Heckerling
Institute 2003
Reports from the event, as posted to the ABA-PTL List Serve |
FINAL Report
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to 2003 Table of Contents
This is the final report on the 2003 Heckerling Institute on Estate
Planning. It contains several reports from Jason Havens.
Also, I received the following from Joe Hodges:
The Moderators of the ABA-PTL List wish to thank the following
people for
providing all of this year's reports:
Glen A.Yale Esq. Oppenheimer, Blend, Harrison & Tate, Inc.
San Antonio, TX
<gyale@obht.com>
Jason E. Havens Esq. Hall & Runnels, P.A. Destin, FL <jehavens@hrhlawfirm.com>
Eugene E. Zuspann Jr. Esq. Zuspann & Zuspann Denver, CO and
Goodland, KS
<ezuspann@zuspann.com>
John A. Warnick, Holme, Roberts and Owen LLP, Denver, CO
As we have done in January for the last six years, and again with
the
permission of the University of Miami School of Law Center for Continuing
Legal Education, we will be posting to this list throughout the
coming week
highlights of the proceedings of the 37th Annual Philip E. Heckerling
Institute on Estate Planning that is being held January 6-10, 2003
at the
Fontainebleau Hilton Resort and Towers in Miami Beach, Florida.
We also will be posting the full text of this year's Reports on
the ABA
RPPT Section's Web site, as we have since the 2000 Institute. Those
Reports can be found at URL
http://www.abanet.org/rppt/meetings_cle/heckerling/home.html. In
addition,
each Report can also be accessed at any time from the ABA-PTL Discussion
List's Web-based Archive at URL http://mail.abanet.org/archives/aba-ptl.html.
A complete listing of the proceedings and speakers is available
on the
Institute's Web site.
The URL for that site is http://www.law.miami.edu/heckerling.
===================================================
FINAL REPORT
The following report has been filed concerning the software vendors
who are
in the Exhibit Hall this year and other technology news by our on-site
Reporter, Jason Havens, Esq. of Destin, Florida, the creator of
the Legal
Research for Estate Planners Web site (http://www.jasonhavens.net).
This
report continues the coverage of software and some other vendors
who are
exhibiting at the Institute. Although our reports do not include
direct
hyperlinks, we would recommend that users search for a particular
vendor
using a search engine such as Google (http://www.google.com).
Following are the highlights from the "third round" among
the software and
other vendors. These highlights are generally classified in categories
that
will hopefully prove helpful to list members. This final "round"
concludes
these reports for the 2003 Institute.
A. CALCULATION SOFTWARE:
(N/A for 2003 software report #3)
B. DRAFTING SOFTWARE:
1. Lawgic (continued): Lawgic is apparently offering a discounted
renewal
license to its users. Lawgic has also reestablished its customer
service
efforts. For basic users, a "Getting Started Guide" is
available within the
2001 updated program and also via Lawgic's website. A "How
To" question is
also available at the beginning of the program on question number
one
("Select An Activity"). Lawgic was featured during the
Institute's Special
Session on technology.
2. Datatech Software, Inc. (continued): ThinkDOCS (drafting) was
also
featured during the Institute's Special Session on technology.
3. LawontheWeb.com/Wealth Transfer Planning: I spoke with Jonathan
Blattmachr, Esq., the author of LawontheWeb.com/Wealth Transfer
Planning,
which was historically an excellent drafting system and was mentioned
in the
Special Session's materials. I do not have any details for this
final
report, but will post an update on this drafting system on this
list serve
in the future which will likely be entitled "Wealth Transfer
Planning
Software Updated" (if a user wants to search the archives for
this topic).
C. TRUST ACCOUNTING & RELATED ADMINISTRATION SOFTWARE:
1. The Lackner Group, Inc. (continued): The 6-in-1 Estate Administration
System is a Windows- or Mac-based system that includes the latest
tax
preparation forms, including the new Form 1041. Lackner has also
updated
its system to anticipate all known "decoupling" states
(i.e., those states
that are deviating from the "pick-up" tax, based on the
state credit for
federal estate taxes, the process of which is probably summarized
in another
report and is definitely included in the Institute's materials prepared
by
Pam Schneider, Esq. and others). Lackner is compatible with the
well-known
File Maker Pro database program. The Lackner 6-in-1 Estate Administration
System was featured during the Institute's Special Session on technology.
2. Datatech Software, Inc. (continued): Quick and Easy (tax preparation)
was
also featured during the Institute's Special Session on technology.
D. APPRAISAL & VALUATION SOFTWARE:
(N/A for 2003 software report #3)
E. RESEARCH SOFTWARE & SERVICES:
(N/A for 2003 software report #3)
F. MISCELLANEOUS VENDORS:
(N/A for 2003 software report #3)
If any vendors or any important developments were omitted that
we should
have mentioned, please stay tuned. We will attempt to cover all
items of
interest in future reports as time permits. Thank you.
=============================
Following are the highlights from the Institute's Special Session
on estate
planning technology. These highlights are generally classified in
categories
that will hopefully prove helpful to list members. Some of these
comments
update the materials provided at the Institute's Special Session
on estate
planning technology.
E-MAIL and E-MAIL SOFTWARE PROGRAMS:
1. Eudora e-mail program: The Special Session mentioned Eudora,
an e-mail
program that offers much of the same functionality as popular e-mail
programs such as Microsoft Outlook. (Please note that this vendor
was not
displayed at the Institute.)
2. McAfee Spam Killer: The Special Session also mentioned McAfee
Spam
Killer, a program that will evidently minimize and hopefully eliminate
spam.
E-MAIL DISCUSSION LISTS
Besides this list, which is probably the premier list for professionals
and
others in the area of estate planning and administration, the following
lists were also mentioned at the Special Session:
1. LISI/Leimberg Information Services, Inc.: These newsletters
are authored
by a number of well-known estate planning experts. The newsletters
are not
in a discussion-based format, but provide excellent coverage on
a variety of
topics.
INFORMATION MANAGERS:
1. Amicus Attorney: This program functions as an amazing organization
tool.
Amicus Attorney includes group calendaring, contacts management,
and
conflicts checking. The program also integrates with e-mail, billing,
and
word processing programs. Timers are included in each aspect of
the program
to allow for easy time tracking. The more advanced versions of the
program
also include synchronization with Palm- and Windows-based personal
data
assistants. All of these information management programs integrate
with
time and billing software such as Timeslips.
DOCUMENT ASSEMBLY:
Please see the technology reports from the Institute, which include
many
highlights on document assembly programs.
ESTATE PLANNING SOFTWARE:
Again, please see the technology reports from the Institute, which
include
many highlights on estate planning software.
TAX RETURN PREPARATION SOFTWARE:
Again, please see the technology reports from the Institute, which
include
many highlights on tax return preparation software.
__________________________________
GENERAL INFORMATION:
Inquiries/Registration:
Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning
University of Miami School of Law
Center for Continuing Legal Education
P.O. Box 248087
Coral Gables, FL 33124-8087
Telephone: 305-284-4762 / FAX: 305-284-6752
Web site: www.law.miami.edu/heckerling
E-mail: heckerling@law.miami.edu
===========================================
Headquarters Hotel - Fontainebleau Hilton
4441 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33140
Telephone (305) 538-2000, FAX (305) 674-4607
==================================================
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 Lexis/Nexis. For further information, go to
their Web site at http://www.lexisnexis.com/productsandservices.
The text of these proceedings is also available on CD ROM from
Authority On-Demand by LexisNexis Matthew Bender. For further
information, contact your sales representative, or call (800) 833-
9844, or fax (518) 487-3584, or go to http://www.bender.com,
or write to Matthew Bender & Co., Inc., Attn: Order Fulfillment
Dept.,
1275 Broadway, Albany, NY 12204.
______________________________________________________
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//-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eugene P. Zuspann II
Denver, Colorado Mail: ezuspann@zuspann.com
Goodland, Kansas WWW: www.zuspann.com
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