LREP : VI. EP PRACTICE TOOLS: helpful estate planning information, estate planning links by topic

VI. EP PRACTICE TOOLS

LREP > VI. EP PRACTICE TOOLS

As mentioned on my Home Page, I am very thankful and honored that Legal Research for Estate Planners (LREP) has evolved to a national resource on estate planning (with reviews provided by many fellow practitioners) from its single page beginning. To allow efficient research, LREP is divided into six (6) systematic categories, descending from more general estate planning (EP) research information to more specific, practical information on estate planning. This LREP category features EP forms, EP and tax memoranda, tax outlines, technology, and fiduciary resources. I hope that you find this category of sites helpful. For this particular category, users should view the SPECIFIC EP TOPICS category, within which "forms" denotes specific topical forms.

A. EP Forms; B. EP Memoranda; C. Tax & EP Outlines; D. EP Technology; E. Law Practice Management Resources (5/8/2004); F . Fiduciary Resources; G. Tax or EP LL.M. Programs

"Guidelines for Automating Estate Planning Documents" - Daniel B. Evans (ABA Section of Law Practice Management) (

6/15/2002)

FindLaw® Forms

1. Tax Forms (see also EP TOPICS (forms listed under specific topics))

File Manager for Forms (and Instructions) - IRS or Fill-in Forms - IRS (1/5/2002) (

12/6/2002)

Online Application - Form SS-4, Employer Identification Number (EIN) (listed separately because very helpful on-line IRS Form SS-4 application for entities/estates/trusts) (6/8/2003)

IRS Tax Forms, Instructions & Publications - Uncle Fed's Tax Board (free access to historical IRS forms back to 1996) (3/21/2004)

Federal and State Tax Forms - Tax Web

Yahoo!® Tax Center

2. Legal EP and Tax Forms
a. Basic Estate Planning Forms

ACTEC Engagement Letter Samples and Ethical Guidance: ACTEC Engagement Letters: A Guide for Practitioners (June 1999) and ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (3d ed. 1999)

Business and General Legal Forms - 'Lectric Law Library® (under "General Forms": "Living Wills," "Powers of Attorney," and "Trusts & Wills")

Legal - Microsoft® Office™ Template Gallery Categories (9/4/2000)
b. Basic and Advanced Estate Planning Forms

Estate and Retirement Planning - Noel C. Ice (Fort Worth, TX) (excellent site: estate planning forms under "Forms," letters, memoranda, and articles) (11/5/2000) (main listing under IV. SPECIFIC EP TOPICS, H. Retirement and Financial Planning)

The Capital Trust Company of Delaware (free news articles, case and ruling updates, and sample trust language under "Trust Language" and also slide-show presentations on the following categories under "Personal Trust Services" > "Trusts": "Philanthropic Estate Planning" (with Adobe Acrobat overviews on charitable trusts and Microsoft Power Point presentations on charitable trusts and "Advantages of a NIMCRUT using a Common Trust Fund as the Investment Vehicle"; "Special Needs Trusts" (with Microsoft Word summaries and Microsoft Power Point presentations); "Asset Protection" (with an Adobe Acrobat summary and a Microsoft Power Point presentation); "Advanced Strategies" (including presentations and explanations on sales to defective trusts, discounting with FLPs, GRATs, and more); and "Trust Transfers" (with a Microsoft Power Point presentation) (1/28/2001) (main listing under IV. SPECIFIC EP TOPICS > G. Charitable Planning) (

3/21/2004)

The Florida Bar Continuing Legal Education Publications (via LexisNexis™ Bookstore) (excellent estate planning publications on probate administration, probate litigation, trust administration, general estate planning, non-profits, and much more) (12/7/2002)

Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company (superb "Advanced Planning Library" (free professional access, but only through a Northwestern Mutual agent sponsor) and also good "Advice & Articles" under "Personal Planning; sample screenshots of the Advanced Planning Library's "Sample Documents," "Advanced Planning Seminar Outlines," and superb "Special Studies" are available by clicking on the desired category) (6/26/2001) (

11/18/2004) (main listing under IV. SPECIFIC EP TOPICS > E. Basic & Advanced EP and duplicate listing under IV. SPECIFIC EP TOPICS > I. Insurance Planning)

Forms Library - ATG Trust Company (numerous "Estate Planning" forms, formulae, and "Land Trusts" forms including deeds for use with trusts, but most only accessible to attorney members of Attorneys' Title Guaranty Fund, Inc.)

(1/23/2005)
c. Sample Estate Planning Documents of Famous People (5/8/2004)

Famous Wills - Court TV Online (Court Television Network, L.L.C.) (wills of famous people from George Herman ("Babe") Ruth to Joe DiMaggio; many lessons can be learned by studying these and other estate planning documents, such as the extensive use of charitable planning in the will of Doris Duke, including the use of a private foundation (created under Article EIGHT), to the poor tax planning in the will of former Chief Justice Warren Burger) (5/8/2004)

Wills of Famous Public Figures - CCH Business Financial Planning Toolkit™ (wills of most of the same famous folks listed on Court TV's website above, but in Rich Text Format (RTF) via the CCH Business Financial Planning Toolkit™) (main listing under IV. SPECIFIC EP TOPICS > E. Basic and Advanced Estate Planning > 1. General Sites) (5/8/2004)

Wills of Famous Golfers - Blue Chip Stocks (will of famous golfer Ben Hogan) (5/8/2004)

Public Record Office : Documents Online : PROB 1 Wills - The National Archives (United Kingdom) (free access to approximately 100 famous wills (image format) of British citizens from William Shakespeare to Jane Austen available for purchase/download, with summary description of each document, witnesses, and proof information; William Shakespeare's will available as free download as of 5/8/2004; CAUTION/NOTE: Some wills written in Latin and no translation available from The National Archives or Documents Online, so if desired must either engage translator or translate on own by searching for translation assistance via Google™ or other search engine) (5/8/2004)
d. Miscellaneous Estate Planning and Business Legal Forms (5/8/2004)

Contracting and Organizations Research Institute (CORI) - U. of Missouri-Columbia (one of the most impressive resources on business and contract law on the Internet; includes free registered access to more than 15,000 documents in plain text (Courier) format -- primarily drawn from the Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR database -- via database known as CORI Knowledgebase (K-Base); CORI K-Base is searchable or can be browsed by subject, such as "By-Laws, Incorporation, Rights Agreements, Organizational Governance," "Employment Agreements," "Financial Contracts," "Joint Ventures and Alliances," "Leases and Licenses," and "Mergers and Acquisitions"; one of "ABA TECHSHOW® 60 Sites in 60 Minutes 2004," as was LREP) (main listing under II. NATIONAL EP ORGANIZATIONS > B. Law & Business Schools > 2. Business Schools) (5/8/2004)

Corporate Counsel Center: Business Contracts - FindLaw (includes free access to various sample documents sorted "By Industry" or "By Type [of Document]") (5/8/2004)
e. Other Miscellaneous Legal Forms (5/8/2004)

U.S. Court Forms ("FREE Court Forms For All States" with registration, including free access to Florida probate and guardianship forms) (1/5/2002)

Form Downloads - VC Experts (very good sample business formation and succession forms, some of which are available freely but most of which are available by purchase only) (10/25/2003)

Legal Forms - LexisNexis® Lawcommerce.com (wide variety of sample legal forms, some of which are available freely but most of which are available by $25 purchase only) (5/8/2004)

Legal Documents Library - LawVantage® (wide variety of legal forms available by subscription only and intended only for attorney use as specified under "Limited Right to Use" portion of membership agreement) (5/8/2004)

B. EP and Tax Memoranda (Back to T op of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

1. EP and Tax Memoranda Sites

Advisory Board Analysis - BNA Tax Management (various articles by leading tax authorities on a variety of issues) (10/9/2004) (duplicate listing under V. EP LITERATURE)

Estate Planning Memoranda - Pillsbury Winthrop LLP (San Francisco) (superb, including "Gift-Giving Tips," "Gifts to Minors", "Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax," "Living Trust Alternative to Will," "Personal Residence Grantor Retained Income Trust," and "Estate Planning for Non-Citizens") (most memoranda not updated in some time) (

12/6/2002)

Memos of Interest - Hoffman, Sabban & Watenmaker (Los Angeles) (client and other memoranda)

General Client Memorandum on Estate Planning Techniques - Havens & Miller (Destin, FL) (general overview of estate planning techniques from a potential client's perspective) (4/25/2004)

Client Brochures - James F. Gulecas, P.A. (Clearwater, FL) (includes "Living Trusts," "Disinherit the IRS," "Client's Guide to Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts," "Client's Guide to Gifts and Gift Trusts," "Family Limited Partnerships," "Keep It in Trust," "The Hidden Truths about Estate Tax Repeal," "Lifetime QTIP Trusts," and "Estate Planning for Incapacity") (5/31/2002)

Estate Planning Channel - Adam O. Kirwan (Orlando) (excellent site; memoranda on basics, living trusts, ILITs, FLPs, GST trusts, QPRTs, and CLTs; plus very good "Legal Links") (

12/6/2002)

Updates & Articles - Gassman, Bates & Associates (Clearwater, FL) (memoranda on estate tax law changes (2001), generation-skipping trust explanation, charitable trust payments, trust protectors, and asset protection under "Estate and Estate Tax Planning" and "Asset Protection Planning") (

10/11/2003)

2. Select Sample EP and Tax Memoranda (prepared 1997-1999) (all in Microsoft® Word™ format)

Miami Memorandum #1 - Value of Securities Claim Held by Estate*

Miami Memorandum #2 - Sale of Personal Residence*

Miami Memorandum #3 – Estate & Gift Tax Provisions of 1999 Tax Bills*

Florida Spendthrift Trust Memorandum #1**

Florida Spendthrift Trust Memorandum #2**

Florida Trustee Fiduciary Duties Memorandum**

Florida Trustee Duty of Impartiality Memorandum**

IRS Oral Advice Memorandum**

*Note that these memoranda were written by Jason E. Havens for Federal Tax Research (fall 1999) at the University of Miami School of Law’s Graduate Estate Planning Program. These memoranda merely represent academic exercises and serve as writing samples. Please refer to my disclaimer, which precedes my directory, by selecting the hyperlink at the bottom of any page on this site.

**Note that these memoranda serve as additional writing samples. Nothing in any of these or in my Miami memoranda constitutes legal advice or opinions. Please refer to my disclaimer, which precedes my directory, by selecting the hyperlink at the bottom of any page on this site.

C. Tax & EP Outlines (Back to T op of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

1. Select U. of Tennessee Law Outlines and Projects (prepared 1998-1999) (all in Microsoft® Word™ format)

Bankruptcy

Business Associations (Corporations and Partnerships)

Professional Responsibility

Tax I (Federal Taxation of Individuals) (table of contents)

Estate Planning Seminar: Assignment #1: Florida probate responses to chapter 3 questions from BEYER, ESTATE PLANNING (mainly dealing with Florida Probate Code on wills, trusts, and statutory estate planning issues)

Estate Planning Seminar: Class presentation on self-canceling installment notes (SCINs) and private annuities

Estate Planning Seminar: Hypothetical Drafting Projects: (1) Assignment #2 (basic planning focused on a more "simplistic" estate that potentially includes an "equitable" adoption and recognition of a common law marriage in Georgia): Cover Letter 2, Will 2, and Trust 2; (2) Assignment #3 (basic planning for one spouse focused on a marital estate in excess of $1 million): Cover Letter 3 and Will 3; and (3) Assignment #4 (basic planning for both spouses focused on a marital estate in excess of $1 million and a family business): Cover Letter 4, Will 4A, and Will 4B

2. Select U. of Miami Graduate Law Outlines and Projects (prepared 1999-2000) (all in Microsoft® Word™ format and some from Tennessee Law)

Corporate Tax (table of contents; see also Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro Introduction to Corporate Acquisitions (used for M&A portion of class))

Partnership Tax (summarized choice of entity outline)

Income Taxation of Trusts & Estates (see generally Income Taxation of Trusts - Jay S. Goldenberg (for a much more basic explanation of the subject))

Wealth Transfer (Estate & Gift) Taxation (tables of contents and cases; summary of Code sections and requirements)

Elder Law Project (focused on client incapacity and euthanasia)

Life Insurance Project (focused on incidents of ownership in a closely-held business context)

Notes - Pre- and Post-Mortem Estate Planning (focused on Professor Edward Schlesinger's texts, including academic pointers on revocable trusts, powers of attorney, and marital planning)

Academic Interoffice Memorandum - Hypothetical Drafting (Final) Project for LL.M. in Estate Planning (focused on estate planning for family business owners, non-citizen spouses, and with life insurance); Sample Spousal Engagement Letters for the Hypothetical Drafting Project based on ACTEC Engagement Letters,* my advisor's engagement letter, and an engagement letter produced with Lawgic™**; synopses of revocable trust and pour-over will produced with Lawgic™**

*ACTEC kindly donated the ACTEC Engagement Letters: A Guide for Practitioners (June 1999), which are designed for use with the ACTEC Commentaries on the Model Rules of Professional Conduct (3d ed. 1999), to my LL.M. in Estate Planning Ethics course (spring semester), taught by ACTEC fellow and co-editor Professor Bruce Ross.

**During the preparation of the hypothetical drafting project, all LL.M. in Estate Planning candidates were allowed to use Lawgic™ Florida Wills & Trusts software, produced by Lawgic and co-creator Professor Bruce Stone (Holland & Knight).

3. Links to Law Outline Sites on the Web

FindLaw®: Law Schools: Outlines & Exams (excellent)

ILRG® Law School Course Outlines Archive

'Lectric Law Library® Outlines

D. EP Technology (Back to T op of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

1. General Technology Sites

Pennsylvania Estate and Trust Cybrary - Daniel B. Evans (under STATE-SPECIFIC SITES (under PA)) (Dan Evans (PA) and Joe Hodges, Jr. (CO) both serve the estate planning community as helpful, knowledgeable resources)

LawyerWare® (the place to begin any legal technology search; includes shareware (free software) for lawyers and law firms, as well as categories ("Estate Planning" or "Tax"))

Legal Technology - Canadian Legal Resources (Alan M. Gathan) (includes links to articles, organizations, and vendors) (5/8/2004)

lawMONKEY ("By and For Legal SysAdmins and IT Staff") (11/28/2003)

LegalLinux ("Promoting Linux in the Law Office") (11/28/2003) (

6/9/2004)

eLawCentral.com® (listings of numerous technology vendors, sites, and tools)

Sample Letters to Law Library Vendors - CRIV Tool (American Association of Law Libraries Committee on Relations with Information Vendors) (10/12/2003)
a. EP Presentations

Web-Based Planning Guides - Advanced Impact (estate planning presentations on "Estate Topics": Charitable Remainder Trusts, Family Attribution, Estate Planning, Family Limited Partnerships, GRATs, GRUTs, Irrevocable Trust and Executive Bonus, Irrevocable Trust and Split Dollar, Section 303 [Redemption], Discounts, Wealth Replacement and also "Business Topics": Buy Sell, Private Annuity, Estate Equalization, Gifting the Business, Installment Sales, and more) (6/15/2002) (

3/2/2003)

The Baldwin Primer - Baldwin Management, LLC (estate planning presentations on "Buy/Sell Agreements," the GST tax, "Using GRATs and GRUTs," "Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts," advance directives, "Personal Residence Trusts," "Revocable (Living) Trusts," "Charitable Lead Trusts," "Charitable Remainder Trusts," "Family Partnerships," and more) (7/29/2002)

The Capital Trust Company of Delaware (free news articles, case and ruling updates, and, available freely to professionals who register, sample trust language under "Trust Language" and also slide-show presentations on the following categories under "Trusts": "Philanthropic Estate Planning" (with Adobe Acrobat overviews on charitable trusts and Microsoft Power Point presentations on charitable trusts and "Advantages of a NIMCRUT using a Common Trust Fund as the Investment Vehicle"; "Special Needs Trusts" (with Microsoft Word summaries and Microsoft Power Point presentations); "Asset Protection" (with an Adobe Acrobat summary and a Microsoft Power Point presentation); "Advanced Strategies" (including presentations and explanations on sales to defective trusts, discounting with FLPs, GRATs, and more); and "Trust Transfers" (with a Microsoft Power Point presentation) (1/28/2001) (main listing under IV. SPECIFIC TOPICS > G. Charitable Planning) (

9/8/2002)

Seminars & Resources - Bourland, Wall & Wenzel (Fort Worth, TX) (superb presentations in Adobe Acrobat and Microsoft PowerPoint format, depending on seminar; excellent presentations on charitable planning, business succession planning, family limited partnerships, grantor trusts, and more, e.g., "Charitable Tax Planning Techniques in Business Succession Plans" (10/11/2001), "Creating Private Foundations" (11/1/2001), and "Charitable Tax Planning Techniques in Business Succession and Wealth Migration Plans" (1/17/2002)) (3/21/2004)

Estate Planning Articles - Peterson, Dymond & Reagor (Greenwood Village, CO) (Estate Design Worksheets (questionnaires) and estate planning presentations on use of traditional and more advanced techniques, as well as a Trust Administration Workshop (all downloadable as shareware); more tools are available in the Estate Planning Center, including Christian preambles to wills) (7/5/2002) (

5/22/2005)

Past Seminar Materials - Maddin, Hauser et al. (Southfield, MI) (annual symposia on taxation and on real property)

(5/22/2005)
b. Mobile Computing for Lawyers

lexisONE™ (purchased PalmLaw.com) (includes very helpful LexisNexis Research for Small Firms) (

6/15/2002)

Yahoo® Mobile (phenomenal mobile users (phones to personal data assistants (PDAs)) site from the highest-rated wireless Internet site in numerous reviews) (1/28/2001)

MobilePlanet® - Mobile Planet, Inc. ("the mobile computing experts") (excellent site with very helpful "Comparison Guides" of everything from PDAs to projectors to tablet notebooks to laptops; also includes category on "Wireless & Smartphones") (5/8/2004)

Smartphones - PalmSource™ (PDAs that are integrated with mobile telephones known as "smartphones"; see 4. Favorite Technological Tools and "Toys" below) (5/8/2004)

PDA Buyer's Guide Reviews (5/8/2004)

PDA Street (5/8/2004)

PDAsupport.com ("designed to help you find the best sources of support for your PDA") (5/8/2004)

SmartPhoneToday: Hardware ("smartphones" currently available) (5/8/2004)

Tucows.com (widely known as the best shareware and freeware Internet site) (1/28/2001)

Handango™ (software and other items in "Legal Solutions" under "Business Solutions Center") (1/28/2001)

Travel.com (can even change reservations "on-the-fly") (9/4/2000)

FlightArrivals.com (9/4/2000)
c. Free Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

NetZero®

The List - ISPs (8/26/2000)
d. Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) Editors and Design Help (8/26/2000)

Yahoo® GeoCities (free Web sites and excellent free HTML editors, which I have used for several years) (8/26/2000)

Page Tutor (excellent free HTML tutorials) (8/26/2000)

WDVL®: The Virtual Library of WWW Development (comprehensive free Web development resources) (8/26/2000)

WebHelp.org - Home of Jonny's HTML Headquarters (8/26/2000)

WWW Consortium (8/26/2000)

"What's New in HTML 4.0" (8/26/2000)

Free META Tag Analyzer and Help - Scrub the Web® (8/26/2000)

2. Publications on Estate Planning Technology

Jason E. Havens, Technological Tools for the Estate Planning Professional (

10/25/2004 with imbedded hyperlinks), 24th Annual Southern California Tax & Estate Planning Forum (Workshop #4, #8 & #12) (Oct. 23, 2004) (10/25/2004)

Jason E. Havens & Dennis J. Toman, Esq. (Joseph G. Hodges, Jr., Esq., ed.), Technological Tools for the Estate Planning Professional, 6 J. Prac. Est. Plan. 15 (Feb./March 2004) (published by CCH® and posted with their express permission) (discussion of drafting & calculation software, law practice management software, and Internet sites for estate planning professionals) (5/18/2004)

Joseph G. Hodges, Jr., Esq. & Jason E. Havens, Deftly Drafting Estate Planning Documents, 18 Prob. & Prop. 35 (July/Aug. 2004) (published by ABA RPPT Section and posted with their express permission) (discussion of drafting systems for estate planning attorneys) (10/10/2004)

Corrections and Additions to "Wills, Trusts and Technology: An Estate Lawyer's Guide to Automation" - Daniel B. Evans (superb: lists almost all available tax and estate planning software and other technology items)

Legal Technology Institute - University of Florida College of Law (also superb, but on a more general basis; particularly helpful in selecting law office or "computerized case" management programs) (10/12/2003)

Legal Support Solutions - Vendors - Software - AllLaw (list of various software programs for attorneys, including case/document management programs and document assembly programs) (4/17/2004)

Law Office Computing ("THE Technology Magazine for the Legal Profession") (7/3/2004)

Law Technology News ("THE PROFESSION'S LARGEST TECH PUBLICATION") (7/3/2004)

3. Select EP Technology Vendors
a. Drafting and Related Software Vendors

Lawgic™ ("what-you-see-is-what-you-get" (WYSIWYG) drafting system designed by Holland & Knight attorneys, two of whom are Miami professors)

WealthDoc s™ - WealthCounsel, LLC (another WYSIWYG option in drafting software that includes a wider variety of documents and operates on the HotDocs® document assembly platform) (10/13/2002)

Wealth Transfer Planning (WTP) (comprehensive WYSIWYG drafting system created by prominent estate planning attorney Jonathan Blattmachr and now co-authored by Texas estate planning attorney Michael Graham) (4/25/2004)

Essential Estate Planning Document System (EEPDS) - CCH (WYSIWYG drafting system created by estate planning attorney Thomas Begley, Jr.; also operates on HotDocs® document assembly platform, but bundled with version 5.1 of HotDocs® unlike other drafting systems that do not include HotDocs®) (4/25/2004)

TrustDocs™ - EstateDoc Systems (WYSIWYG drafting system created by estate planning attorney Brian Albee and endorsed by well-known estate planning attorney Steve Oshins; also operates on HotDocs® document assembly platform) (4/25/2004)

ProDoc® (WYSIWYG drafting system created by estate planning attorney Ronald Lipman) (4/25/2004)

TrustPlus® - Cowles Legal System (WYSIWYG drafting system created by estate planning attorney Colleen Cowles) (4/25/2004)

Drafting Wills and Trust Agreements (DWTA) - Thomson/West™ (WYSIWYG drafting system created by estate planning attorney Bob Wilkins and now co-authored by South Carolina estate planning attorney Michael Jordan) (4/25/2004)

ThinkDOCS - DataTech Software, Inc. ("create-your-own" document assembly engine to build drafting system) (4/25/2004)

WinDraft/EpExpert™ ("create-your-own" document assembly engine to build drafting system) (4/25/2004)

Drafting Libraries (DL)™ - Attorneys Computer Network, Inc. (drafting system that offers different "components" to prepare most types of estate planning documents from "Wills" to "Inter Vivos Trusts" to "LLCs" to "Ltd/Gen Partnerships"; special packages for multi-component and multi-state licenses) (4/25/2004)

Home Page - Corel WordPerfect® (excellent, reasonably priced software suite) (

5/22/2005)

WordPerfect Macros and Templates > Library Page - Barry MacDonnell's Toolbox for WordPerfect for Windows ("Macros, tips, and templates for users of WordPerfect for Windows"; recommended several times by TechnoLawyer members)

(5/22/2005)

StarOffice™ - Sun Microsystems® (excellent, free software suite that is compatible with almost any other processing program and offers disclosure of programming (source) code)

Word™ - Microsoft® Office™ (excellent processing program and obviously the one that I used in law school)

Microsoft Word FAQ - Chas Kenyon (links to Microsoft Word Legal Guide (2002 version or 97/2000 version available directly via Microsoft download site), Internet resources for Microsoft Word users, guidance to dealing with templates/headers/footers/macros, and more) (11/28/2003)

GhostFill ("software that creates documents smartly") (11/28/2003)

ActiveWords - ActiveWord Systems, Inc. ("ActiveWords adds words to Windows, providing a personal, portable, context free user interface with immediate response. Your words launch programs, jump to websites, send email, substitute text, search, and more.") (10/10/2004)
b. Actuarial Software Vendors

Tiger Tables® - Lawrence P. Katzenstein (Thompson, Coburn (St. Louis)) (actuarial software designed by an ACTEC fellow and law professor)

Number Cruncher™ - Leimberg & LeClair (under "Estate Planning")

Home Page - Brentmark® Software (very good site: detailed estate planning information; excellent software including Estate Planning QuickView and Estate Planning Tools)

Factors™ Actuarial Calculation Software - Jerome Caufield (Carter, Ledyard & Milburn (New York)) (through PRACTICAL DRAFTING)
c. Fiduciary Accounting Software Vendors

Trust and Estate Accounting Package for Quicken - ACTEC

Zane Software - Fast-Tax® ("Leader in Fiduciary Accounting Software") (

10/11/2003)
d. Law Office Management Software Vendors (see Legal Technology Institute above under "2. Publications on Estate Planning Technology")

PC Law® Time Billing and Accounting (the best management tool that I have used, including client matters, contacts, calendars, telephone calls, e-mail messages, conflict checking, time/billing, and accounting with an optional payroll module; also features a remote computing solution for PDAs such as Palm Pilot (PC Law TE), which does not merely synchronize with Palm or other conduits but is its own stand-alone Palm program with all contacts, calendar entries, and time/billing entries synchronizing within PC Law TE instead of working as an "overlay" with Palm conduits) (

4/17/2004)

Amicus Attorney (a very good graphical interface, but only links with time/billing and accounting software programs) (6/15/2002) (

4/17/2004)

AbacusLaw (similar to PC Law) (4/17/2004)
e. Estate Planning Software Suites and Comprehensive Programs

Kugler Estate Analyzer - Brentmark (10/11/2003)

Viewplan® Advanced Estate Planning Software - CCH® (

10/11/2003)

Intuitive Estate Planner - Thomson/West™ (10/11/2003)
f. Trust Funding Vendors (11/28/2003)

Professional Back Office Solutions, LLC (trust funding assistance) (11/28/2003)
g. Local and Network Search Tools ("File Indexers") (10/10/2004)

Yahoo Desktop Search (free desktop search tool; indexes hundreds of file formats using search tool created by X1 Technologies, Inc. and licensed to Yahoo; probably the best available as of 1/2005 and also a stand-alone program that does not provide information to search engine)

(1/23/2005)

Copernic Desktop Search™

(1/23/2005)

Google Desktop Search (very good, but does not index portable document format (PDF) files as of 1/2005 and also a risk of reporting information to search engine)

(1/23/2005)

MSN Toolbar Suite with Desktop Search

(1/23/2005)

Filehand ("It's like Google for your computer") (10/10/2004)

dtSearch® ("Text Retrieval / Full Text Search Engine") (10/10/2004)

h. Miscellaneous Technology Vendors (10/11/2003)

Dell™ Outlet (excellent deals on Dell™ laptop and desktop computers; searchable by price, memory, and other parameters) (10/12/2003)

Brother (excellent multi-function machines with bundled scanning and optical character recognition (OCR) software) (10/12/2003)

SystemSuite™ (version) 5 - V-COM™ ("... comprehensive collection of essential PC utilities designed to maintain and protect your PC...") (10/10/2004)

CleanMail™ ("The Best Internet-Based Email Spam and Virus Filtering System") (10/10/2004)

eMailman™ (variety of e-mail tools and guidance) (10/10/2004)

FileCourier ("secure file transfers"; "Secure, Supersize Email & FileSharing") (10/10/2004)

FreeConferenceCall.com (10/10/2004)

4. Favorite Technological Tools and "Toys" (4/18/2004)

Treo 600 - PalmOne™ (my favorite tool/"toy" that does everything that my Sony CLIEs could do and more, including operation as an excellent cellular telephone with a very good speakerphone; recommended options include an expandable keyboard and a dual earphone headset with microphone for use as an MP3 player and a hands-free mobile telephone; newer Treo 650 also includes better built-in digital camera, Bluetooth compatibility, and "Begin" and "End" telephone call buttons)

(1/23/2005)

treocentral.com ("Your #1 resource for the Treo Smartphone")

(1/23/2005)

Sony® CLIE™ (Palm™-based PDAs that I have used for several years because (1) Palm-based PDAs require much less battery and processing speed than Microsoft® Pocket PC PDAs and (2) Sony CLIEs come bundled with excellent software, including DataViz® Documents to Go® and PumaTech® Intellisync™ Lite; however, I am seriously considering new Palm™-based PDA mobile telephones known as "smartphones," such as Kyocera 7135 and Handspring Treo™ 600) (4/18/2004)

Sony® compact portable keyboards for CLIE™ (essentially converts the Palm™-based PDA into a functional laptop, which I use to take notes in meetings and at continuing education programs, as well as to schedule meetings) (4/18/2004)

Targus Stowaway™ portable keyboards for Sony® CLIE™ (similar to the compact keyboards above) (4/18/2004)

Sony® ICD-ST10 digital voice recorder (under "portable audio") (a fantastic tool that eliminates the need for cassettes that suffer wear and tear, includes software so that you can send audio files of your dictation to your assistant, and even links with the highly-recommended Dragon NaturallySpeaking™ Preferred version using Dragon's Voice to Text link) (4/18/2004)

DictaNet ("At DictaNet lawyers develop software for lawyers"; recommended by TechnoLawyer members)

(5/22/2005)

Dell™ Outlet (excellent deals on Dell™ laptop and desktop computers; searchable by price, memory, and other parameters) (10/12/2003)

Brother (excellent multi-function machines with bundled scanning and optical character recognition (OCR) software) (10/12/2003)

BOXLIGHT® Projectors (lots of projectors, including pre-owned models, and excellent customer service) (6/5/2004)

5. Miscellaneous Technology Sites

The Refurb Depot (my favorite place to purchase factory-refurbished products on the Internet, although Dell and SonySytle (PDAs) have their own outlet portals) (4/18/2004)

DirectDeals (my favorite place to purchase software, with particularly good deals on Microsoft® applications) (5/2/2004)

SoftwareOutlet.com (another good place to purchase software, especially close-to-latest versions (which incidentally can be useful merely to qualify for upgrade version of latest software programs), with some great deals under Home > Business > Voice Recognition such as IBM ViaVoice version 9.1, Pro Edition for $24.99 as of 5/8/2004, and under Home > Business > Office Suites such as Corel® WordPerfect® Office suite version 11 for $19.99 as of 5/8/2004!) (5/8/2004)

Froogle™ (beta site of Google™ to search for products and compare pricing on the Internet) (10/12/2003)

My Simon (search and compare pricing of various products via the Internet; winner of several awards) (10/12/2003)

Florida Future Lawyer - Richard ("Rick") M. Georges (excellent technology articles and resources written by a legal technology expert)

ABA TechShow

SearchEngineGuide.com (9/4/2000)

The Official U.S. Time - National Institute of Standards and Technology (10/12/2003)

E. Law Practice Management Resources (5/8/2004) (Back to Top of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

1. General Law Practice Management Resources (1/23/2005)

Law Practice Management (LPM) Section - ABA (fantastic resource for law practice management)

(5/8/2004)

Law Office Management Assistance Service (LOMAS) - The Florida Bar (helpful law practice forms and checklists needed to start or maintain a law firm, as well as useful articles) (5/8/2004)

Law Office Hornbook - (collaborative effort of Virginia State Bar, Hawaii State Bar Association, State Bar of Arizona, and New Mexico State Bar; "a resource for lawyers and law firm administrators seeking information and guidance on issues relating to malpractice avoidance, firm management, and lawyers' professional liability insurance"; includes law office software "picks")

(5/8/2004)

Solo Practice Bibliography - National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Reference Desk ("bibliography is an on-going project of the NALP Small & Medium Employers Committee to inform both career advisers and attorneys contemplating solo practice of valuable resources")

(5/8/2004)

2. Profiles for Estate Planning (or "Trust and Estate") Lawyers (1/23/2005)

FindLaw/West Legal Directory™ (WLD) (free new or updated listing on profile update page)

(5/8/2004)

National Directory of Estate Planning, Probate & Elder Law Attorney s - American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (AAEPA) (free searchable directory; free new or updated listing for all estate planning, probate, and elder law attorneys, regardless of AAEPA membership status)

(5/8/2004)

Estate Planning Attorney & Law Firms - EstatePlanningLawFirms.com

(1/23/2005)

Martindale.com Homepage - Martindale-Hubbell® (free searchable directory that includes most United States attorneys; free new or updated "basic" listing on profile update page)

(5/8/2004)

Member Directory - The Florida Bar (5/8/2004)

LawFirm.com - LawFirm.com, LLC (5/8/2004)

Attorney Locate™ - Attorney Locate, Inc. (part of the AllLaw.com™ Network) (5/8/2004)

FloridaFind ("Your Florida Search Engine and Business Directory")

(6/13/2004)

SuperPages.com® - Verizon (free searchable directory that powers most online telephone directories; free "basic" listing on Business Profiles page)

(5/8/2004)

F. Fiduciary Resources (Back to Top of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

1. Trust Companies

U.S. Trust (very helpful trust company (corporate fiduciary) site on estate planning)

Northern Trust Company

2. Fiduciaries in Estate Planning (see also EP Memoranda above)

Personal Representative's Handbook ("pamphlet ... to acquaint persons ... to serve as personal representatives of a decedent's estate ... in Florida"; created by Probate Division of 17th Judicial District of Florida)

(1/23/2005)

After the Death of a Loved One - TIAA/CREF (practical guide for a personal representative ("executor" or "executrix" in other states), a trustee, or even a beneficiary that covers topics including selection of an attorney, will considerations, changing title and ownership, hiring an accountant, estate settlement, and more) (5/8/2004)

Useful Resources - Merrill, Arnone & Jones (Santa Rosa, CA) ("estate planning documents," "selection of fiduciaries," and an "estate planning questionnaire" under "Resources" (after "Articles"))

"Fiduciary Duties and Responsibilities" - Charles F. Robinson (Clearwater, FL) (7/29/2002)

Survivors, Administrators & Executors - IRS (Publication 559) (

12/6/2002)

Dealing with Controversy: A Trustee's Investment Dilemma - Jeffrey A. Zaluda (May 5, 2003) (Advisory Board Analysis - BNA Tax Management) (10/9/2004)

G. Graduate Tax Law and EP Programs (Back to Top of EP PRACTICE TOOLS)

Post-J.D. Programs by School and Category - ABA (official site of approved and provisionally-approved programs under "Post J.D.")

Master of Laws (LL.M.) in Taxation - Gradschools.com® (all graduate law school programs throughout the United States, divided by region, and foreign programs)

LLM-Guide.com: Master of Laws Programs Worldwide (edited by Benjamin Kroymann, EMLE and Johannes Kroymann, LL.M. (Berlin, Germany) (5/8/2004)

Post-Graduate and Dual Degree Programs - Washburn U. Law (all graduate law school programs throughout the United States, listed alphabetically)

U. of Miami Law LL.M. Graduate Estate Planning Program (with a link to the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning)

estate planning forms, sample estate plans, sample estate planning documents, estate planning memorandum, estate planning memoranda, tax outlines, legal outlines, estate planning technology, fiduciary, fiduciaries, trust administration, probate