New product: Family Constitution

Sharmistha Bose, Product Marketing Specialist

Cleardocs is pleased to announce a new addition to our Estate Planning suite.

You can now use Cleardocs to create a Family Constitution. This is a non-legally binding document that sets out a family’s wishes for achieving harmony within an intergenerational family business. It is designed for use in any country.

Order the Cleardocs Family Constitution online for $385.00 (incl.GST) now.

What is a Family Constitution?

The Family Constitution is a record of policies developed collaboratively by the family. The family may choose policies currently relevant to them while leaving others until later. They may also customise the details of the policies for the family’s particular circumstances.

The Family Constitution helps families to:

•           focus on communications, development and harmony;

•           transition the stewardship and ownership of family wealth, including business interests, to the next generation; and

•           maximise benefits and manage complexities of being a family in business.

What topics does the Family Constitution cover?

Having a Cleardocs Family Constitution in place allows the family to record, among other things:

•           the family’s values and principles;

•           family aspirations for their business interests;

•           establishment of a governance structure;

•           decision-making and conflict resolution;

•           policies for important matters such as the employment of family members in the family business and education and development of family as current and future stewards;

•           overarching investment strategy;

•           communication within the family and the business; and

•           liquidity and the entry into and exit from the family business.

The Family Constitution has been expertly drafted by family business advisory firm FINH.

+Cleardocs Thomson Reuters

CONFESSIONS OF A LAWYER ON DOCUMENT AUTOMATION

Cassandra Townsend, Manager, Precedent Lawyer

When I was practising in law firms, having access to a precedent, rather than drafting a document from scratch, made life much easier.

There were a number of precedent systems I used such as: 

• merging a master file of client details in Word Perfect with precedents for commonly used letters and Court forms in our existing precedent bank;
• copying a document used in a prior matter, manually changing the details where relevant;
• typing out a precedent found in a trusty text in the Law Library; or even
• creating a precedent myself, maybe saving it in my own drive on the firm’s computer system where no other lawyers in the firm could access it (or even know I had it).

When I started working at Cleardocs, I learnt about online document generation – single use, pay per use document creation. In my experience, lawyers are used to storing precedents for multiple use – where use of a precedent to create a document tailored to specific circumstances of a client or matter has varying degrees of manual elements.

I can now appreciate the benefits and efficiencies that online legal document generation brings to the working day of professionals. The table below sets out some benefits, using our ClearWill withTestamentary Trusts document package as an example:

Benefit	ClearWill with Testamentary Trusts
An online service avoids the time, cost and complexity of installing software.	Cleardocs is easy to implement – visit our website and sign up to Cleardocs for free. You can then immediately start creating your documents.
An online service is available 24/7.	Through Cleardocs, you can create your documents anywhere and anytime, at your convenience.
There is no need to retype the same details – the automation provides a solution to the cumbersome manual form filling.	A complex will can be 50 pages or more. Rather than typing say, the willmaker’s name on each page required, you type it once into our online question interface and the Cleardocs system populates it all required parts of the document.
If your firm does not have a precedent, using an online document provider allows the firm to efficiently operate in new areas.	You can easily create a complex will for a client even if estate planning is not generally an area you practise in.
Using online legal document providers avoids the need for you to spend time updating your existing precedents to reflect changes to the law, allowing you to spend more time with your clients.	ClearWill with Testamentary Trusts, as with all our documents, is consistently and comprehensively maintained by our lawyers at Maddocks to comply with all laws.
Credible online legal providers work with law firms so that you can be confident you are delivering quality documents to your clients.	Cleardocs partners with Maddocks lawyers, a top 20 Australian law firm. Maddocks signs off all master documents, question interfaces and legal information on our website.

You can read our earlier blog about problems with using precedents to create legal documents.

For more information about ClearWill with Testamentary Trusts, or any of our other document packages, please call us on 1300 307 343.

+CleardocsThomson Reuters

FPA Professionals Congress 2014 Adelaide

Lisa Galbraith, General Manager Cleardocs

Last week I attended the successful FPA congress in Adelaide.  The 2-day conference was informative, engaging and thought provoking.  I particularly enjoyed each day’s key note speakers who discussed ‘inspiring greatness’ – the theme of the conference.  The speakers certainly encouraged me to think about how we can do more to engage with the community and our customers.

Thank you to all the conference delegates who dropped by the Thomson Reuters and Cleardocs booth.  It was great to meet so many of you and to put a face to voices that I have spoken to over the phone.  I particularly enjoyed talking about our new estate planning offering – ClearWill Online.

Many delegates dropped by our booth and left their business cards to enter our GoPro Hero3 prize draw. Congratulations to Kate Officer from Muirfield Financial Services – enjoy.  For those new to Cleardocs, keep an eye on your inbox – there will be a special offer for you too.

If you were unable to get to our stand and haven’t used Cleardocs before, please send an email to support@cleardocs.com and we can provide you with a free document.

+CleardocsThomson Reuters

NEW VIC SUCCESSION LAWS? SPOTLIGHT ON ESTATE PLANNING

Cassandra Townsend, Manager, Precedent Lawyer

I recently read an article about proposed new succession laws in Victoria that will limit the categories of people eligible to contest a will.

Among other things, this demonstrates the importance of a comprehensive estate plan and a clearly drafted will. Cleardocs provides tools to help you achieve this through its various estate planning products:

• ClearWill Online;
• ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms;
• Powers of Attorney in NSW and Vic;
• Death benefit arrangements.

In response to customer feedback, I am currently working in conjunction with expert lawyers at Maddocks to make available to customers further resources to assist you with your estate plan. These will be released from later this month and include:

• additional document package inclusions.
• ClearLaw articles.
• sample documents;
• visual aids; and
• more.

Stay tuned in the months ahead.

 +CleardocsThomson Reuters

Knowing your customers + vote via poll

Denice Fraser, Senior Marketing Executive

As a business grows and develops, so too does the volume of customers, the number of segments and industries which they come from. 

Customer needs change. They grow. And to be able to change and grow with you, it’s important we know how you came to be a Cleardocs user and how your needs and priorities have developed.

For instance, late last year I spoke briefly to my tax accountant about his business and how it had evolved since launching almost two decades ago. A financial planning arm had been added to the business and there were plans brewing to partner with a legal practitioner in order to meet some of his client’s estate planning needs.  He also told me he needed to do more with less human resources, so finding solutions which would save him time was key.

From this brief conversation, I learnt a few things about my accountant:

• he is not afraid of change - in fact, he embraces it;
• he has a genuine concern for his clientele and keeps in touch with what they need; and 
• he wanted to work smarter, not harder and was open to looking at new ways of doing things - especially if it resulted in more time to add value in the areas his clientele relied on him for. 

I walked away from his office that day with a nice tax refund, an insight into how diverse my tax agent’s business was becoming and a smile on my face J (mostly because of the tax refund!).

As an online business with over 65,000 users, it’s a little more difficult for Cleardocs to keep an ear to the ground on the changes in your business, so please keep your customer profile up to date via the Cleardocs user My Profile page. It will help us better service your needs.

While there are some particulars that our Business Intelligence can tell us, there are things we won’t know for certain, unless we ask.

To help us know a little more about you, we’d like to know how you first heard of us. We plan to include a “How you heard of us” drop down menu as you sign up to Cleardocs. We’ve kept the list short and re-created it in a poll below. +Cleardocs Thomson Reuters   

2014 Budget Report: How will Australia's largest annual economic event affect you and your clients?

By Denice Fraser, Senior Marketing Executive


Thomson Reuters' experienced tax writing team will again be at Parliament House on #Budget2014 night (13 May) preparing their detailed Weekly Tax Bulletin Federal Budget Report.

The Report will comprise coverage and analysis across a wide range of issues including personal, corporate, business and international tax, compliance, superannuation, GST, and social security. 

Like last year, we’ll make this report available to Cleardocs users free of charge on the day following the Budget announcement.  

Visit the Thomson Reuters website at http://www.thomsonreuters.com.au/browse/budget/ to learn more.


+Cleardocs Thomson Reuters

Should I make provision for my super in my will or testamentary trust?

By Denice Fraser, Senior Marketing Executive and Cassandra Townsend, Lawyer

Last week, Maddocks lawyers and Cleardocs hosted the first of two breakfast seminars on estate planning at Maddocks' offices in Sydney.

Robert Monahan from Maddocks was keynote speaker, engaging an audience of lawyers, accountants and financial planners on "clear and tax effective wills”. 

Through the presentation, Robert discussed some of the features of the newest addition to our estate planning product suite – our complex will, ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms. He explained how a will maker can minimise tax consequences and maximise asset protection for beneficiaries through a testamentary trust structure in a more sophisticated will such as ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms.

Demonstrating a strong level of interest from attendees, several questions were posed at the presentation’s conclusion. Many were interested to learn how to deal with superannuation death benefits via a will or testamentary trust.

ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms provides a will maker with the option to give particular powers to their executor, including the power to quarantine superannuation death benefits (or create a superannuation proceeds trust).

The product is available to legal practitioners only – highlighting the necessity of having a lawyer involved in the making of a more sophisticated will.

You can view our FALQs on quarantining superannuation death benefits on our website:

·        Whatis a superannuation proceeds trust?

·        Does the will allow the executor to quarantine superannuation death benefits?

·        Why would the executor want to quarantine superannuation death benefits?

Maddocks advises that the question whether a SMSF member wishes to create a binding death benefit nomination to deal with SMSF funds or work the benefits into a testamentary trust, depends on what they wish to achieve. Members should seek professional advice about their particular circumstances.

Our second and final breakfast seminar on ‘clear and tax effective wills’ will be held in Melbourne on 11 December 2013. Should you wish to reserve a spot, please contact denice.fraser@thomsonreuters.com before 9 December.

For those unable to attend, +Cleardocs Thomson Reuters have recorded the session. It will be posted to our website before the close of the year.

Cleardocs launches Wills products

Cassandra Townsend, Lawyer

In law school, I recall the story about a pre-eminent author of a textbook on estate planning who died without a will. I'm not sure whether this story is true but it definitely did the trick in emphasising the importance of having a will.

You can read about the consequences of dying without a will in our October ClearLaw article.

What? This year, Cleardocs has expanded its estate planning suite of products with 2 Wills products:

·    ClearWill Online – a comprehensive Will that anyone can make to express their  wishes about their estate and protect their assets; and

·    a more complex Will designed for use by law firms, ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms.

Why? These products were developed in response to customer feedback. They were designed to be comprehensive, and flexible enough to cover a wide range of personal circumstances, such as blended families, will makers without children, will makers holding trust positions. And, at the end of the day, they were designed to make your estate planning as simple and painless as possible.

How? Through ClearWill with Trusts for Law Firms, lawyers can establish by will a range of testamentary trusts including:

·    single and multiple testamentary discretionary trusts for specific gifts and the residuary estate;

·    superannuation proceeds trusts;

·    life interest estates;

·    right of residence trusts; and

·    protected trusts.

Who? Given the complexity of the features of this Wills product and the need for a will maker to obtain legal advice about them, this document package is available to law firms only. For non-lawyers to take advantage of this product, they should discuss it with their lawyer.

As always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions about these products.

Cleardocs 2013 product suite developments

Belinda Thalakada, Customer Support

For regular readers of Cleardocs news, you will have noticed that so far, 2013 has been a prolific year for the Cleardocs team. This year, we’ve added new document packages to our product suite, as well as managing a host of updates to our site and products – making your Cleardocs experience even clearer, simpler, and easier to use.

As there have been numerous developments at Cleardocs, I’m providing a re-cap of our most significant achievements this year which are most relevant to our customers.

Deed of Confidentiality ($99.00):
In February, Cleardocs released its first Deed of Confidentiality. This document package provides you with a deed that describes the purpose(s) for which a party (or parties) agree to disclose confidential information to the other party, and also binds the parties to maintain the confidential nature of the information.

You can create a Deed of Confidentiality for you or your client; our online document creation process enables you to specify the purpose of disclosure of confidential information, as well as tailor the deed to the parties’ specific circumstances.

See the below link for more information:
http://www.cleardocs.com/products-confidentiality-deed.html

Cleardocs documents now available in PDF:
In June, Cleardocs changed the standard document format to PDF. This change was to make creating documents through Cleardocs even simpler than before.

This change means:

• you’ll no longer need to repaginate (Ctrl A, then F9) your documents before you print them;
• you no longer need Word to access your documents, all you need is any PDF reader which is free of charge (we recommend Adobe);
• Mac users will have a better experience; and
• you can now view your documents via a mobile device.

If you’re a professional user you can still download documents as RTF files (Microsoft Word) by changing the settings on your ‘My Profile’ page.

Company and SMSF Minutes & Resolutions Package:
In July and August we also released our first ever subscription products – Minutes & Resolutions for either SMSFs or companies. Unlike our other document packages, this package allows a particular SMSF or company unlimited use of minutes or resolutions for 12 months.

SMSF Minutes & Resolutions ($66)

• You pay $66 per SMSF for 12 months of unlimited use of minutes or resolutions for that fund
• There are 14 different minutes or resolutions to choose from which deal with SMSF administration, such as changing the fund’s name, adding a member, winding up the fund etc. (see full list here)
• If you purchase the Cleardocs SMSF set up, SMSF Update package, or SMSF Change of Trustee package, you're able to simultaneously purchase the SMSF Minutes & Resolutions Package use at 15% off.

Company Minutes & Resolutions ($77)

• You pay $77 per company for  12 months of unlimited use of minutes or resolutions for that company
• There are 24 different minutes or resolutions to choose from which deal with company administration, such as appointing/retiring officeholders, transferring shares, deregistering the company etc. (see full list here)
• If you purchase either Cleardocs Company Registration or Registration Documents only package, you're able to simultaneously purchase the SMSF Minutes & Resolutions Package use at 15% off.

The annual fee allows you to use this Package for more only one company, or SMSF.

ClearWill Online ($165.00)

We have long been keen to release The ClearWill Online product, so it was an exciting time for us in August when we finally added the Wills document package to our Estate Planning suite. This document package can be used to create a comprehensive will, suitable for use Australia wide.

Developed in response to customer needs and feedback, ClearWill Online is designed to cover a variety of circumstances and a range of situations. The Cleardocs interface enables you to tailor the will to cater for various situations; there is a list of clauses you can choose from to include in your will such as:

• whether the will is to survive your future or a subsequent marriage;
• appointments of guardians for children under 18 years old;
• specific gifts of property or cash, and more.

Click here to view a full list of possible clauses you can choose to include in your (or your client’s) will.

These are only some of the many exciting developments at Cleardocs this year, with many more products, changes, and updates to come in the future.