This manual is spaced to allow easy insertion in a three ring binder after printing!
THIS PROGRAM IS A SHORTENED VERSION OF THE HOME AND BUSINESS LEGAL GUIDE!!! We shortened it to make it a realistic length upload/download. It is not crippled!! Our entire program is over 1.0 megs, compressed. The entire program (3 full disks of data) is available on line through many BBS systems throughout the United States (we personally upload all of it to over 200 bulletin boards, and thanks to many users this program, both in the shortened version and the users of it, many hundreds more have the program. The member boards of the Shareware Distribution Network have all 3 disks, as well as this version. Virtually every shareware distributor carries this program. As a last resort if you can't find the full version, we provide the full set to users at our cost of duplication/postage.
It is not our intent to withhold features or make you register in the dark!
THIS PROGRAM IS DISTRIBUTED AS SHAREWARE.
ABOUT SHAREWARE
(The following is courtesy of Paul Mayer, although we have added some comments; we don't claim copyright to Mr. Mayer's writings)
Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. With registration, you get anything from the simple right to continue using the software to an updated program with printed manual.
[Our registered user receive a printed manual and branded disk together with support and a private BBS membership.]
Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers, just like commercial authors, and the programs are of comparable quality. (In both cases, there are good programs and bad ones!) The main difference is in the method of distribution. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all and sundry or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware.
[Our policy allows persons or user groups to freely distribute the shareware, evaluation version, of the program. Commercial disk vendors must contact us first.]
Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware systems makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee-- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it.
If you are not a registered user of this program, you may use this version of the program for a reasonable time (30 days is suggested). If at the end of a reasonable trial you continue to use the program, or if you are using the program to prepare documents or for advice, and continue to use it, you must register. The registration fee is $ 59.00 (see complete
details in Section 4-4); this entitles you to:
1. The most current version of the program with full manual
2. Any updates to the executable program for one year
(subsequent years are $ 20); all data updates to for one year
3. Access to bbs and special private sections for updates
4. Support: During the first 30 days of ownership, we provide
up to 2 hours of telephone support; support via mail and
unlimited BBS support through our private bbs; after 30 days
you may receive unlimited bbs and mail support, and a total of one additional hour of telephone support
5. A discount of 20% on other programs marketed by us except
for renewals.
You may register by phone at 1-904-877-7139 or by fax, at 904-656-6495. The document generator prepares a form which you should use to make your order. Checks and money orders are accepted. Our BBS is available to you at 904-656-2263 (N,8,1-- 9600 baud, v32/v32 bis; v42/v42 bis), 24 hours daily.
mail:
R FRINGE SOFTWARE FULFILLMENT
P.O. Box 37155
Tallahassee, Florida 32315
DISTRIBUTION OF THE PROGRAM
This program is provided in different versions. HOWEVER THIS PROGRAM IS NOT CRIPPLED IN ANY WAY. The version which you are now using is the evaluation version, one that consists of EVERYTHING to date in this program through May, 1992. This program contains a shareware reminder. The registered program does not, and also has the users' names "branded" on it.
You are encouraged to pass a copy of this program or to upload it to your favorite BBS or to user groups or friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will
receive the benefits stated above.
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SHARE THIS DISK OR TO UPLOAD THESE
FILES. IN EITHER CASE YOU MUST SHARE ALL OF THE FILES. PLEASE NOTE OUR REQUEST THAT YOU DO NOT RENAME THIS ARCHIVE.
INTRODUCTION
A. PLEASE READ ALL FILES WITH EXTENSIONS OF ".TXT" that came with your program ME FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION FOR IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND ANY LAST MINUTE NEWS AND CHANGES. To print out the manual please use the command:
<pguide>
SPECIAL NOTE: IN THIS MANUAL ITEMS TO BE ENTERED ON THE
COMPUTER ARE ENCLOSED IN ANGLED BRACKETS "< >". Follow the entry with the ENTER key. Do not type the brackets as they are only placeholders for text to be entered by you.
B. ORGANIZATION OF MANUALS-- We provide two separate but complimentary manuals. The first is the "quickstart" manual. If you are a power user, this very brief manual explains each active key and function. The second manual (the one that you are now reading) is a detailed manual, consisting of 7 sections:
1) System Requirements/Installation
2) Use of the program
3) The information needed to generate legal forms
4) Customer Satisfaction- Support
5) About our staff
6) Legalese-- warranties, trademarks, warnings
7) Index
SECTION ONE
INSTALLATION
Section 1-1
INSTALLATION
To install the HOME AND BUSINESS LEGAL GUIDE AND FORMS GENERATOR, (We'll call it Home Legal for short) first back up your installation disks by using the MS DOS command DISKCOPY. For more information about DISKCOPY, consult your computer's manual. Place the master disks that you received in a safe place and use your backup copies.
The full version of the program contains an installation program. On this shortened version an install program isn't needed. Just unarchive the program to a new subdirectory (we recommend that you name it \KBGUIDE).
SYSTEMS REQUIREMENTS
In order to operate this program, your computer must:
1) have an IBM PC compatible operation a version of M.S. DOS, D.R. DOS or P.C. DOS of 3.3 or higher or OS/2, PS/2; this program happily runs under Windows environments/Multi tasking environments and also runs in "MS DOS EMULATIONS" in Open Desk Top and other UNIX systems that can run MS DOS programs.
To find out which version of dos you are using, please enter:
<ver>
and you will receive a cheery message such as
MS-DOS VER 3.30
in general this program will operate on XT compatibles, '286 compatibles (AT Class) and '386 compatible systems; 486 systems;
2) have a hard drive (fixed disk);
3) have at least 448 K Bytes of USABLE memory with the first 640KB; many computer users have machines that are installed with 512K, 640K or more but install many Terminate and stay resident (TSR or "memory resident" programs) which each use memory, dropping available for usable memory to less than 448 K; if you cannot operate this program dump out of it (the time honored process pressing Control, Alternate and Delete at once to "warm" reboot) and at a system prompt type, exactly
<chkdsk>
Your machine should whirl and click and then announce
something like this:
655360 bytes total memory
620000 bytes free
if you have less that 448000 bytes of memory free, then you must read the manuals for your memory resident software and delete some of them so that you have at least 448000 free when you run this program. There are utilities that "manage" terminate and stay resident program advertised in your favorite computer magazine. If you would like an operating environment that manages memory and can make your computer stand on its head allowing multitasking among many other great things, check out the great products from Quarterdeck.(tm)
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: Many computer users employ file management shells like the Norton Commander(tm) or PC TOOLS (versions 6 and higher) to help them manage their systems. These programs consume memory when used. Often persons also load several Terminate and stay resident utilities (T.S.R's) and a file manager. The likely result is that you will be often reduced to less than 300k free memory. This will S.. L.. O.. W.. down your system and cause many programs not to load at all.
Running the HOME LEGAL GUIDE directly from DOS is simple and
recommended!
We get calls now and then about the document generation program not loading. In EVERY occasion that this occurs it is because you have less than 448K FREE RAM. Really. Honestly. Let's assume that you have a computer with 640K RAM. You can still be running with less than 448K RAM free by loading numerous drivers, TSR's and shells. Please check what your free memory is if you find that the document generator will not load and drops you to DOS following the instructions above. Please note that your system can be configured with many megabytes of ram, but STILL HAVE LESS THAN 448K free within the first 640KB! Unless you use memory management software, you can have 10 megs of RAM, but have less than 448KB free in the first 640KB.
There is no minimum requirement for graphics adapters or color. The program will happily run on a text-mono system; and it looks very great on a VGA system! Due to our design philosophy the program will run on a system with NO color and no graphics capability at all.
A printer is recommended so that you can fully use the HOME LEGAL GUIDE (You cannot print out legal documents without access to a printer.)
SECTION 2
USE OF THE PROGRAM
STEP ONE (LOGICALLY) STARTING THE PROGRAM
Section 2-1 QUICK START MANUAL
A separate file on this disk contains a "quick start manual"
for experienced applications users which gives all of the
active keys for each program. A detailed manual follows.
Section 2-2 START UP AND MAIN MENU
In order to start the program, be sure that you have either
have the computer in the legal subdirectory or that the
program is on the current path. Now type:
<GUIDE>
(or <guide> or <guIDE> in MS-DOS, they are the same to the
computer.) and press the Return
<Return>
key. The main menu offers a help screen.
Section 2-3
MOUSE USERS
Your mouse driver must be loaded before attempting to use a
mouse on the program. For more information on loading your
mouse driver, please see the manual which came with your
rodent. To begin using the program, type
<Mguide>
then <Return>. Clicking the left button sends a carriage
return, the right button page down, both buttons, sends
Escape. Moving the rodent up and down advances the cursor up
and down. NOTE: We do not have a separate mouse cursor. The
mouse is emulating the cursor keys.
Section 2-4
SELECTING FROM THE OPTIONS PROVIDED
To select your choice, either use the cursor keys (up and down arrows) to highlight the choice you want, or, enter the letter corresponding to your choice, and then press
<Return>.
We will explain the operation of the statutes, and tutorials (mini-seminars), document preparation and editing documents separately.
Section 2-5
THE SHELL GAME- OUR DOS "SHELL"
Choice "S"- DOS Shell-- Our DOS "shell" is a utility program which allows you to perform tasks, while retaining the HOME LEGAL GUIDE in memory. For example, if you want to format a floppy disk, but do not want to exit the program, then choose the DOS Shell option, by either highlighting this option using the cursor keys (up and down arrows) or pressing
<S>
then press <RETURN>.
You will then see a message indicating that your operating system has been loaded. For example,
Microsoft (R) MS-DOS (R) Version 3.30
(C) Copyright Microsoft Corp. 1981-1986
you may then operate DOS commands. At all times, the Home Legal Guide remains in memory. To resume use of the program, type <EXIT> and then <Return> or <Enter> (On some machines the key is marked return, on others enter, and some have a left descending arrow.) This will return you to the opening screen.
Section 2-6
The Navigator
At the bottom of each screen the active keys are listed, and
what each key does. This "navigator" strip is your first
resource for help in getting around the program.
Section 2-7
STATUTES MENU
The HOME LEGAL GUIDE contains the full text, with attorney's
explanations of many important laws and governmental
regulations. To choose this option from the main menu, press
<B>
and then <ENTER> (Return), or highlight this option by using
the cursor keys- up and down arrows.
Once you are reading the full text, you will occasionally see
blocks of text marked with "/*" and closed with "*/." These are distinguishing placeholders to show comments as opposed to the full text of the law or regulation. Copyright stuff: We do not claim copyright on government material contained in the statutes menu. However we do claim copyright on all the rest of the program and on the comments within the statutes.
Here is a complete list of statutes in the Home Legal Guide:
Automobile odometer federal law
Child Custody when multiple states involved- Federal Act
Copyright basics- official publication of copyright office
Durable Power of Attorney Act
Employment discrimination-- federal act
Fair Credit Reporting Act- Your Credit Bureau Report
Federal Regulations Concerning Advertising Warranties
Federal Regulations Concerning Endorsements in Ads
Federal Freedom of Information Act
Holder in due course rule- creditors responsibility for claims
FTC rules regarding consumer lending
Federal Regulations on Mailorder SalesEmployee Polygraph Protection Act (Lie Detector Test Law)
Uniform Landlord and Tenant Act
Limitations on suits against military personnel- Civil Relief Act
Plant Closing Act- Notification before layoffs
Premarital Agreements- Uniform Act
Uniform Limited Partnership Act
Uniform Partnership Act
The Taxpayer's Bill of Rights!
Uniform Commercial Code- Article 2 [Sales]
United States Constitution [Plain]
Employer's Obligations under Minimum Wage Law
Employee's Guide to Minimum Wage Law
U.S. Supreme Court case on living wills (Nancy Cruzan) 1]
U.S. Supreme Court case regarding political patronage
Unfair insurance trade practices, sample act
Section 2-8 BROWSING THROUGH THE STATUTES
You may read the statutes by pressing the page up, page down, cursor keys for up and down (up and down arrows.) The left and right cursor keys are special. The left arrow key returns you to the previous comment; the right arrow searches for the next comment.
If you press the left arrow key and the text does not
change, this means that you are seeing the first comment; if you press the right arrow key and the text does not change you are then viewing the last comment in the file.
Section 2-9 LET'S TAKE NOTES
USE OF THE "NOTE PAD"- JOT NOTES
WHILE LEARNING ABOUT THE LAW
If you want to take a note while reading the tutorial, put our memory resident note pad to work. From any point once you are reading the text of the tutorial type
<F2> (Function key 2)
and then a note pad will open on the bottom of the screen. This is a nice feature so that you won't lose your place or have to go get a pad and paper if you find something interesting that you might want to take notes about. Since it is for jotting notes, we have made it very simple to use. Simply type in your note, using the backspace key to erase
characters.
NOTE PAD HELP
To get help regarding the note pad utility, simply press
<F1>, (function key one)
while the note pad is open. The help screen contains a full
explanation of the note pad's use.
PRINTING OUT YOUR NOTES
To print out our notes, make sure that your printer is ready, power on, properly connected, with paper and ribbons, and then press
<F3> (Function key 3)
ERASING AND SAVING NOTES
<F10> (Function key 10)
erases everything on the note pad. You cannot recover notes once erased by using F10. To "toggle" back and forth between the note pad and the text of the tutorial, press
<F2> (Function key 2)
Your notes are saved automatically every time that you toggle back and forth between the note pad and the tutorial's main text.
Section 2-10 SPECIAL STATUTE- DEFINITIONS
This program contains a special "statute"- the on line legal
phrase dictionary. Select this option to look up unfamiliar
legal terms. Please let us know if you find other words we
should define.
Section 2- 11 EXITING THE STATUTES
To leave a statute, you may press
Escape <ESC>
which will return you to the statutes menu. To return to the
main menu, press
<M>
To exit the program completely, press
<X>
which will send you back to DOS and quit the program.
Section 2-12 TUTORIAL (MINI-SEMINAR) MENU
WHAT IS A TUTORIAL/ MINI-SEMINAR?
The HOME LEGAL GUIDE mini-seminars called "tutorials" about the subjects that our research and your requests show are of the most interest to our users. To select this option, either highlight option C from the main menu, or, enter the letter
<C>
Then press <ENTER> (Return.)
These "tutorials" or "mini-seminars" are a discussion of the rights and obligations that the law provides for each tutorial area. LET US KNOW ABOUT OTHER AREAS OF INTEREST AND WE'LL PREPARE SOMETHING ON THAT AREA IN THE FUTURE. You're the boss. Here is a list of tutorials contained in the program:
The Attorney Generals for the 50 states
Liability of automobile owners for third parties use
Community property states
Contracts that must be in writing (Statute of frauds)
Divorce- residency requirements and reasons for all states
Educational Records Privacy rights (Buckley Amendment)
Enforcement of divorce/child support arrearages across state lines
Federal Deposit Insurance Commission (FDIC) rules
Basics of federal estate tax law and planning to lessen it
Freedom of Information Rights under federal law
Some advice on finding a good attorney
Liability of parents for children's wrongful acts
Tutorial on FTC regulations for the mailorder trade
Marriage- minimum ages, common law marriage, adulthood
Maximum rates of interest (usury)
Medicare basics
Basic information on patents"How to avoid probate"
Quick word on real estate closings and title insurance
Right to work without joining union
Secured loans-- filing requirements
Social Security Basics- Part One
State taxes on income, sales, real estate transactions
State trademark/tradename rules
Stock fraud---- BEWARE!!!!!!!!
Statute of limitations for the fifty states
Basic information on trademarks
Alaska Living Will Summary
Alabama Living Will Summary
Arkansas Living Will Summary
California Living Will Summary
Connecticut Living Will Summary
Colorado Living Will Summary
District of Columbia Living Will Summary
Delaware Living Will Summary
Florida Living Will Summary
Georgia Living Will Summary
Hawaii Living Will Summary
Idaho Living Will Summary
Illinois Living Will Summary
Indiana Living Will Summary
Kansas Living Will Summary
Missouri Living Will Summary
Mississippi Living Will Summary
Montana Living Will Summary
North Carolina Living Will Summary
New Hampshire Living Will Summary
Nevada Living Will Summary
Oregon Living Will Summary
South Carolina Living Will Summary
Tennessee Living Will Summary
Texas Living Will Summary
Utah Living Will Summary
Virginia Living Will Summary
Washington Living Will Summary
Wisconsin Living Will Summary
West Virginia Living Will Summary
Wyoming Living Will Summary
Reverse Living Will Summary (Living Won't)
Section 2-13 SELECTING A TUTORIAL/MINI-SEMINAR
Once you have determined which tutorial you might want to
read or review, please highlight it by using the cursor keys
(up and down arrows). Then press <Return>. You will then be
able to see the text of a tutorial.
You can read through the tutorial by using the cursor keys,
page down, page up or the home or end keys. (Note that our
clever programming methods- Good job Warren-- make going from
one end to another virtually instantaneous.)
Section 2-14 TAKING NOTES
You may take notes as discussed in Section 2-9.
Section 2-15 READING FULL TEXT OF LAWS OR REGULATIONS
DISCUSSED- OPENING A SECOND WINDOW
Let's get back to the tutorial. If you would like to read and
review the full text of the laws discussed in a tutorial or
mini-seminar, you can review this simultaneously with the
tutorial by opening a second "window." To do so, press the
letter
<S>
and you will be able to select to view the on line dictionary
or view a help screen for tutorials. In addition, many
tutorials also have further explanatory material.
To select which option you desire, use the cursor keys (up and down arrow) to highlight the item you want to view. Then press return. The selected item (the on line dictionary, help or other materials) will then appear on the screen; to toggle
back and forth between the mini-seminar and the selected full
annotated text, press
<O>
You can still open a note pad if you have both the mini-
seminar and the full text selected. Many mini-seminars have
more than one full text selection. If you want to review a
different full annotated text from that originally selected,
return to the tutorial, and press
<S>
which will reopen the full annotated text menu. Select the new
full text by using the cursor (up and down arrow keys).
Section 2-16 DEFINITIONS OF LEGAL TERMS
If legal terms are used in the mini-seminar, they are also
defined in the on line legal dictionary. Simply press
<S>
and select this option for the on line legal phrase book- our
mini legal dictionary. Press
<O>
to toggle back and forth between the dictionary and the text.
To select help or full text, return to the tutorial text,
press
<S>
and select the other full text.
Section 2-17 EXITING THE TUTORIAL
To stop reading, press Escape
(ESC)
to return to the tutorial menu,
<M>
to return to the main menu, or
<X>
to exit (quit) the program and to return to DOS. That was
easy-wasn't it!
Section 2-18 DRAFTING DOCUMENTS
THE DOCUMENT GENERATOR
We are very proud of our document generation program and hope that you will be as well. Through the use of this part of the program you will be able to draft custom legal papers that are legal and binding in all 50 states. These forms will
accomplish their objectives of course, if you use a form that
isn't right, or doesn't completely accomplish your goal, you'll have a legal and valid form that accomplishes something other than you desired.
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO HAVE AN ATTORNEY REVIEW DOCUMENTS THAT YOU MIGHT PREPARE FROM TIME TO TIME; THE DOCUMENTS HEREIN ARE VALID IN THAT IF THEY ARE PROPERLY PREPARED THEY WILL BE EFFECTIVE TO CAUSE THE INTENDED RESULT. THIS MEANS HOWEVER, THAT A USE OF THE FORMS FOR AN INAPPROPRIATE PURPOSE WILL RESULT IN AN INAPPROPRIATE RESULT. WE IMPLORE YOU TO SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL IF THE FAILURE OF A LEGAL FORM TO ACCOMPLISH THE INTENDED PURPOSE WILL BE FINANCIAL LOSS. UNDER THE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES HEREIN, DAMAGES MAY NOT BE RECOVERED FOR THE MONETARY LOSSES AND OTHER DAMAGES, INCLUDING CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SHOULD A FORM NOT MEET YOUR NEEDS. YOU'LL STILL SAVE TIME AND MONEY BY USING THE FORMS- JUST HAVE THEM REVIEWED. IN ADDITION BE SURE TO GET THE LATEST FORMS BY CHECKING IN FOR UPDATES.
In order to begin using the forms generator, from the main
menu, please select option "D", prepare legal documents, by
either entering
<D>
and then <Return> or using the cursor keys (up and down
arrows) to select this option.
NOTE THAT THERE IS MORE THAN ONE SCREEN OF CHOICES, either scroll to the end, or use "Page Down" (you may have to do this more than once) to see all selections.
The document menu lists the many available choices. Use the up and down arrows to highlight the document which you want to select.
LAWS CHANGE AND THIS MAY FORCE A CHANGE IN FORMS TO MAKE THEM COMPLY WITH LEGAL REQUIREMENTS. PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK FOR UPDATES. WHAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED CONTAINS THE FORMS TO THE DATE OF SHIPPING AND IS SUPPLEMENTED AND UPDATED REGULARLY.
Once "inside" a document you will have the opportunity to
enter information, and "custom build" your form.
SECTION 2-19 BUILDING DOCUMENTS: SCREENS
You will then see two types of form building screens- a
multiple choice box and a fill in the blank box.
SECTION 2-20 FILL IN THE BLANK SCREENS
First the fill in the blank box:
Enter, exactly as you wish to see it, the information
requested. Be careful to put it in the format requested- if
the fill in the blank box asks for the information in
numerals, use numerals. If it asks for information in
numbers, enter numbers. Once you have finished filling in the blanks, then hit return. You can "edit" a line prior to entering "return" by using the backspace key. If you have made a horrible goof and want to start from scratch, use the tab forward key to highlight the "cancel" choice on the bottom of the dialogue box, and press return. The document will then be canceled. You will be returned to the document preparation main menu. A second option is to leave the document with the error and fix it with the on-line word processor.
On occasions the space which is provided for entry of data is
too small. In that case, simply enter in the fill in the blank box "See exhibit 1 (etc.)" and use a separate sheet to
continue. Or you can fill in the document and then use the built-in word processor to put in the rest of the information.
SECTION 2-21 MULTIPLE CHOICE SCREENS
You will also see multiple choice boxes. Use the up arrow
and down arrow (cursor keys) to place the "bullet" in the
choice that you would like, and press <Return>.
SECTION 2-22 NUMERICAL AMOUNTS
When amounts of money need to be input, enter them in the
following form:
213.45 or 22000.00
commas and dollar signs are not required and should not be used. The program will prompt for numerical amounts and then will transliterate them into their numerical equivalents. Thus, if you enter 100, the program will show it as $ 100.00 (One hundred dollars and xx/100) automatically!
SECTION 2-23 SUGGESTED INPUTS
Many screens contain suggested inputs. For example, the
"number of days between installments" on the installment
promissory note has several choices. The final choice "KEY IN
VALUE" allows you to put whichever choice you desire in the
form if the suggestions don't fit your needs. To enter your
own value, place the bullet in the key in value choice and
(for save) and then fill in the name of the document. Ms-dos limits you to eight characters and an extension on a file, for example- "guide.exe." We don't-- your document can be named meaningfully using up to 72 characters, including blanks-- Thus, a note from Joe to Fred for $ 1.00 done on 1/1/90 can be named:
Note from Joe to Fred- value $ 1.00 dated 1/1/92
Use a completely descriptive name so you will know exactly
what the document is.
SECTION 2-23 PRINTING DOCUMENTS
To print out a document, after completing your answers,
and seeing the document, press <P>, and a dialogue box will ask you use the cursor key to say "yes" or "no." Before saying yes be sure that the printer is connected to the computer, turned on, has ribbons and paper. (Or if it is a laser printer, that it has toner and paper!) You may use a printer of your choice from daisy wheel, a dot matrix to a laser.
IF YOU ARE USING A LASER PRINTER BE SURE TO CLEAR OUT ANY
CODES THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE SET FOR GRAPHICS OR LANDSCAPE
PRINTING. THE PRINT OUTPUT IS ORDINARY "ASCII."
The specific forms and the information required to complete
them are discussed in section 3.
SECTION 2-24 REVIEWING DOCUMENTS
To print out a document which you previously saved, go to
the main menu and either use the cursor key or enter the
letter
<E>
and then press <Return>. The documents, with titles that you
have chosen will appear on screen. To see one, highlight that
document and press <Return.> To print, press
<P>
check that you are ready and then print away. To delete a document, first select the document, and press enter so that you are viewing that document. To delete hold down the
<Alt> key and while holding the ALT key down, press <D>
(for delete.) This will permanently erase a document, and
in most cases even an undelete program will not save you! Be
sure that you intend to do so before zapping a document to
never-never land!
SECTION 2-25
EDITING DOCUMENTS
Once you have prepared a document, you may change it with the
A word from our chief developer, Herb Kraft (attorney at
law):
WARNING: If you change a single word that is part of the legal requirements of the form, you may (certainly will) turn the document into gibberish, or the exact opposite of what you want. Some forms should never be changed, like state mandated living will forms. One word does make a huge difference. Please, please, please, don't change things around unless you understand what you are doing or are an attorney, paralegal or business person trained in the law. We have provided the capability to edit forms primarily to allow you to use the word processor to format the text. YOU ARE TOTALLY ON YOUR OWN WHEN YOU CHANGE ANY WORDS IN THE FORMS. Good luck! I apologize for the tone of this warning. It is intended to sober you and keep you from making changes! As an attorney, I have seen all too many times that people "improve" on the standard form of contract forms or state approved forms and ruin everything.
The text editor provides the following functions (you may see
this same information by entering
<F1>
(function key 1)
while using the word processor.
^ = Control # = Shift @ = Alt
Cursor Movement Block commands File commands
Up - up line @B - mark column block F2 - save
Down - down line @L - mark line block F3 - quit
Home - begin of line @U - unmark block F4 - save/quit
End - end of line @G - group delete block
PGUP - page up @M - move block
PGDN - page down @C - copy block
^Right - word right @K - kopy block
^Left - word left @O - overlay block Other commands
^Home - top of screen @P - print block Del - delete char
^End - bottom of screen @W - write block to file Tab - tab
^PGUP - top of file @E - block expand tabs Ins - toggle insert
^PGDN - bottom of file @F - fill column block @I - toggle indent
@Z - jump (zip) to line @= - dup line
^W - scroll up Find/Replace commands @- - delete to eol
^X - scroll down ^F5 - toggle search case ^Y - delete line
This form is used to as a combination receipt and bill of
sale. It is intended solely for a deal in which a CONSUMER
sells something that they own to another person. This form was prepared because small claims courts are populated with cases in which someone who has bought a used boat motor, or whatever, sues the seller claiming that the product failed to work, etc. However, the law in most states is that there IS NO WARRANTY when a person who is not a dealer in that type of
goods sells them.
Information needed:
Name of the seller; name of the buyer; description of the
goods sold- here be sure to call it a "used" whatever;
The form provides the following choices as to the payment of
the sales price: cash, or part cash and assumption of liens.
For example, if there is a lien on a stereo you are selling,
then the sales price is for cash of whatever and the buyer
agreeing to pay the lien. In this case have the name of the
lien holder and the amount of the liens handy.
If you are financing a purchase of something don't use this
form. Instead, use the security agreement form.
SECTION 3-23 GUARANTEE FORMS
A guarantee is an agreement by one party to pay the debt, or
to take care of the obligations of another party. This is
frequently used with corporations. Most corporations are very
thinly capitalized, and thus for obligations of any size,
savvy creditors demand that the owners guarantee the debt.
Under a law known as the Statute of Frauds, the promise to
pay the debt of another must be in WRITING TO be valid. REMEMBER THIS!!
Therefore, we have a personal guarantee. This document
actually produces THREE different kinds of guarantees. The
first is an unconditional, blanket guarantee. This means that
the guarantor (person agreeing to make good another's
obligations) agrees that whatever debts and obligations are
due from the primary debt, in whatever amount will be their
responsibility. This is the most dangerous kind of guarantee
to sign for the guarantor, but the most favorable to the
creditor.
The second is a guarantee agreement for a specific obligation. In other words, in this agreement the guarantor is agreeing to pay whatever comes out of one specific deal.
The third is a guarantee that covers all obligations, but, is limited to a total specified sum. Thus, the guarantor agrees to pay a certain sum, if the balance is that or lower and the primary debtor doesn't pay.
The following information is needed to complete the form; of course, you must choose which one of the guarantees represents your agreement.
The name of the party borrowing, guaranteeing and lending
The amount, or debt guaranteed (unless unconditional this is an unconditional guarantee)
SECTION 3-42 SECURITY AGREEMENT
This form is called many different things by different folks.
Some refer to it as a "conditional sale" in which the
condition is you get to keep the property if you pay a debt
that you agreed to pay to acquire the property. Sometimes it
is called a "Chattel Mortgage"; in some cases it is known as
"Lease." All of these instruments are really security
agreements. In simple words a security agreement is a LIEN on
property.
LIMITATIONS: Security agreements are used for tangible
assets, contract rights and intangibles. They are NOT appropriate for securities, cash or real estate. With securities a pledge and physical possession of the securities is appropriate. With cash, physical possession is required and with real estate mortgages are required (trust deeds in some states.) SPECIAL WARNING: Unless you have physical possession of the collateral certain filings are required to perfect the lien. If you don't file, your lien will be invalid against other creditors.
This selection on the menu prepares three different types of
security agreements. The first is a standard security
agreement in which a party puts up his property for a loan or
for a purchase. In this form, the debtor agrees to make good
any deficiency (that is if the property is repossessed and
does not bring enough in to pay off the debt, they're on the
hook for the difference.) There are some further variations: whether the security is provided for a single debt or for all debts (this latter set is called a cross collateralization clause.)
In addition, this selection on the menu can produce a
hypothecation. (See on line dictionary for explanation).
The following information is required:
names of each party; a specific explanation of the property secured, either general or specific-- thus you can have a lien on a specific fork-lift, or on the accounts receivable of a business;
if the security agreement secures a specific debt, the date of the debt and the original principal amount;
if the security agreement is a hypothecation, then the person for whom the debt is secured must be identified, together with that debt-- the date of the debt and the original amount;
in all security agreements-- are there other liens on the property? (first lien vs. junior lien) and if so, the amount of the liens and the identify of the creditor;
will this security agreement secure all other debts between
the parties?
SECTION 3-57 OFFER TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATE
This is a very complicated form. Anyone who has been in the
real estate business for any period of time will recommend
that all parties in real estate deals, whatever size, have
legal counsel. So do we.
The real estate offer form is used by a buyer (and real estate agent) to make an offer to an owner. Here we go with the needed information:
description of the property; expiration date of the offer.
Will the purchase price be paid: in cash, with terms;
If mortgages are to be assumed: the amounts and mortgage
holders;
If the seller is to grant a new mortgage as part of the
purchase
price: the principal amount, rate of interest and payment
terms;
If the buyer will need to obtain a new mortgage, the amounts, the term of the mortgage in months, the maximum allowable rate of interest on the new mortgage, the maximum number of points to be paid by the buyer, the maximum application fee to be paid by the buyer;
If there are buildings on the property;
The number of days between acceptance and closing (minimum and maximum), number of days to provide title insurance by the owner;
Closing costs to be paid by each party;
if the parties used a realtor, the name of the realtor.
This form conforms to practice in most of the east coast of
the United States.
REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE EXCLUSIVE LISTING
This form is for the EXCLUSIVE listing of real estate with a
brokerage.
Information required:
The name of the owner of the property; the broker; the legal
description of the property; the number of days of the
listing;
the minimum sales price; the financing that the owner will provide; the amount of the commission; the right of the broker to place a sign on the property
3-58 LIVING WILL FORMS:
Before preparing these forms, be sure to review that state's
Living Will Summary from the tutorials menu. If the state
isn't listed then review the "generic tutorial." NOTE: The
failure to list a state means that it does not as yet have a
living will law, and does not indicate an omission.
SECTION 4
CUSTOMER SATISFACTION
Section 4-1: SUPPORT
After registration of this program, you are entitled to
support through a private bulletin board and voice. We also
are on CompuServe, EXEC PC and GENIE and visit regularly. On CompuServe, please address mail to 76177,1421; on GENIE please address mail to H.KRAFT1 and on EXEC-PC, please address mail to Herb Kraft. Our BBS is open 24 hours daily at 904-656-2263 (9600 baud V32/V32 bis;V42/V42 bis) use standard BBS settings, N,8,1.
WARNINGS ABOUT PHONE NUMBERS: Our company will be moving in late 1992. We plan to release an update later this year, which will contain new phone numbers. We will do our best to notify everyone of new numbers. Our post office address will not be changing.
Mail address: R FRINGE SOFTWARE
P.O. Box 37155
Tallahassee, Florida 32315
Our telephone number is 1-904-877-7139. This support number is manned 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Section 4-2 Philosophy
We try to place customer service first! Let us prove it
to you! Many forms, tutorials, etc. were suggested by
our users! Let's hear from you!
SECTION 4-3 WORDS ABOUT SHAREWARE
This program is shareware. IT IS NOT FREE SOFTWARE. The Home
Legal Guide has been authored by a group which has over 20
programs sold commercially. Our best seller in the commercial
field, THE PC ATTORNEY (which is similar to this program, but just generates documents) is selling multiple thousands per
week. It's in every major computer chain, and is featured in
several computer software store's Christmas catalogs. We
started as a commercial only company, and then went to
shareware as an additional marketing technique. Basically,
shareware is commercial software marketed on trust. Just like
there is good and bad commercial software, there is good and
bad shareware. At least with shareware, you get a full test
drive before you spend. Any fee you paid to a disk vendor was
for the disks, and the catalog, support etc.
Unlike many companies who have withdrawn from shareware when
they got successful, I (Herb Kraft, Chief Developer) made a
public statement that we were staying in shareware despite
huge success in the commercial field. We will keep this
promise. This program is uncrippled, and on par with our best
"commercial" output!
SECTION 4-3
If you register the fee is $ 59.00 US Dollars. There is no
shipping or handling charge within the US. Outside the U.S.
please add $ 6.00. Registrations may be mailed to:
R FRINGE SOFTWARE
P.O. Box 37155
Tallahassee, Florida 32315
When you register:
we will provide a free subscription to a special areas on our BBS system; we will provide reasonable support via phone (no charge other than the call); we will provide updates and free upgrades-- the upgrades and updates are posted on the BBS when done WE MAIL out to those without modems on a semi- annual basis; additional years are $ 20.00.
Registered users receive the program and a special key that
removes the registration reminder screens and "brands" your
name on screen.
After a reasonable trial, registration is mandatory. We do not state a specific number of days or use other arbitrary measures. However, if you are preparing forms for your own use and keeping them, then you really are using the program and should register.
SECTION 5
WHO WE ARE
The staff that prepared this program consist of:
Herbert Kraft (Herb), Attorney at law admitted to practice in Florida; Developer and author of legal material, comments and documents, Chief Developer (It's all my fault-- honest)
David Byron, Co-Developer;
Warren Clary, P.E., Software engineer and co-developer, Warren is the author of the computer program itself (and did a tremendous job!)
Wyatt Cox; who assists with research and support;
Amy Seeberger; research and support; and,
Scott Briscoe, chief of customer support and fulfillment.
SECTION 6
LEGALESE
Section 6-1 LIMITATION OF WARRANTY
***EXCEPT FOR THE CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY THERE ARE NO
WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AND THE SELLERS AND
MANUFACTURER SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES.
THE SOLE REMEDY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE REFUND OF PURCHASE
PRICE. THE FORMS HEREIN ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE USED UNLESS THE SAME ARE REVIEWED BY AN ADVISOR OR ATTORNEY, AND THE SELLERS AND MANUFACTURERS OF THIS PROGRAM SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE FAILURE OF A FORM TO ACCOMPLISH THE GOALS OF THE USER.***
TRADEMARKS
IBM PC, PS/2, AT, XT, and PC-DOS are trademarks of IBM.
MS-DOS and OS/2 are a trademark of Microsoft. DR-DOS is a
trademark of Digital Research. UNIX is a trademark of Bell
Labs. R FRINGE is a trademark of R FRINGE SOFTWARE, INC., THE
HOME AND BUSINESS LEGAL GUIDE is a trademark of EFP LEGAL MARKETING, INC., d/b/a R FRINGE COMPUTER SOFTWARE.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"Mouse.com" is copyright 1983,1984 by Microsoft, and is used under license. PKLITE is used under license from PKWARE, Inc. LHARC is Copyright 1990, Yoshi, and is used with permission.
SECTION 7
INDEX
The index refers to section numbers, not page numbers.
Section Topic
1-1 System Requirements
2-1 Reference to Quickstart manual
2-2 Detailed operating instructions begin
2-3 Start up and main menu- keyboard users
2-4 Start up- mouse users 2-5 Selecting menu options
2-6 DOS SHELL
2-7 STATUTES MENU
2-8 Browsing through statutes
2-9 Note pad (on line)
2-10 On line definitions
2-11 Exiting statutes
2-12 TUTORIALS MENU
2-13 Selecting a tutorial
2-14 Taking notes (cross references to 2-9)
2-15 Opening a second menu
2-16 On line definitions
2-17 Exiting tutorials
2-18 DRAFTING DOCUMENTS (USING THE DOCUMENT GENERATOR)
(.txt)