DivorceMate Cloud Platform User Guide

: August 27, 2024
: DIVORCEMATE

Table of Contents

DivorceMate Cloud Platform
MIGRATING EXISTING LEGACY DESKTOP MATTERS
TRANSITIONING EXISTING LEGACY CLOUD MATTERS
WORKING ON NEW CLOUD DOCUMENTS
OTHER THINGS TO KNOW
CONTACT INFORMATION
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

DivorceMate Cloud Platform

MIGRATING EXISTING LEGACY DESKTOP MATTERS

Upon logging in, you will not see any of your existing Legacy Desktop matters as they are not automatically transferred into the new DivorceMate Cloud. Follow the steps below to import those matters you wish to continue using.

Importing Legacy Desktop Matters

A. Click the menu icon in the top left corner of the screen.
B. Click “Desktop Import” under “Utilities”.
C. Highlight the matters you wish to import (they will be marked as “queued”). You may filter the list of matters to:
- i. Exclude matters that have been idle for a period of time(as you determine); and/or
- ii. Exclude matters that have been previously imported into the new DivorceMate Cloud.
D. Click “Import/Upload”. This may take time depending on the number of matters and the number of documents in each matter. You will see a green checkmark appear once a matter has been imported.
Once transferred, all Legacy Calculations, Forms, and Agreements will be included in the matters list with a grey icon.

Working On Existing Legacy Desktop Forms That Were Imported

Once you have transferred a Legacy Matter into the new DivorceMate Cloud, you can continue working on your existing documents as you would in the Legacy Desktop software. In other words, you will continue to use the old DivorceMate toolbar at the top of the Word document to edit and manipulate your existing documents.

Before Using a Legacy Desktop Matter

Click on the Matter Details in the left-hand side panel, and address the following items:

Add lawyer for the parties (or select Self-rep if applicable) – DivorceMate Cloud uses a centralized database to merge information for lawyers, including law firm, address and contact information.
If you can’t find the lawyer you are looking for, simply click to add a lawyer’s contact information and you will be able to use it in your own documents. The lawyer you add will only be available to you; this lawyer will not become part of DivorceMate’s centralized database.
Add Court – DivorceMate Cloud uses a centralized database for all courthouses across the country so you always have the most current information listed merged into your documents.
Pension Database (for Ontario Only) – If you are completing pension forms for a matter you will need to complete the Pension details in the Merge Info.
Once you have addressed these items, you are ready to begin creating new documents for your matter.

TRANSITIONING EXISTING LEGACY CLOUD MATTERS

Legacy Cloud Matters

All of your existing DivorceMate Cloud matters will automatically transition into the new DivorceMate Cloud.

DivorceMate Cloud Calculations will be marked with this icon and continue to be fully operational in the new DivorceMate Cloud.
Legacy DivorceMate Cloud Forms will be marked with this icon and continue to be fully operational in the new DivorceMate Cloud.
Legacy DivorceMate Cloud Agreements will be marked with this icon and continue to be fully operational in the new DivorceMate Cloud.

WORKING ON NEW CLOUD DOCUMENTS

Once you have installed the new DivorceMate Cloud application and logged in, you can start working on new matters or matters that have been transferred from your Legacy software.

Creating a Matter

A. To create a new matter, click on the blue “New Matter” button in the top right corner.
B. Fill in the matter name, any description if you wish, and select the subject of the matter from the drop-down menu (e.g. separation/divorce, child protection, etc.) and the type office (Court or ADR) if applicable.
C. Complete ALL relevant sections under Matter Details.

Modifying a Matter

A. To modify a matter from the Home Screen, simply find the matter you are looking for by using the search bar at the top or scrolling through your list and double-clicking on the matter.
B. The Matter Screen will open and you should see the name of the matter in the center of the blue ribbon at the top of the application.
C. To make changes to any of the merge information, click on the relevant section in the left side pane, and the Matter Details screen will open.

Creating a New Form

A. Click on the “Form” button which will open a new window.
B. Select the Form you would like to complete by typing the name of the forms into the search bar or scroll to the form and click “OK”.
C. A new Form will open in Microsoft Word. Any relevant information you fill out under Matter Details will automatically be merged into the new form you created.

DivorceMate Side Pane In Forms

The DivorceMate Side Pane is the “toolbar” for all financial forms and certain forms requiring configuration. Use the DivorceMate Side Pane to:

Select configuration options
Include any necessary Schedules or Parts
Calculate math for financial forms with the click of a button
Add/delete rows in tables
Update merged matter details by clicking on the to refresh the Form
ON only – Transfer property from a 13.1 Financial Statement to an NFP Statement and from an NFP Statement to an NFP Comparison Statement
If you have removed the DivorceMate Side Pane or require the Side Pane to refresh the document, click on it in the Word toolbar.

Creating a New Calculation

A. Click on the “Calculation” button which will open a new calculation
B. You may rename the calculation by clicking on “Calculation 1” at the top of the screen.3

If you were a Legacy DivorceMate Desktop user:

You will see that the new DivorceMate Cloud calculator is very similar to the Legacy Desktop calculator.
Some minor organizational differences include:
- Special Expenses have their own input section on the printout.
- More input fields and additional features such as Summer Shared.
- All Options are gathered in one place, organized by issues (see Options screen to the right).

If you were a Legacy DivorceMate Cloud user:

The new Divorcemate Cloud uses the same calculator to which you are accustomed.

Creating a New Agreement

A. Click on the “Agreement” button which will open a new window.
B. Select the Agreement or schedule you would like to complete by double-clicking on it or selecting the document and clicking “OK”.
C. A new Agreement will open in Microsoft Word. Any relevant information you fill out under Matter Details will automatically be merged into the new document you created.

DivorceMate Side Pane in Agreements

Use the DivorceMate Side Pane to:

Start building your Agreement by selecting from hundreds of clauses in the checklist, organized by topic
Click on a folder to expand and select any applicable clauses you wish to include
Preview clauses before including them in the Agreement by clicking on the clause name(not the checkbox); the preview will appear in the bottom portion of the Side Pane
Read the commentary associated with a clause by clicking on the i in the top right corner of the clause preview area
Use the search feature to find clauses
Save clauses as a template for use in other matters
Load previously saved templates of clauses for use on other matters
Remove brackets and shading from greyed text you wish to keep in Agreement If you do not see the DivorceMate Side Pane, click on the button in the Word toolbar.

OTHER THINGS TO KNOW

Organization of Documents in Matter Screen

In the Matter Screen, all your documents are listed with color-coded symbols. The color-coded symbols allow you to see the document type at a glance. This will help with quickly finding the document you are looking for.
The symbol to the left of the document title indicates whether the document is a Calculation, Form, or Agreement and whether it was created in the new DivorceMate Cloud, Legacy Desktop or DM Cloud.
On the Matter Screen, you can organize your documents by name, type, and date the document was modified, or created. You can search for the document using the search bar at the top.

Saving Documents Clicking “Save”

This is the preferred method.
Clicking “save” (not “save as”) will preserve the proper functioning of the software for your forms and agreements.
This will save your documents within DivorceMate Cloud.

Clicking “Save As”

Clicking “save as” will enable you to save your forms and agreements in any desired location or folder on your computer.
However, if you save your documents to a different folder, outside of DivorceMate Cloud, you will not be able to access them within DivorceMate Cloud.

Renaming Documents

To rename a document from the Matter Screen, click on the three vertical dots to the right of the document, click ”rename” and then specify the new document.

Going Forward

Once you have transitioned into the new DivorceMate Cloud, we recommend that you do not return to using your previous Legacy software to avoid losing or overriding work.
Once you have transitioned a matter to the new DivoreMate Cloud, all firm members must work on that matter in the new DivorceMate Cloud.

Setting Up My Profile

Click on the 3 lines in the top left corner (top right corner for Mac) of the DivorceMate Matters screen and click on “My Profile”.

In “My Profile” you can:

Update your contact information that will be searchable to other DivorceMate members in the centralized database.
Select your default court which will merge into your forms.
Select your default matter type, Court, or ADR (currently this is only available in Ontario).
Select the default lawyer that will merge into your forms.
Select the default Commissioner for Taking Affidavits.
Choose whether, upon saving, you would like the software to automatically name new documents or prompt you for a new document name.