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WHAT IS PROBATE?

Probate is the name given to the formal legal process by which a court oversees the distribution of property left by a decedent. During a probate, the assets of a decedent are ascertained and distributed. Creditors, taxes and fees are paid in accordance of state laws. Probates can be a time consuming, tedious, complicated and costly area of the law.

The California Probate System V5 for 2005 * combines court forms and case logic to assemble documents ready to file for California probate. The program becomes increasing intelligent through the course of the case and compiles a petition for probate from the information entered. Are you a document producer by trade? The program can handle thousands of different probates by storing them in a database.

SAVE TIME AND HAIR LOSS - USE YOUR PC

Legal Automation provides a computer program to handle the tedious and time consuming elements of a probate. Many people ask if the program is suitable for a layperson. A better question: Is the California probate process suitable for a layperson to do by themselves? Here is what we hear the most - "Your software certainly made this process much easier...". But there is no denying that the probate process is tedious no matter how you approach it. There is a lot more to it than filling out forms. Our program is one of the few tools on the market to handle your inventory, asset tracking, and beginning probate needs, geared solely for the purpose of preparing it for the courts. Our program is in use all over California.

The California Probate System is a full-featured data base program built to run under Windows XP.  It simplifies your preparation and record keeping of probate cases. The program is fully integrated with the Windows operating system. You fax, print, cut, and paste just like most other Windows programs. 

 Major features:

  • common fill-in forms for beginning probate and notices 

  • dynamite inventory database and evaluation

  • handle appraisals

  • distribute assets

  • PetitionGuide® petition maker

  • prepare Probate order for judge

  • prepare Probate Letters of Administration

  • keep a list of courts and addresses

  • common petitions

  • Waiver of Accounting petition

  • multiple font sizes

  • improved user interface

  • Mailing labels to heirs and beneficiaries  (Avery 8160)

  • Creditor time line report

  • track creditors

  • print numerous reports

  • manage cases

  • attachments to forms

  • print client lists

  • editable composite court petitions

  • modify petitions

  • copy a draft petition to a word processor

  • Windows XP ® support

  • updated Judicial Council forms for 2005

  • more secondary forms for 2005!

  • back up your data

  • compact and repair database

You can export your petition, form contents, or reports to any word processor installed on your machine. Likewise you can paste in text from your word processor in sections of the petition. 

The program has a robust database engine and can store thousands of probate cases. Need it on a network so everyone can share and work on the same case? No problem. We have a network version, too. Check the order page for pricing.

 What's new for 2005?

Starting Jan 1, 2005 there is a new beginning probate form set. Our program has all the latest forms including revisions made during 2003 and 2004. There is an improved user interface making it easier to use. Our forms printing quality has been updated giving you great reproductions of standard Judicial forms.

There are many performance enhancements and, as with all software, some problems fixed from prior versions. The help file and sample probate case have been updated for 2005.

We've added a creditor time line feature to help you keep track of the time creditors have to submit bills before they forfeit. We also added a backup feature for the database as well as a repair and compact feature to streamline large files. All in all this is our best version yet!

 DO THE INVENTORY AND APPRAISAL IN ONE STEP

If you are an attorney and have done a probate inventory and an appraisement you probably delegated it to your assistant as soon as you could. It is tedious and time consuming.

But now there is help! Each inventory item is stored in our database. Not just its description and value, but each item's character, and who evaluates it (referee or you). When you have entered everything and are ready to file the appraisement, just click a few buttons and not only is the appraisement created ready-to-file, but also the attachments 1 (items the representative evaluates) and 2 (items the referee evaluates).

WHAT FORMS DO I NEED FOR A PROBATE?

California has an organization called the Judicial Council. They design the forms required for filing court papers, among other duties, and distribute them through publishers such as us. Many of these forms are included in our probate program as automated forms. All other forms you might need are all on our CD-ROM in Adobe PDF format.

PROGRAM-GENERATED FORMS

These Judicial Council Forms and related forms are automatically generated from data entered from the California Probate System and are designed to be filed in your Probate Court:

* The Petition to Administer the Estate DE-111
* Common Petition attachments: waiver of bond, nomination of administrator etc. DE-111
* Statutory heir list: Attachment 9 to the Petition to Administer the Estate (heirs) DE-111
* Notice of Petition to Administer the Estate. DE-121
* Proof of Service by Mail using Attachment 9 list DE-121
* Service list as attachment or embedded in Proof of Service
* Inventory and Appraisement DE-160/GC-040
* Appraisement Attachments 1 and 2 DE-160/GC-040
* Order for Probate from the judge DE-140
* Letters to the representative   DE-150
* Proof of Subscribing Witness DE-131
* Waiver of Accounting A petition
 * Duties and Responsibilities of the Representative (2 pages) DE-147
 * Duties and Responsibilities of the Representative Supplemental DE-147
* Notice of Administration to Creditors DE-157
* Proof of Service to Creditors DE-157
* Declaration of the Referee  DE-160  

PROGRAM-GENERATED FINAL PETITION YOU CAN MODIFY

Legal Automation offers a new kind of case tool - the PetitionGuide ®. This unique screen lets you compile a lengthy petition from point and click choices of phrases and options. All you do is click a 'Compile' button for each paragraph section of the petition.

For example, you need a paragraph that specifies the fees charged for the probate. You click the button 'FEES' on the PetitionGuide ® screen. Click the 'Compile' button and that's it.

Another example: You need to list the heirs and the distribution of the assets. Click the 'DISTRIBUTION' button and choose from the list of heirs from the pick list (entered from another form). Choose each bequest from a pick list of the inventory. Now pick a share portion from another pick list. Just click your way through it!

The Petition for Final Distribution is generated from data already entered, after you select your options such as waiver of fees, tax handling, and specifying distribution of assets. PetitionGuide ® is a unique portion of the program that collects the probate information and compiles different sections of the petition. You compile a section of the petition by choosing options from the screen and clicking a Compile button. The language for the section is inserted along with whatever data is needed for each section.

The composite Petition for Final Distribution with PetitionGuide ® includes:

1. Independent Administration Act options
2. Tax elections
3. Health services rendered section
4. Inventory by automatic calculation
6. Distribution of assets
7. Free-form conclusion section
8. Notice section with automatic listing of heirs and creditors
9. Creditors automatically listed from a data entry screen
10. Captions section

You can copy, or export the Petition into your word processor with an rtf document (MS Word rich text format). You could also copy your favorite phrases from one probate case to another if you are doing a number of similar probates.

GIVE UP THE PAPER MOUND AND STOP WORRYING WHERE THINGS ARE

No need to sift through mountains of paper and documents. Enter the information once into the program and it is immediately available to all areas within the program. Type in the court address once or pick from a court list and it appears on each form automatically. Have a will to probate? Set the option on the first opening petition and your options are automatically selected on subsequent forms.

Inventory tracking: Track Inventory by type, amount, character, who evaluates, interest and dividend information. Learn the tricks of what assets you really need to probate by identifying inventory only partially owned, such as community property items.

Creditor claim tracking: Keep of list of creditors and their status

Keep complete case information and notes: Keep information on the opposing attorney, the date of decedent's death, the venue, court location, phone numbers and much more.

Keep a database of court names and addresses: Keep complete mailing and street address information for an unlimited number of courts.

Use these Windows features: Edit data with a tool set, including cut, paste, undo, save changes, choose from 3 font sizes for a form field with a double-click of the pointing device and use intelligent check box choices on forms. You can use any ink jet or laser printer.

LOTS OF REPORTS ARE A CLICK AWAY

Dozens of reports are available from the California Probate System. A summary is listed below: 1. Base case information for the current probate.
2. List of probate cases
3. Inventory by property character
4. Inventory by type
5. Inventory by whom evaluates
6. Inventory by probated items or not.
7. Tax selections
8. Independent Administrator of Estates selections
9. Distributions
10. Fees
11. Creditor time lime

CLIENT DATABASE CASE MANAGEMENT

Keep a full on-line record of the decedent, the petitioner, opposing counsel, date of death, venue, and contact information such as email, FAX, phone numbers, addresses, and many other pieces about each case in the clients information screen. Record the court location; record the will date; keep special notes.

* Software is time-dated for the Form set in effect for 2005. Form set may or may not be valid if changed during 2006 by the Judicial Council. In general, a probate uses the same forms set during the life of an entire probate. Therefore the program is usable from start to finish of a probate filed in 2005 and 2006 unless the forms are changed by the Council. Each generation of our program uses a particular form set and is not upgradeable from version to version.

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