FAQ
- How can AvidLaw Probate improve my Arizona informal probate practice?
Whether you purchase on a per matter basis or purchase an annual license, AvidLaw Probate pays for itself! Attorneys like you are reporting savings of 4 or more billable hours on each informal probate matter! With AvidLaw Probate you’ll save time and earn hundreds, even thousands, more each year. This happens because AvidLaw Probate allows you to provide the same services in less time through fast, accurate document drafting, easy reference to applicable statutes, and great probate checklists.
Since 2006, attorneys like you have been able to draft all the documents for an initial client meeting (those for the initial informal probate filing together with those to be sent out shortly thereafter) in under 15 minutes! You’ll also draft other Arizona informal probate documents just as quickly. While entering the information, you have easy access to the applicable statutes and can just click to find them online. You’ll provide your clients with great service while saving hours that would have been spent drafting, editing, and doing basic research.
Click here to watch our one minute video to find out 10 ways AvidLaw Probate can save you time, increase your profits and keep you informed and up to date on Arizona probate law.
I’m new to Arizona probate.
AvidLaw Probate is a wonderful educational tool for newer Arizona probate attorneys and paralegals. AvidLaw Probate helps you quickly learn probate and draft quality probate pleadings, saving you time and helping you increase your profits. AvidLaw Probate provides you with blank questionnaires for gathering the relevant information and customized checklists for handling each aspect of each matter. It also asks about relevant issues that may apply and then uses answers to these questions to determine whether additional information may be needed. Each probate document contains “hidden text” that sets forth the statutory basis for each provision, which you can review on your computer screen. Whether you are a new attorney or want to expand your practice to include Arizona probate, AvidLaw Probate helps you build your probate practice faster.
I only do a few probates each year.
AvidLaw Probate is great for practitioners who only do a few informal probates each year. AvidLaw Probate allows you to purchase on a per matter basis making it more affordable than an annual license while still providing you the same great benefits. Also, it makes your probate practice more efficient and organized, saving you time and increasing your profits. It also lets you instantly start with a new client even after months without doing a probate. You don’t waste time reviewing other stale files trying to remember just what documents may be needed in this case. Although you may not deal with informal probate day in and day out, AvidLaw Probate will consistently draft high quality documents and help you understand the provisions in each document with less delay and wasted time than you would otherwise be able to do. With AvidLaw Probate your practice is much more profitable and efficient.
I have a volume Arizona probate practice.
If you are constantly processing multiple informal probates each year you’ll find that AvidLaw Probate is a great efficiency tool, saving you time and increasing your profits. It lets you handle all documents for each matter much more quickly than you ever have before, with great confidence and high quality. You don’t need to worry about becoming confused as to the facts of each matter, because the facts entered earlier can be brought up on the computer screen in seconds and automatically apply to all subsequent documents. Each document for each informal probate matter can be drafted quickly and accurately based on the specific applicable facts. With AvidLaw Probate you can now focus on unique client needs rather than on routine document preparation.
- What does AvidLaw Probate cost?
- How can I measure the benefits of using AvidLaw Probate?
AvidLaw Probate helps you provide great probate services to your clients in fewer billable hours. By applying those extra hours to other matters, you can earn hundreds, or sometimes thousands more each year, as follows:
I only do a few probates each year. / I’m new to probate.
If you normally bill at $220 per hour, and only handle one probate each year, charging, say, $2,500 plus costs for the probate, you’ll likely handle the matter in 4 fewer hours with AvidLaw Probate, while still providing the same value to your client. By charging the same fees for the same probate services and applying the 4 extra hours to other matters, you’ll earn $760 more each year ($880 in additional billables less $120 for one AvidLaw Probate matter license). With 2 probates each year, saving 4 hours on each, you’ll earn $1,520 more each year ($1,760 in additional billables less $240 for two AvidLaw Probate matter licenses). Other benefits you’ll receive include the peace of mind that comes from using tried and proven probate forms with comprehensive checklists and helpful annotations and statutory references.
I have a volume Arizona probate practice.
If you bill at $220 per hour and have a paralegal who bills at $95 per hour, and handle 6 probates each year. You may gain about .75 attorney hours and 1.5 paralegal hours per matter. By charging the same fees for the same probate services and applying the extra hours to other matters, you’ll earn $1,195 more each year ($1,845 in additional billable time less $650 for one annual AvidLaw Probate license). If you handle 12 probates per year using the same figures, you’ll earn $3,040 more each year ($3,690 in additional billable time less $650 for one annual AvidLaw Probate license). Of course, all the other benefits of AvidLaw Probate still apply.
- What if I already have HotDocs?
AvidLaw Probate is distributed with and runs on HotDocs Player, which is compatible with all versions of HotDocs that may be running on the same computer.
- Can I edit the AvidLaw Probate question screens or document templates?
We couldn’t maintain the integrity of AvidLaw Probate if we let subscribers tinker with its internal workings. On the other hand, each individual document drafted by AvidLaw Probate can (and sometimes should) be edited after it has been assembled. In addition, we welcome your suggestions for changes to question screens and document provisions. We will either use your suggestions to improve the product for all subscribers or at least explain the rationale behind our current design. AvidLaw Probate has already incorporated hundreds of changes resulting from suggestions from Arizona probate practitioners. The very first matter you handle using AvidLaw Probate takes advantage of all these changes that have come in over the years. And each year, the cumulative effect of suggestions from our subscribers grows even more.
Our experience is that even skeptical practitioners are quickly satisfied not only with the amazing productivity offered by AvidLaw Probate, but also with the high standards of quality and professionalism embedded in the provisions of its forms and the logic that drives them.
- What Arizona probate documents does AvidLaw Probate help me draft?
AvidLaw Probate is designed to draft all pleadings and related documents normally drafted by counsel for the personal representative in an Arizona informal probate. For a complete list of all documents included with AvidLaw Probate, please click here. AvidLaw Probate forms contain provisions for these documents that apply in many common situations. However, as you should expect, you, the practicing attorney will sometimes need to edit the initial AvidLaw Probate draft before it is appropriate for the unique needs of your client. You remain responsible for the legal documents you draft for your clients using this efficient productivity tool.
Our goal is to continuously improve AvidLaw Probate based on the needs of our subscribers. We hope that as you encounter situations that require custom drafting, you will bring them to our attention so we can continue to improve AvidLaw Probate for you and others.
- How often is AvidLaw Probate updated?
We normally provide an update about every calendar quarter (every 3 months). Each update comes with a description of new and improved features. Over time, AvidLaw Probate will become even more valuable to your practice through this process of continuous improvement.
- How does AvidLaw Probate track dates and deadlines?
One of the first items on the AvidLaw Probate menu is a document called “Dates and Deadlines,” which can be printed or reviewed on the screen. This document outlines significant statutory dates and deadlines based on information entered about the matter. You may want to transfer some deadlines to your firm’s docketing system. Please click here to view the Sample Dates and Deadlines document.
- Can you show me what an AvidLaw Probate session looks like?
Yes. Watch our tutorial Initiate Probate and Appoint Personal Representative to see how AvidLaw Probate works. Or if you want call us at (480) 361-1324 for a free hands-on demo. Also, if you would like to see a set of still “photos” of AvidLaw Probate screens to get a general feel of the product, please click here.
- What word processors work with AvidLaw Probate?
AvidLaw Probate works with most versions of Microsoft Word. Supported versions of Microsoft Word include 2000, 2003, 2007 and 2010. AvidLaw Probate does NOT work with Corel WordPerfect or other non-standard word processors.
- What are the system requirements for AvidLaw Probate?
AvidLaw Probate works on most Windows-based computers. Here are the specifics:- IBM-compatible PC
- 900 MHz processor (2GHz recommmended)
- 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)
- 50 MB hard disk storage
- 1024 x 768 screen resolution with at least 16-bit color
- Microsoft Windows XP (SP1) or higher,Vista, or Windows 7
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 or later
- How can I start using AvidLaw Probate in my practice?
Click here to download the software. Then call us at 480-361-1324 to purchase a license.
- Still have questions?
Please send us your question via email by visiting the contact page or call us at 480-361-1324. We look forward to hearing from you.