Patti Spencer

Ms. Spencer has been practicing law for 35 years and continues to focus her practice on estate planning, probate, trusts, taxation, and closely-held business issues. She often works as a consultant to other attorneys and financial professionals in estate planning, trust and taxation matters as well as serving as an expert witness in fiduciary litigation. Before founding Spencer Law Firm in 1996, Ms. Spencer was the head of the Personal Trust Department at a regional bank in Pennsylvania before returning to private practice in 1996. She is currently a partner in the Lancaster firm of Metzger and Spencer LLP. Ms. Spencer graduated summa cum laude from Dickinson College and received her J.D. and LL.M. degrees in Taxation from Boston University School of Law. She is a member of the Pennsylvania and Massachusetts bars. She taught Estate and Gift Tax Law in the Boston University School of Law Graduate Tax Program for eight years. Her column, Taxing Matters, appeared weekly in the “Business Monday” section of the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal for 14 years. She is a frequent lecturer and is the author of numerous articles on estate planning topics. Ms. Spencer was named one of Pennsylvania’s Top 50 Business Women for 2000 and has been elected as a fellow to the American College of Probate and Trust Counsel. A new edition of Your Estate Matters, a book which is a compilation of Ms. Spencer’s columns, was published in January 2015. Your Estate Matters is currently available online and can be purchased at the offices of Spencer Law Firm LLC. Ms. Spencer is also the author of a reference book for lawyers, Pennsylvania Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts Library Forms and Practice Manual, originally published 2007, 2 volumes, 1,500 pages, 280 forms, updated annually. It is available from Data Trace Publishing Company.