Heckerling Institute Report
Report #1 - Software and Vendors
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The following is Report #1 from our on-site
reporters regarding some of the highlights from the events and presentations that are
taking place at the 34th Annual Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning that is
being held January 10-14, 2000 at the Fontainebleau Hilton in Miami Beach, Florida.
First, Institute Director, Tina Portuondo reports that the Institute did not suffer any
Y2K glitches either, although they did schedule it a week later than usual this year just
to be safe given that so many of the participants were going to be flying into Miami to
attend the Institute.
This Report covers the Software and some of the other Vendors who are exhibiting at the
Institute.
The software vendor list this year includes (in alpha order):
Advanced Logic Systems, Inc. [DAE for W&T and Probate]
BNA Software/Tax Management [ETP, ITP, etc.]
Brentmark Software Inc. [CFP, RIA, etc.]
CCH Inc. [ViewPlan's Vista, etc.]
Crescendo Planned Gifts Software [Pro and Lite]
Eidelman Associates [DAE for W&T]
Evaluation Services Inc.[On-line Valuations]
EVP Systems Inc. [On-line Valuations]
Financial Data Services Inc. [On-line Valuations]
InsMark Inc. [EP Systems]
The Lackner Group Inc. [6-in1 FAS]
Lawgic Publishing Company [CA and FL W&T Systems]
Lexite Development [ZCalc]
Matthew Bender/Lexis Publishing [HotDocs, etc.]
Ocaso Software
PenD'Calc Corporation [Retirement, IRA]
ProBATE Software [FAS, EP]
ProDoc, Inc. [EP, EA, W&T]
RIA Group [WTP, EP, etc.]
Schumacher Publishing [RLTs and Web Sites]
SunGard Trust Systems [W&T]
The Technology Group [Wealth Transfer Planning]
U.S. Trust Company of New York [EPlan, etc.]
West Group [IEP, DWTA, etc.]
Zane & Associates Inc. [FAS]
The initial rumors afloat along vendor row and elsewhere included the following:
(1) 32bit and Windows 95/98 are really in this year.
(2) All DOS versions are already dead or are soon to die.
(3) From IRA and The Technology Group: Effective as of 1/1/00, The Technology
Group reacquired full responsibility for the further developing, supporting and sales of
Jonathan Blattmachr's Wealth Transfer Planning (WTP) software W&T DAE system.
Update Disk 2.2A was released in late December of 1999, and you can take a "sneak
peak" at Version 2.3 at the Institute. According to their 12/22/99 letter to
all their subscribers, The Technology Group has "very ambitious plans for WTP,"
which include (a) improved customer and product support, (b) an on-line version of their
word processing program, SmartWords, that will launch on 1/10/00 [will they ever abandon
SmartWords and go with Word and WordPerfect like everyone else?], (c) continued support
for RIA's On Point and Estate Planning Systems through the RIA Group, and (d) opening of a
new Web site for support of WTP. For further information, contact http://www.RIAhome.com
<http://www.riahome.com/> or TTG c/o Pres. Kenneth
Frank at klc@tgrp.com [TTG hasn't seen fit yet to tell us what the URL is for their new
Web site].
(4) From Financial Data Service, Inc.: Your Wallace Pricing EZ Link Online
System "MUST" be updated effective 1/1/00 in order for your online
communications to work properly [could this be due to a Y2K glitch? - they didn't say].
This can be done by going to their Web site at <http://www.financialdata.com/> and downloading and installing the file "UPDATED FDSCD," or by
calling them at (800) 762-5468 and asking VP Garth Phillips to send you a diskette, or
e-mailing them at financialdata@financialdata.com.
(5) InterActive Professional Software, the makers of FastDraft and the new Bank One's One Source for Wills
and Trusts DAE system, reported on 12/20/99 that some of their early Bank One CD's
were expiring sooner than they should be [they didn't say if the problem date was 1/1/00].
To correct this problem, the have issued new CD's, but users of this new DAE system
are cautioned to keep their old CD jewel case because it has the required passwords for
the individual state-specific systems that can be purchased separately pasted on the back.
For further information, contact IAPS at http://www.fastdraft.com.
Sadly, neither FastDraft not the Bank One's One Source
system are being exhibited at Heckerling this year, but attorney Doug Duncan of Atlanta,
who first developed FastDraft many years ago, is a speaker at the Institute this year on
MDP Ethics.
(6) ProBATE Software reports (12/99) that they have issued a new consolidated
User's Guide for all their fine products, including their FAS suite, and a holder for the
program CD is included too. In addition, they have recently moved to 1175 58th
Avenue, Suite 200, Greeley, CO 80634, (800) 288-9169 [no Web site, yet].
(7) EVP (Estate Valuations & Pricing Systems, Inc. reports (EVP News 12/99 Vol.
1, No. 2] that they have had an exclusive contract with the IRS for 2 years now to supply
Form 706 valuations to all ten of the IRS Regional Service Centers (their current contract
is for 5 years). In addition, in 1999 they created two send-only mailing lists in
anticipation of any Y2K problems [they had none of which we are aware], those being
"alter-list@evpsys.com" and "software-list@evpsys.com" They also
are about to release "CostBasis 2000" to replace their now-defunct DOS version
of the same program, and "EVP Office," which is a site of historical securities
pricing applications. And did you know that their "EstateVal 2000" software is
currently the only valuation software that can retrieve prices over the Internet?
You can subscribe to either or both of these lists and obtain more information about their
software or download the latest Version 6.1.0 of "EstateVal" by going to their
Web site at <http://www.evpsys.com/>.
In addition [and this is GREAT NEWS for all us estate administrators], EVP
reports in this Newsletter that there is a new [we assume free] source for obtaining
CUSIPs available at the Johnson Graduate School of Management Web site at Cornell
University at URL <http://research.gsm.cornell.edu/research/search.html>.
We haven't checked this one out yet, but this is very good news if it is true.
(8) Corel Corporation had just released the Legal Edition of their new
Office Suite 2000. For more information, visit <http://www.corel.com/>.
(9) The ABA Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section has a newly redesigned Web
site. You can visit it at <http://www.abanet.org/rppt>. While you are there, you can (from there) subscribe to their
popular 1,300 subscriber ABA-PTL discussion list or view and search the List's
Web-based archive at
<http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/aba-ptl.html>.
(10) From Lawgic of Novato, California, they have just released a Florida Wills
& Trust System as a companion to their popular California Wills &
Trusts System, which is authored by Michael Whalen and Edmond Davis, California
partners with the law firm of Brobeck, Philger & Harrison, LLP. The Florida
system is authored by John Arthur Jones, Edward Koren, Richard Stockton and Bruce Stone,
all of whom are Florida partners with the law firm of Holland and Knight, LLP. This
is the newest kid on the block when it comes to document assembly for wills and trusts,
and this product holds out a lot of promise for becoming a leading product in this area in
the not too distant future, especially for practitioners in the eastern United States
where Holland and Knight currently maintains several offices. This is partly because
the end result documents in their system end up in familiar and easy-to-use Word or
WordPerfect format (your choice), albeit currently only in RTF format [they are working on
that one].
And last, but certainly not least (only because their names starts with a
"Z".........
(11) From Zane & Associates: First, they will provide 1 free full working
copy of their 709 software, for this coming tax season, to every firm that visits their
booth at the Heckerling conference. This is being done to enable lawyers and their law
firms to see and use their new 32-bit windows software first-hand. Second, they are
announcing new lower prices for their software based on "Seats." This lower
pricing scheme will allow small firms to have access to and use the same software that
previously was limited to larger firms and law practices. For examples: their Form 709
software will be reduced to $295, and their Form 706 and Form 1041 software will be
reduced to $495.
[Ed Note - This is similar to the pricing structure revolution that VersusLaw
started over year ago when they dropped their costly annual fee approach and went to a
$6.95 per lawyer per month pricing scheme for their Internet-based searchable federal and
state caselaw database. Zane and Associates is to be commended for trying to
positively address the overhead costs of solos and small firms, who constitute a majority
of the membership in the ABA and the RPPT Section.]
Lastly, in view of the growing interest in Dynasty Trusts in Alaska, Delaware and South
Dakota (and now in Illinois and Nevada and elsewhere), some of the usual Banking
representatives are there, including the following:
Alaska Trust Company - AK (pick up one of their free AT CD's)
National Bank of Alaska - AK
First PREMIER Bank - SD
Norwest Bank South Dakota N.A. - SD
UMB Trust Company of South Dakota - SD
Wilmington Trust Company - DE
If we have left anyone out, or overlooked any news that is fit to print, it certainly was
not intentional, and we will try to cover that in future Reports as time permits.
_________________________________
NOTICE: Although audio tapes of all of the substantive session at the Miami
Institute currently are only made available to Institute registrants for
purchase, the entire proceeding of the Institute are published annually by
Matthew Bender. The text of these proceedings is also available on CD ROM
from Authority by Matthew Bender. For further information, contact your
Matthew Bender sales representative, or call (800) 533-1637, or fax (800)
828-8341, or go to URL <http://www.bender.com/>, or write to Matthew Bender &
Co., Inc., Attn: Fulfillment Dept., 1275 Broadway, Albany, NY 12204.
__________________________
Brought to you courtesy of The Moderators, ABA-PTL List
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