FAQs: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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LEGAL FORM SOFTWARE FORMATS

FORMS FORMAT #1: MICROSOFT WORD FILES

FORMS FORMAT #2: PDF FILES

FORMS FORMAT #3: TEXT FILES

WHAT IF I NEED MORE HELP?

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While many legal kit and legal software companies are hesitant to show you the type of forms you are purchasing, we at Standard Legal want you to know exactly what it is you are buying BEFORE you buy it.

Some of our competitors provide poorly formatted forms in a single format that limit your options. Standard Legal provides fully formatted forms in three formats, with the instructions built into the forms or clearly provided for easy reference!

No matter which one of the legal form formats you choose, our forms are very simple to use: anyone with the most basic computer skills and the ability to read and follow simple instructions can complete our legal forms.

Below we have provided a sample Acknowledgement Form (the form a Notary Public uses to validate the identity of a person signing a legal document) in each of the three document formats that are included in every Standard Legal title. We've also included a brief explanation of each format.

We hope this information will help you make your decision in choosing Standard Legal!

FORMS FORMAT #1: MICROSOFT WORD

The Microsoft Word format of the Standard Legal Software forms is one of the primary formats: the instructions are built in to the form fields as you tab your way through the document, so it is the easiest format to complete and print.

Opening any of the .doc files using the links with the software should launch the Microsoft Word program on your PC, provided that the program is installed on the computer you are using. If Word does not launch when clicking the document link within the software, then launch Microsoft Word through the "Start>Programs" menu and browse the hard drive from within Word to the folder containing this software. Go first into the "instructions" folder and then the "forms" folder. Find the appropriate Word file and then open it by double-clicking on it.

The Microsoft Word versions of the documents provided have instructions included within each tabbed fill-in-the-blank section. These instructions appear in the lower left hand corner of the screen and provide directions to the user as to how to appropriately fill in that particular "blank." (If the instructions are not appearing in the lower left hand corner of your version of MS Word, then you can also click the F1 button on the keyboard when the cursor is located inside one of the blank fields; clicking F1 will produce an instruction window pop up with directions.)

Simply click your cursor inside the first gray box, review the instructions or question related to that box, type in your answer and hit the Tab key to move to the next form field. Continue until all of the answers are completed.

NOTE : The GRAY BOXES that hold the user-provided data WILL NOT BE VISIBLE WHEN THE DOCUMENT IS PRINTED!

OPEN OFFICE USERS: OpenOffice.org's "Writer" program, which is free word processing program from Oracle, can be used to complete the Microsoft Word versions of the legal forms. However, there are limitations: instead of entering the data directly into the form field, an 'Input Field' window pops up when you click the cursor onto an empty form field, and the user enters the data into that window and clicks the OK button to post the information. Also, the 'help' information for each field does not appear for reference, so the user must ascertain the required information from the context of the text around it.

CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT

GET COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS FORMAT (Word Document)





FORMS FORMAT #2: PDF FORMS

The PDF versions of Standard Legal's forms are provided with savable form fields in a fill-in-the-blank format.

To access the PDF forms, you must have either the free Adobe Acrobat Reader, the commercially available Adobe Acrobat, or some other type of PDF reader installed on your system. In most instances, the Acrobat Reader (available for download for FREE below) is all that is required to completely and accurately complete, save and print the legal forms a person needs.

 Download the latest version of Acrobat Reader for FREE

Standard Legal currently offers the vast majority of its PDF legal forms in Version 5, as detailed below. However, some state forms and forms within the FSBO and Cohabitation titles include v4 PDFs. Click here for details on Version 4 PDF forms.


To use the PDF FORMAT VERSION 5 Forms:

Standard Legal is constantly updating its legal forms software and recently has adopted an even more user-friendly PDF "Version 5". The primary benefit of this new format is that it allows Acrobat Reader users (the FREE PDF Reader software available here) to fill-in the answers directly to the legal form fields and then SAVE the document with the fields fully completed. The form field answers are retained within the saved document, meaning users can start work on a form, save it, and then come back to it at a later time without losing any work that has been completed.

Also, this newly updated "Version 5" of our PDF forms handles the form field "prompt information" in a very clear way. Each form field in the PDF format has a corresponding "?" mark in a yellow circle that provides written guidance as to the wording or information that is to be entered into that specific form field.

To use the "?" form field prompts, follow these directions:

Hold the cursor over the "?" mark and the instructional information will appear for your review. (Or click the "?" to keep the instructions box open while moving the cursor away to complete the field, and then click the "X" in the corner of the box to close it when you are done.) Provide the requested information where required per the instructions and tab to the next field until the form is completed.

Some of the form fields do not have a "?" mark attached to them, as the information on these lines is automatically filled in for you.

FOR ATTORNEYS, PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENT PREPARERS, OR HIGHLY SKILLED LEGAL DOCUMENT USERS: Note that if you wish to change any of the baseline content of the PDF forms (i.e. the standardized content of the forms not contained within any of the customizable form fields), then the commercial version of Adobe Acrobat is necessary, as the baseline content of the legal forms cannot be changed using Acrobat Reader. Such baseline content customization is not typically required -- especially for the general consumer or end-user -- but attorneys and document professionals should be aware of the requirement if they wish to create highly complex legal documents.


CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE OF THIS VERSION 5 PDF FORMAT

GET COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS v5 FORMAT (PDF Document)





FORMS FORMAT #3: TEXT FILES

The Straight Text version of the Standard Legal Software forms is for use with any word processing program besides Microsoft Word, such as commercial programs like WordPerfect or pre-installed system-based products like Word Pad. The text is unformatted so it is easily imported into any word processing program. The instructions are provided separately in this format, but both the forms and the instructions include easy-to-follow reference numbers that correspond to the lines that must be completed on the forms.

Simply replace the lines that look like this ______________[1] with the text that should appear in that "field." There is no need to leave any of the lines in place after the document is completely edited.

When clicking a link for a text version of a form, if the text file opens in your browser window instead of a word processing program, you can "select all" of the text in the browser window, copy it, open your word processing program, and then paste the copied text into that word processing program. Once the text file is in your word processing program, edit it to fit your needs, save it and print it out.

CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE TEXT DOCUMENT

GET COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THIS FORMAT (Text Document)





WHAT IF I NEED MORE HELP?

SUPPORT: If you have any problems with the download and/or installation of this software, feel free to email us at . While we cannot provide to you any legal advice, our tech team will answer your download or installation questions promptly via email during normal business hours, which are Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Eastern time.

SALES: If you have a sales related inquiry, please email . Or you may call 1-888-888-7712 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Eastern time. Note that no technical support will be provided at this toll free number!