Specialized estate planning software for attorneys is becoming more commonplace in the workplace. There is a plurality of specialized software out there, even for legal niches like estate planning. The question, however, is this useful? As we have argued before, switching between apps costs time and sometimes it is better to have a less powerful jack of all trades software than multiple specialized apps. In this post, we will make the distinction between the average lawyer who has a practice and sometimes has to do estate planning for a client, and an expert in the niche who sometimes doesn´t have to do estate planning.
When you should or shouldn´t use estate planning software for attorneys
If you are the average lawyer, that maybe once every few clients get a question about estate planning, you can stop reading here. There is no reason for you to get specialized software. You should only get specialized software if you are specialized. If you have a law firm that is not hyper-specialized in Estate planning we suggest you take a look at our article about Law Office Management Software.
A specialized attorney should use estate planning software, but should also keep some things in mind. Software this specialized isn´t all that powerful. The smaller the niche it serves, the smaller the competition and supply for software like this. In our experience, while this kind of software is better than nothing, don´t expect too much from it.
Attention Points When Looking for Estate Planning Software For Attorneys
- Make sure they have a demo.
When dealing with niche software, it is hard to rely on reviews. They are often small in number and are easy to manipulate for that reason. Emailing the company about their software doesn´t always work either, at the end of the day, they want to make that sale. A good demo has a free or very cheap trial period of at least a week.
2. Minimum functions
- Asset Inventory
- State, National, and depending on clientele, International law research functions
- Outlining directive
- Option to assess the family liabilities
Besides these minimum functions lookout that the software can automate your workflow, and has the possibility to make accurate documentation. Depending on your goals, knowledge other aspects to keep in mind are: scalability, flexibitly, customer support, ease of integration and ofcourse functionality. The goal of using software should always come back to three principles. 1) Work more accurate 2) Work faster 3) Work more cost-effective. If the estate planning software lacks in any of these aspects it is much better to go with a general-purpose software for lawyers.
Concluding Remarks
Estate planning software for attorneys can be useful for your firm, but only in a select number of cases. Unless you are specialized, or have a specialized department in your law firm, you will be better off using general purpose software.
