Meyer & Spencer PC - Attorneys at Law

10/16/2026

Together twenty years. Never married. In the eyes of the law, still strangers. 🩵

It catches people off guard, but without legal documents in place, an unmarried partner generally, has no automatic right to make medical decisions for you.

Or to access your accounts and manage your finances.
Or to inherit your home or property.

In some situations, they may not even be notified in an emergency.

Everything a marriage grants automatically has to be built on purpose here. That means wills, trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designations.

We see this most often with couples later in life who've made a deliberate choice not to remarry.

📲Building a life together without a marriage certificate? We can help today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us

10/15/2026

When someone passes away, the first few days are a blur. Here's what actually needs to happen early: 📝

- Request multiple certified copies of the death certificate (you'll need more than you think)
- Locate the will, trust, and any funeral instructions
- Notify Social Security, pensions, and insurance companies
- Secure the home, vehicles, and any valuables
- Don't rush to distribute anything or close accounts

That last one matters. Well-meaning families often move assets before the legal process starts, and it creates problems later.

👉 Navigating a loss right now? Our team can help you today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us, take it one step at a time. 🩵

10/14/2026

Executor. Trustee. Power of attorney. Healthcare agent. 📋Four different roles. People mix them up constantly.

👉Your executor handles your estate after you pass away: filing the will, paying debts, distributing what's left.

👉Your trustee manages your trust, which can start while you're alive and continue long after you're gone.

👉Your financial power of attorney acts for you while you're living, if you can't act for yourself. That authority ends at death.

👉Your healthcare agent makes medical decisions, and only medical decisions.

They can all be the same person. Often, they shouldn't be.

Reach out to our team today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyerspencer.com/contact-us to get started!

10/12/2026

10/09/2026

One of the most valuable tax breaks in estate planning is one most families have never heard of.

It's called the step-up in basis.

Here's the short version: when someone inherits an asset, its tax basis generally resets to the value on the date of death. So if a home was bought decades ago for $60,000 and is worth $400,000 when it passes, the heirs may owe little to no capital gains tax if they sell it right away.

Gifting that same house during your lifetime can work very differently.

The timing of a transfer matters more than most people realizes.

👉Thinking about transferring property to your kids? Let us help. Reach out to our team today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us to get started!

10/07/2026

A 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 and a 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 are not the same thing. 😅

We hear these swapped constantly, and it's an easy mistake, but they do opposite jobs.

📃A 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 is about your body. It states what medical care you would or wouldn't want if you couldn't speak for yourself.

📃A l𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 is about your stuff. It holds and directs your assets, and it can keep your family out of probate.

Most people need both. They're just doing different work.

Reach out to our team today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us to get started!

10/06/2026

Let's clear up the most expensive misunderstanding in elder law❗

Medicare does not pay for long-term care.

It can cover a limited stretch of skilled nursing after a qualifying hospital stay, but it was never designed to cover ongoing custodial care. The daily help with bathing, dressing, eating, and moving that most families actually end up needing.

That care gets paid for privately, through long-term care insurance, or through Medicaid.

Families who learn this early have options. Families who learn it in a hospital hallway usually don't.

Have questions about how care would actually get paid for? Our team is here to help. Reach out to our team today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us to get started!

10/05/2026

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 and 𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗶𝗱 sound almost identical.

They do completely different jobs.

Medicare is health insurance, mostly for people 65 and older. It's based on age and work = history, not income. It covers doctors, hospitals, and prescriptions.

Medicaid is a needs-based program. Eligibility depends on income and assets, and for many families, it's the primary way long-term nursing home care actually gets paid for.

One letter apart. Very different rules.

👉 Confused about which one applies to your situation? Reach out to our team today by phone or text at 914-741-2288 or at www.meyer-spencer.com/contact-us.