Marital Agreements in the Computer Era

In 1996, attorney and software developer George Norton read about an employment contract program being marketed by Lawgic® , a new legal technology company. George saw that the unique Lawgic approach could be particularly useful for drafting marital settlement agreements. He contacted Lawgic and began exploring a partnership. Together they identified a co-author, attorney Garrett C. Dailey, founder of Attorney’s BriefCase, AAML fellow and certified family law specialist. With the help of family law expert Barbara DiFranza and dozens of reviewing attorneys across the state, the project led to Lawgic's California Marital Settlements.

Unlike other products, Lawgic's format does not ask a lawyer to go through a number of set paragraphs and select which ones to use. Instead, the format takes the user through a logic tree of questions and choices. Responses eliminate areas that are not pertinent. For example, if there are no children of the marriage, the user will not be presented questions related to child or family support. The program allows statistical information to be entered once and then used wherever necessary in the document including names, dates of birth of children, marriage and separation dates. When answers require additional selections, the lawyer is given many options, as well as the ability to easily modify suggested provisions. When the user would like a summary of the relevant law or an analysis of the consequences of choosing an option, all he or she needs to do is press a key. Finally, matters of grammar, tense, and numbering are automatically resolved by the program. After the questions are answered and choices made, a complete agreement or judgment is automatically generated to whatever word processing format the user requests. Supplementary documents, including letters to clients and client questionaire, can also be produced by the program.

Lawgic Family Law Products

California Marital Settlements

Rapidly analyzes property, custody and support issues to create a customized settlement agreement or judgment. Automatically converts settlement to judgment language and vice versa. Includes the option to build an agreement section-by-section for review by client or opposing counsel. Authored by AAML Fellows who are California State Bar Certified Specialists in Family Law. Provides expert model language tailored to your client’s situation, facilitating the drafting process. Addresses issues ranging from property and custody to retirement benefits and stock options. Automatically creates and updates tables of contents, paragraph number, cross-references, and heading styles in Word 97 and WordPerfect 8.

By George H. Norton, of Counsel, Lakin•Spears LLP and Garrett C. Dailey of Attorney's BriefCase, Inc.

California Pre/Post Marital Agreements

Builds a comprehensive, customized pre- or post-marital agreement. Covers issues ranging from disclosure of joint and separate property and income to stock options, retirement rights, and intangible assets. Authored by AAML Fellows who are California State Bar Certified Specialists in Family Law. Includes a worksheet to assist in the creation of separate property assets disclosures. Creates Abstracts to file with the County Recorder’s office.

By George H. Norton, of Counsel, Lakin•Spears LLP and Garrett C. Dailey of Attorney's BriefCase, Inc.