The Trust Plus estate planning system includes document assembly software modules to generate revocable trusts, wills, and irrevocable trusts. Each module includes supporting documents as appropriate (e.g., state-specific powers of attorney for health and financial), funding documents (e.g., instruction letters to third parties to fund revocable trusts, state-specific deeds to transfer real estate to trusts, and various assignments), correspondence, invoicing, custom covers and envelopes, and various other documents for one-time data entry to create comprehensive estate plans.

Modules are integrated so client data may be shared. Substantive legal help including drafting guidance, legal citations, and discussion is available on a phrase-by-phrase basis with the click of a mouse. Extensive customization features are included for software users to edit our language or create their own documents with point and click drop-down menus to insert necessary code. Cowles Customizer™ also allows subscribers to add any documents of their choice and to program merge and formatting codes by simply clicking on drop-down menus.

Practice Management: Guidelines, worksheets, and strategies for creating a plan to achieve income and work hour goals through analysis of various components (e.g., pricing, number of appointments required from initial appointment through plan implementation, etc.), cash flow and calendaring techniques for maximum efficiency with optimum client service, reporting forms to facilitate monthly analysis of each component, and information on variables and techniques to adjust if goals are not achieved are included with the system.

Structuring Fees: The system includes fee agreements, Information on Fees client education handouts, and worksheets to aid with structuring fees to accomplish goals within the practice while maintaining value pricing vs. lowest price for services.

Pre-Appointment Activity: Informational videos and booklets, receptionist scripts, worksheets for preparation by the client prior to attending the initial appointment, and other proven methods of building credibility are all included within the system. In law offices fully utilizing the Cowles' systems, 97% of initial appointments conclude with authorization for the drafter to complete the estate plan.

Initial Appointment: Checklists and techniques for an effective initial appointment are included. The system includes state-specific supporting documents such as health care directives, powers of attorney, and pourover wills. All appointments are integrated so specification of appointments will carry through to all documents unless variations are desired. The system creates letters, assignments, and deeds to fund the trust, including a data base of third party institutions and others to whom letters have previously been sent by your office, to eliminate the need to reenter that data more than once and to simplify location of data on third parties with whom you correspond.

Document Generation: Software may be used directly by the drafter, or data entry may be delegated to an assistant, since checklists used by the drafter allow the plan to be drafted during the initial appointment, with the checklist routed to an assistant who simply follows the checklist in entering data into software and generating documents. Unlike decision tree systems which require the drafter to make decisions while operating software, Cowles' systems offer the alternative of delegating data entry, so documents may be generated by staff while you are meeting with your next client!

Estate Plan Implementation: The Cowles' Trust Plus system includes Estate Organizer™ binders which come with educational material and pages for removal and insertion of custom pages generated by software. When the client returns for the second appointment, an informational video guides the client through the Estate Organizer binder and answers typically asked questions. Following the video, the plan is reviewed and executed, and if a trust is involved, the trust is funded using asset transfer letters, deeds, and assignments generated by the software. The client leaves with the customized Estate Organizer binder, original documents inserted into customized document covers and envelopes created by the Cowles system, and pays the invoice also generated by the system. Any changes to the trust can be made by the firm while the clients view the video, eliminating the need for additional appointments.

Follow-up After Appointment: The system includes correspondence and a questionnaire for continuing excellent client relationships, building referrals, and ensuring proper funding of the trust by the firm, client, or a combined effort. The Members' Only area of the Cowles web page also includes techniques, questionnaires, and handouts for offering profitable, custom amendments at a later date.

Trust Plus includes:

• Annual licensing to use software.

• Substantive legal and technical product updates and enhancements. (Our Forum members were the only software users in the industry who were able to download updated software via Internet on the day that the Tax Relief Act of 2001 was passed. Most competitor’s updates took several months for release.) As technology changes and expands functionality, Forum members receive technical updates. Cowles Legal Systems enhances features and functionality of systems on a continuous basis. Members’ Only searchable data bases, substantive legal help within software, marketing and management materials, and other tools within the system are also consistently reviewed, updated, and enhanced.

• Unlimited technical support via our 800 telephone number, or by email - either direct or by simply clicking on the ‘Ask a Question’ button located on most software screens. Our customer care department has been consistently complimented on their friendly and efficient service as well as their availability. At Cowles, we have made easy, prompt access to our customer care representatives a priority.

• Access to the Cowles Members’ Only area of the Cowles web site. The Members’ Only area includes extensive searchable data bases for substantive legal information, additional documents available for download, a marketing plan along with practice development materials (e.g., flyers, ads, correspondence to referral sources, press releases, seminar slides and script, fee agreements, client worksheets, etc.), practice management techniques and tools including income and appointment goal setting worksheets, cash flow analysis forms, calendaring worksheets, and other proven tools and techniques for establishing, monitoring, and achieving practice goals, an InstantUpdate™ area for instantly downloading software updates, easy links to other web sites to facilitate legal research (e.g., the IRS), and downloadable drafting checklists and software guide.

• Membership in the Cowles listserve, through which members can discuss substantive issues and make referrals to one another, is included in Forum membership. This listserve also gives Cowles Legal Systems an easy method of immediately contacting our subscriber base to notify them of substantive legal developments, to provide software and practice tips, and to notify them of new releases and other company developments. Assessment of listserve discussions also provides Cowles with valuable insight into the makeup of our user base, as well as information to be considered in prioritizing product and service offerings.

To order call (800) 366-1730 or visit the
Cowles' Store and enter promotional code #9187.

The TrusTerminator system generates correspondence and documents required to terminate a revocable trust at the time of the client’s death. This system allows for immediate, personal response to the trustee and beneficiaries, beginning with initial notification of a death through all details needing to be considered (correspondence to ensure that insurance is in place on assets, change of address, notification to social security, etc.), correspondence and tracking tools to obtain asset information and create the inventory of assets showing date of death values and types of assets, through final accounting and distribution of assets. The system even creates state-specific deeds to convey real estate to beneficiaries! TrusTerminator takes the mystery and the overwhelm out of postmortem services - which can otherwise be incredibly paper and labor intensive.

TrusTerminator is easy to use, with chronologically based menus which literally walk the professional through the trust termination process - and generates documents and correspondence required, from beginning to end. Categories within the system include:

• Pre-Appointment: From the moment of the phone call notifying of a client's death, this area of TrusTerminator creates all correspondence and documentation for pre-appointment client education and all necessary documents for the initial appointment.
  
• Initial Correspondence: Following the initial appointment, create correspondence and documents to immediately begin work on the trust termination such as correspondence to file the will, obtain death certificates, verify insurance coverage, request change of address, notify social security, inform beneficiaries of steps to expect in the process, and much more.
• Offer to Sell: This only applies when the estate plan includes an option to purchase. In this section, correspondence and notices can be created, and if the option includes financing terms and the option is exercised, a promissory note and security agreement are also available. Depending upon the type of assets to which the option applies, bills of sale, deeds, and assignments of farm and other business personal property may be created.
• Creditor Correspondence: If your jurisdiction either requires or provides for optional notice to creditors in a trust termination in order to shorten the statute of limitations, notices to creditors, affidavits of notice, correspondence, and court filings may be created in this section.
• Asset Information: This area includes a complete data base for easy entry of information on assets as information is gathered. With a click of the mouse, full reports are generated including a list of assets on which information is still outstanding to facilitate easy follow-up, and full inventory reports with various options for inclusions in each report.
• Valuation Correspondence: This is an integral part of the creation of the inventory. Correspondence to third parties to obtain asset information is accompanied by standard fill-in-the-blank forms for easy completion and return to your office. Standard forms facilitate data entry of information by an assistant.
• Real Estate Documents: In this segment of the trust termination process, documents required to show clear title to real estate held by the trust are prepared for recording.
• Inventory Correspondence: This area generates correspondence to the trustee and/or beneficiaries enclosing the inventory. Various prompts within this section allow for customization of correspondence.
• Trust Accounting: This area generates an accounting of all activity from date of death through date of distribution (with reports available for any desired time period). Activity is entered with simple clicks on drop down menus, with ongoing verification by the system that the accounting balances.
• Trust Accounting Correspondence: Letters to the trustee requesting activity and correspondence enclosing the trust accounting for inspection, with various options as to time periods covered and other content, are created here. Correspondence to the beneficiary enclosing the trust accounting is also available.
• Tax Correspondence: This area relates to tax filings, including correspondence to tax professionals if preparation of some or all returns is delegated outside of your office, cover letters enclosing tax returns if your office is filing the returns, certification of various documents, and correspondence to beneficiaries enclosing K-1 forms.
• Disclaimer: This section utilizes the list of assets created for the inventory to allow you to simply point and click to select assets to be disclaimed, with a click of the mouse then generating the full disclaimer document.
• Testamentary Trust: This section creates documents to fund trusts from the revocable trust, including items to obtain taxpayer ID number and a memorandum of assets listing assets which are transferred to each trust.
• Transfer of Assets: The final phase of the trust termination process is when liquidation and transfer of assets is made to beneficiaries. Documents included here are also sometimes needed at an earlier date if partial distributions are made. This section of TrusTerminator creates documents (e.g., state-specific deeds) to convey assets to appropriate beneficiaries by simply clicking on the beneficiary(ies) and the asset. Correspondence to third parties to request liquidation of accounts, collection of death benefits, etc. is also created here, as well as receipts and releases for beneficiaries to sign, and correspondence to the trustee for closure of the trust termination.
• Session Journal: This online resource allows everyone working on the file easy access to file status and content of communication, and may be utilized for billing purposes.
• Contact Manager: A comprehensive database holds information on third party contacts for easy location - just click to address correspondence.

The TrusTerminator system will allow you to provide outstanding postmortem services, create steady cash flow for your practice, and offer full service in the estate planning and trust termination areas.

To order call (800) 366-1730 or visit the
Cowles' Store.