[Return to top]

Our New York Landlord - Tenant Volume Debuts
This update marks the debut of our new Landlord and Tenant volume for New York. We rushed this new product through due to heavy demand from Westlaw Forms subscribers. We designed this 88 form volume to provide all of the documents you need to handle an eviction. Additionally, we added property management forms, including leases and subleases and common correspondence, enabling you to assist the client landlord or tenant during the management of a tenancy.

Finally, we added it to the Office Practice Library at no additional cost.

Learn more about our new Landlord - Tenant volume >>

[Return to top]

WESTLAW Forms Now Contain Links to Westlaw
With this update we debut a new feature in our automated forms - links to Westlaw for statutory cites. When you choose a document in Step 2 of the assembly process, you can click the Form Info button for a synopsis of the form. You will now find that clicking the Form Info button also reveals Westlaw links for many of the forms. You will also often find Westlaw links when you click the Explain button on various questions during an assembly session.

If you have a Westlaw account, there is no additional charge to take advantage of this feature. You can pay for each use by credit card if you do not have a Westlaw account.

And, because of this enhancement, you will notice that we are rebranding West Forms to Westlaw Forms.

[Return to top]

June Update
This shipment contains updates to every existing volume. We also added Westlaw links to a substantial number of forms in all of the volumes. You can now quickly view cites and commentary in Westlaw as you assemble documents and encounter questions you wish to research further.

• Attorney-Client Matters - We added linking into Westlaw.
• Family Law – We removed the Child Support Opting Out Agreement (OCA), form 2-135, as it is no longer a valid official form. We also added linking into Westlaw to many forms in this volume.
• Probate –We revised the coding on the Petition for Probate and Letters (OCA P-1), form 2-110, to avoid having same persons’ names appearing in paragraph 6 and 7. This change is pursuant to customer requests—thank you! We also added linking into Westlaw to many forms in this volume.
• Real Estate – We revised the Real Property Transfer Tax Return Supplemental Schedules (Form TP-584.1) (in form 11-105) to match changed agency form. We also revised the three HUD-1’s: HUD-1 Settlement Statement, 6-100; HUD-1 (Borrower Information Only), 6-105; and HUD-1 (Seller Information Only), 6-110, again, to add back the signature of the settlement agent—in response to customer requests. Finally, we added linking into Westlaw to many forms in this volume.
• Wills – We added five new forms; four letters to client and one letter to a trustee; to further assist you in your day to day practice. Additionally, we revised text and coding in the identification paragraph of the wills and pourover wills to improve the language referring to children. Finally, we added linking into Westlaw to many forms in this volume.
• Lipman's Wills & Trusts - The changes we made in this volume include:
  1. Modified and improved the tax clauses found in most wills and revocable trusts so you now have the option to include several different types of tax clauses.
  2. Modified a section found in 51 wills, revocable trusts, and irrevocable trusts to include language allowing the trustee to make an election to treat a trust which will own S stock either as a qualified subchapter S trust or as an electing small business trust.
  3. Modified the relevant language in the wills and revocable trusts to remove this limitation regarding pet trusts. New York recently amended subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 7-8.1 of the estates, powers and trusts law so that honorary trusts for pets do not need to terminate within 21 years of being created.

• Support for Corel WordPerfect® X5 - We updated Westlaw Forms and SOS to support this word processor version.

Read more about this update >>

[Return to top]

This update includes a one-time-only database enhancement. As a result, the installation process has special requirements and will take longer. Please read this and the next article carefully before initiating the installation from the CD.

The database enhancement in this update has minimum system requirements that include the most current Microsoft Windows Service Pack for your operating system. If that is not installed on your computer/server, you will not be able to complete the installation of the update.

However, you should have the most current Service Pack installed for your peace of mind. Microsoft Service Packs contain bug fixes and even more importantly, they contain patches to known vulnerabilities in the Operating System. You should have automatic updating turned on but, if not, here is your opportunity to get current.

Here is how to check how current you are with your operating system: On your desktop click Start > click My Computer > click System. On the System window, look for the Service Pack information. If the most current Service Pack version does not display as shown below, be sure to download and install the most current Service Pack before installing the May update.

¹Unlike service packs for other Microsoft Operating Systems, SP2 for Vista is not a standalone service pack. It requires SP1 to be installed. If neither service pack is installed on your Vista Operating System, first install the Windows Vista SP1 and then the Windows Vista SP2.

[Return to top]

If you did not install your May update you need to install your June update. The reason is that that the installation process performs a one-time update to the underlying Westlaw Forms database. If you installed the May update you can ignore the following since your update will proceed in the normal fashion.

But, if you did not install the May update, please read the following before proceeding with your installation of the June update:

Time Your Installation for the Last Task of the Day
This time only, you will need to reboot/restart your computer during the installation process. So, and particularly if your installation is on a network server, we strongly advise that you wait to run the installation until everyone else is off the network.

Lengthier Installation
This installation will take longer than a typical Westlaw Forms update. This is a one-time occurrence and we ask that you be patient with this process.

Your Computer Server Will Restart - Leave the CD in the Computer
The installation process will continue after the restart so do not remove the CD until you click the Finish button.

Installation Messages
You may encounter system messages during your installation process. Most commonly they are triggered because you have not installed all the Microsoft Windows service packs or you do not have administrative rights on the computer.

If you encounter any messages, please go to www.prodoc.com/install-2010/ to view our list of potential system messages you may encounter, what they mean, what to do about them, and who to call if you encounter problems with the installation.

Potential Issue After You Open Westlaw Forms
The registration code you entered when you installed Westlaw Forms governs how many users in your firm can simultaneous access Westlaw Forms. If your firm received a network license and individual computer licenses (to install Westlaw Forms on a laptop, for instance), it is possible that the registration codes were misapplied during the original installation. For example, if your firm registered a network server with an individual computer license (if your firm requested any), after this installation only one person will be able to access Westlaw Forms at a time. If this issue should arise, call our Tech Support team at 800-759-5418, option 3.

[Return to top]

Q: Is there a projected release date for Small Office Suite interface to any smart phone other than Palm OS? How about for Outlook?
A: Around mid-2011 we expect to release an enhancement to SOS that enables it to sync with Microsoft Outlook®. With this enhancement, any device that can sync with Outlook will be able to sync indirectly with SOS using Outlook as the intermediary.

Q: After "completing" a document I sometimes have to go back to Westlaw Forms to correct or change an answer to one or more questions.  It would be handy if after making that change, I could just go directly to the end of the document without having to go through each of the subsequent questions that need no changes.
A: It sounds as if the issue is that you want to change an answer or two without going through and entire document assembly session again. Assuming that is the case, you find the information about the easy way to change case answers and reassemble the document here.

Q: Is the update going to run faster?  The present version is very slow to load.
A: The updates we have been shipping since April (depending on the jurisdiction) have contained the database upgrade and those installations have been quite slow. Once you have completed the upgrade, the subsequent updates will run as they have in the past. Incidentally, we intend to do away with the CD updates completely later this year so all updates will be handled automatically in the background using our WebUpdate feature. Watch for more info about this.

Q: Can I download Westlaw Forms to an external hard drive and just run the program from there or does it have to be installed onto a specific computer? I only ask because I would like to save space on the drive of my laptop so it will run better. Plus, if my laptop crashes - which it did recently, I would have the files already on the hard drive. 
A: Yes, you can install Westlaw Forms on an external hard drive and run it from there. We suggest that you call our Tech Support team at 800-759-5418 for free assistance. They will make sure that the short cut you click on your laptop will open Westlaw Forms on the external drive. And, our tech rep will also help you move your client and case files to the external drive. Understand that under this setup, you will only be able to access Westlaw Forms when you are physically able to connect to the external drive.

[Return to top]

However, as bad as it is to temporarily lose data due to a computer hard-drive failure, it is not the worst calamity that could happen to you. A fire in your building, a major flood, robbery, etc. could completely eliminate all of your precious client and case data forever. Leaving your back up data on site virtually invites such a disaster as some attorneys have found out the hard way.

So, our recommendation is that you follow the instructions we provide below to back up your Westlaw Forms and SOS data and then back up these and other important files off-site.

Learn how to properly back up your Westlaw Forms files >>

[Return to top]

Read "Digital Workflow: Developing the Paperless Habit" >>

[Return to top]

Read about JMDictate for iPhone® >>
Read about AudioWav MobileMic for Blackberry® >>

[Return to top]

Learn more about Square >>

[Return to top]

You can scan to Acrobat, iPhoto, Picasa, or right to the desktop with ease. And Doxie scans your documents, business cards, receipts, and photos intuitively – so you can ditch the paper stack and get everything organized. Doxie scans all of your documents, and then makes it easy to store and share.

Learn more about Doxie >>

[Return to top]

[Return to top]