industries have conducted hundreds of investigations into these "selling events." ABC's Nightline even did a feature story on how free-meal workshops are often used as a springboard for financial abuse. 

Some states, like Massachusetts, have actively prosecuted promoters who use false or misleading information to sell inappropriate products and services.

Other states, including Pennsylvania, have done relatively little due to a lack of clear statutes defining such things as minimum education and licensing standards.

In fact, in Pennsylvania, anyone can call themselves a financial advisor without the requirement of any license at all. The legislature in Harrisburg debates whether or not to license interior designers, while leaving the financial services industry alone. Sadly, such is the power of the insurance lobby in Pennsylvania."

Since I grew up in Franklin County (Mont Alto, if you must know) this news about a possible murder mystery with a trusts and estates twist caught my eye.

"A hand-written 2001 codicil to Don Berkebile's last will and testament, coupled with a note to a Public Opinion reporter two years later, indicates the elderly retired Smithsonian curator was concerned that he might die from something other than natural causes."

For more click here.

Jane Herron has published these three excerpts about the workings of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - a subject that should be near and dear to everyone's hearts in view of the current financial crisis:

Click here:        Part 1        Part 2      Part 3

The material is taken from the FDIC's website.  Click here for the complete publication.