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Products. [ Probate Plus v3 ] About Probate Plus v3. Note : Probate Plus v4 available. This page for information / backwards compatibility. Probate Plus v3 is a software package designed to help probate practitioners manage the administration of estates. It constantly provides an up to date view of the estate, with accounts ready to be produced at any time. Simple user interface with integrated "Probate Assistants". Full, automatic, account production facilities. Record entries from first instructions to final distributions. Balances are always up to date and reconcilation with your firms accounts system is quick and easy. Take control of your probate administrations. Document & letter pack with 180+ common probate documents. Integration and filling of PDF form documents such as the CTO's IHT200, IHT205, IHT207 etc. (Requires a fill-and-save version of Adobe Acrobat such as Acrobat Standard or Acrobat Professional). >> Download free evaluation now NB : Probate Plus v3 in evaluation mode is identical to the full version, you just won't be able to use new matters - if you subsequently wish to purchase the product simply contact the helpdesk. >> Place an order. >> Probate Plus screenshot. >> What will the system do for me? >> System requirements. >> What does PECS stand for? >> I'm upgrading from Probate Plus v2, what's new?   Screenshot of Probate Plus v3. Probate Plus uses a simple, "browser" based user interface to allow you to easily navigate your probate matters. Back to top   Place an order. To order Probate Plus, you can contact your local representative or : Telephone . . . Sweet & Maxwell UK Customer Services on 020 7449 1111. Sweet & Maxwell International Customer Services on +44 1264 342906. Fax . . . UK : 020 7449 1155. International : +44 1264 342706. DX . . . Sweet & Maxwell DX 38861 Swiss Cottage. Mail . . . Mike Deasy Sweet & Maxwell Ltd 100 Avenue Road London NW3 3PF. Back to top   What will the system do for me?  Use Probate Plus v3 to record estate details and dealings from the first instructions to the final distributions. Here are some major Probate Plus features... Automatically calculate (and recalculate) beneficiaries' shares. Automatically re-value the estate as assets are dealt with. Track the cash position. Help guard against over-distribution. Re-use and share information with other estates entered. You only need to enter information once. Produce clear, concise interim and final accounts at any time. Link information into word processors, spreadsheets, forms and other applications to build standard letters and other documents. Track important dates and events with the built in diary and alarm system. Follow paid and unpaid expenses, legacies and liabilities. Let you work as a team (if needed) with other practitioners at your practice (when networked). Standardise the format of account production by your firm. Provide reports and accounting functions to assist when form filling. Easy to use customizable, browser based user interface. Unlimited number of beneficiaries (residuary, specific and pecuniary). Automatic recalculation of estates. Move quickly between active matters. Address book available to all matters. Communicates with Microsoft® Word® documents to provide text links. Document pack. Contains 180+ common letters, documents, oaths, stock transfer form, notices etc. Can communicate with PDF form documents. Requires full version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Approval. Produce accounts at any time - full accounts or portions of an account. Built in diary / reminder system. Tracks cash present in the estate. Standardised accounts output for your probate department. Self-balancing, self-calculating accounts. In depth reporting options. Internet knowledgebase and support resources. Internet update service. Support for full client/server dedicated database server. Export reports and accounts as PDF documents. Local or client-server database operation. Dedicated database server available for 2-1000 users. Customisable sorting and grouping of information in browsers. Back to top   What will I need to use Probate Plus v3? System requirements Intel Pentium-II 233mhz or faster. 64mb RAM or more. 10mb free hard disk space. Windows 98SE or higher. TCP/IP networking if part of a network. Supported workstation operating systems Windows 9x. (Windows 98 or higher preferred). Windows ME. Windows NT 4.0. (Service pack 6 or higher recommended) Windows 2000. (Service pack 2 or higher recommended) Windows XP. Supported database server operating system Windows 9x, ME, NT4, 2000,2003. Linux. Netware. Database server (optional extra) Probate Plus v3 can access its database files through in either a local server mode or a full client-server mode. The client-server option offers much improved performance and reliability when Probate Plus v3 is operating in a multi-user environment. The "local server" mode is available free of charge whereas the client-server mode requires the purchase of the client-server database engine (Advantage Database Server). The database server is available in a variety of licence sizes (from 2 to 1000 users ). We do not recommend the use of Probate Plus v3 in "local server" mode beyond 2 users. When operating in client-server mode, for best performance the database server specification should equal or exceed the specification of the fastest workstation that will be running Probate Plus v3. The client-server add on for Probate Plus is available direct from Law Systems Limited, please contact us to order. Supported network operating systems Windows peer-peer. Windows NT Server, Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2003 Server. Novell NetWare 3.x, 4.x, 5.x, Lite. and…3Com, Banyan Vines, D-Link, DEC Pathworks, LANtastic, LanManager, OS/2 Lan Server. Supported network protocols : TCP/IP (Either TCP or UDP modes). NetBIOS (Inc. NetBEUI). IPX/SPX (With SAP / Broadcast or no SAP advertising mechanisms). Back to top   What does PECS stand for?  "PECS" stands for - Per Estate Charging System. It's the name we've given to our flexible way of paying for Probate Plus as you use it. No large upfront payments. No annual support fees. No dent in your cashflow. We can invoice on an estate-by-estate basis if needed (invoice made out to the estate). Back to top   I'm upgrading from Probate Plus v2, what's new?  Upgrade notes : There are lots of new features in Probate Plus v3, many of which are detailed below. Once you have installed Probate Plus v3 on your PC or network you will need to have your old Probate Plus v2 data files upgraded to the new v3 format. This upgrade service is free-of-charge to all existing users and operates on a first-come-first-served basis. For more details (or any upgrade questions) please send a support email and let us know your questions. Reporting New, updated report engine. Improved report speed and rendering performance. New reporting options / configuration. New reports. PDF export. Internet Internet update system. Integrated web links. Access to online user support, knowledgebase and discussion forum. User interface Completely redesigned. Modern appearance. Easier ‘browser’ based navigation. More user feedback when performing operations. New ‘Probate Assistants’ to guide user through probate tasks. Customisable layout and browser font zooming. Running balance on cash account screen. Database New, high performance database engine. Support for stand-alone, peer-peer and full client-server database operation modes. Dedicated client-server remote database server available as a cost option. (Licence sizes from 2 to 1000 users) Database configuration dramatically simplified. Performance Many internal optimizations. Quicker report generation. Quicker navigation. New database engine. More efficient database structure – less disk space requirement / higher network performance. Licensing ‘Evaluation’ mode available – hardware key not required for initial installation / evaluation. Improved licencing subsystem performance. Shorter telephone update codes. Option for internet server licencing implemented. PDF forms / documents PDF form filling. (Direct filling of PDF forms such as IHT forms from CTO). Requires full version of Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Approval. Support for Acrobat 4.x (Full), Acrobat 5.0 (Full), Acrobat Approval 5.0 and Acrobat 6.x Export of any report as PDF document. Microsoft® Word™ integration Simplified and overhauled document text-linking system. Links available for MS-Word word processors (97,2000,2002,XP). Updated and expanded document pack (including oaths, stock transfer forms, notices etc.) Misc. If no date of death, Probate Plus functions as a ‘live’ estate manager. Tax can be entered as a tax rate (Probate Plus will gross up the amount) or an amount of tax (Probate Plus will work out the tax rate). Cash accounts – can now be marked as internal / external. E.g. client a/c is internal account. Executors can be marked as having proved the will. COM/OLE automation of Probate Plus from external applications. Developers please find out more here. Back to top