Kansas Child Support Forum
Resources and Contacts => Kansas Child Support Calculators and Forms => Topic started by: eFamilyTools on May 11, 2016, 11:25:03 PM
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Hello forum members,
eFamilyTools is a new tool developed to provide parents and attorneys an easy to use, convenient platform to create child support forms for your child support case. Calculations are all performed as you enter data and the interface was specifically made to be intuitive and easy to use. We even provide guidance tips throughout the tool.
To visit our site, visit: https://efamilytools.com (https://efamilytools.com)
To register for a new account, visit https://efamilytools.com/app/signup (https://efamilytools.com/app/signup)
Here are some highlights:
- No software to install. Everything is cloud based (online website).
- Access your data anytime anywhere.
- Mobile enabled. All tools have been specifically designed for compatibility with mobile devices.
- Free accounts and low-cost monthly accounts. You decide what features you need.
- Ready-to-file forms. Both PDF and Microsoft (.doc) formats are available. Forms can also be password protected to protect your sensitive information.
- Import child support data directly from other popular software data files. Great to get you started quickly.
- Create sub-users. Perfect for legal assistants.
- Help tips and tutorials
You can read more at https://efamilytools.com/#comp (https://efamilytools.com/#comp)
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Hello,
While users have not yet posted their user experience with our new tool, we've received a couple emails with questions. I'd like to take the opportunity to answer those questions.
- The password requirements are ridiculous. Why?
We've intentionally enforced "strong" passwords for our user accounts. As you probably know, the information you must supply to your attorney or to any calculator is rather sensitive and personal. By requiring a strong password, we help ensure the security of your information. As a further note, we do not allow users to reset their own passwords. This is for your own security. Please bear in mind we are trying to protect our users by taking these measures. - I created my account, but now what do I do?
On the left menu, you will find a link called "Help Getting Started." We created this very quick tutorial to help users quickly recall how to use eFamilyTools. - Where is the child support calculation? I thought this was free?
Yes, we do provide basic child support calculations for free. If your case requires advanced features or if you would like to create an actual child support spreadsheet showing all the calculations, you will first need to upgrade to at least the Personal account. What you are able to do for free is create your case, add all your children, create a child support worksheet (under the Forms & Worksheets left menu item), and calculate your data. You should see the resulting child support calculation in the results windows at the top. - Why can't I create more than one case or worksheet?
This is a limitation of the free accounts. Only one case can be created and only one child support worksheet can be created. The Personal account has the same limitations, but allows all other features. You are always welcome to purchase an attorney account if you need to create multiple cases or worksheets. Otherwise, we would recommend you simply modify your existing worksheet. Note, once the case is created, the case number may not be changed. You will need to contact us to change it.
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I gave this efamilytools a try. I'll admit, as an attorney who has used Bradley for several years, I was skeptical that this would be able to do the same calculations. Bradley is rather clunky and out-dated, but I've continued to use it for some reason - I guess there was no other option. There are a number of problems with Bradley and I've sort of lost my trust in their software over the years. I was happy to try something new. I'm quite glad I did.
Using efamilytools, I was able to sign up, enter a case, and create a child support worksheet quickly. I found out quickly that free users can do most of the calculations, but can't download the worksheet and perform some of the other tasks most commonly used by attorneys. I went ahead and paid for an account so I could try all the features. Pricing comes out much lower than Bradley, if you buy it for a year, and I think this product is far better than Bradley all the way around. Since I only do a few family law cases every year, I like that I can buy this monthly when I need it. For me, this probably saves me 60% over buying Bradley.
I was also pleasantly surprised by how easy the Microsoft Word document download works. In my county, we must file child support worksheets in Word document format. Using Bradley I have to use a separate converter to convert the pdf to doc., which is another license fee and another hassle. Sometimes the formatting gets messed up so I have to manually fix it. The efamilytools software allows you to download the Word document directly without installing any software. I haven't had any trouble with it. It just works.
I can tell you I had a support question about a simple formatting issue I was seeing in my browser. Brian with efamilytools responded to my question within 15 minutes not to tell me he got my email, but to tell me he fixed the problem. When I checked my account, the problem was fixed. If efamilytools can keep up that kind of support, I will be a loyal customer.
I would like to request a feature though or maybe I just don't know how. I typically enter the same preparer information on my worksheets and most of my cases are in the same county. Is there a way to add this to the user settings somehow so I don't have to copy/paste this into each worksheet?
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Thank you for the review, dalaw! We very much value your feedback.
Let me address your final question. Indeed, many attorneys duplicate the same information for each case and each worksheet. While our tool is very functional as-is, we strive to make you as efficient as possible. We have had discussions on how to best handle this. We are currently working on a "template" feature that will address this. Since some attorneys work in a handful of different counties, we wanted to be able to help them as well. Our new template feature will be available by the end of this summer and will allow you to create a template and simply apply that template to every case you create. You can think of it as a digital rubber stamp. It will fill in all the information you find redundant in your cases, leaving you to focus on your work. Looking to the future, this template feature will also allow you to update old cases and worksheets simply by applying the template.
Thank you again for your review, and I hope I've answered your question.
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Shown below are some example child support worksheets that can be created using eFamilyTools.com. I believe you will need to be logged into the forum to be able to see them.
These worksheet pages represent a single child support case. This case is rather complex, which allows us to demonstrate some of the more complex features of our software. Here's a description of the case
- Mother and Father have 3 children
- Mother has residency of the 2 youngest children and claims the tax deduction every year
- Father has the two youngest children 40% of the time allowing him a 10% parenting time adjustment
- Mother and Father share residency of the oldest child and utilize the EPT formula, sharing clothing between homes
- Father works in Missouri and utilizes the interstate pay differential adjustment
- Father receives the income tax adjustment for the two youngest children
- Father receives a parenting time adjustment for the two youngest children
- Each parent receives various child support adjustments in section E.
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eFamilyTools has been updated for 2017! The tax factors involved in calculating tax adjustments have been updated. A few additional features have been implemented and several others are still being finalized. Thank you for using eFamilyTools
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We've received a few messages from folks wanting more information about how our software works. We are currently in the process of compiling several YouTube tutorial videos detailing the process to use our software to complete your child support worksheet. While those are still ongoing, we have provided a few screenshots of how you can enter information. Here are some quick tips.
- You don't need to know your court district, we determine that for you
- You don't need to know when your child's nearest birthday is, we calculate it for you
- You don't need to remember what information you used to calculate a scenario. You can create several scenarios and save them all.