Help & FAQs

Basic provides a free calculation for one level monthly payment stream. Pro adds payment phases, scenario comparisons, sensitivity analysis, workpapers, and detailed reports. Expert includes everything in Pro, plus individual payment adjustments with disclosed workpapers, multiple matters, full and partial offer comparisons, reverse calculations, rate-and-duration analysis, firm-branded Word and PDF reports, Excel formula workpapers, reusable templates, report version comparison, and optional account storage.

All three modes and report downloads are free during this preview. Checkout is not enabled.

No. Pro is designed for accountants, family law attorneys, and informed self-represented parties. Choose it when you need more flexible calculations and a detailed report.

In Pro and Expert, scenario tabs organize alternatives. Overview shows value and sensitivity; Compare shows scenarios; Cash flow provides schedules; Method & sources explains the calculation; and Report builds the document. Expert adds matter management and Expert tools for offers and reverse calculations.

Enter the monthly amount the proposed buyout would replace. It may be an agreed amount, an ordered amount, or an amount selected for a scenario. The calculator does not decide whether that amount is appropriate.

The term is the number of future monthly payments included in the calculation. Years and months are converted into a payment count. It is not automatically the length of the marriage or anyone’s life expectancy.

The calculator will value the amount entered, but it does not convert temporary support into permanent support. Identify the basis for the amount and duration you choose.

The rate is your assumption. Document its source and rationale, or identify that it was agreed by the parties. Use sensitivity analysis to see how other rates change the result. The application does not select or endorse a rate.

This tool does not establish a standard or court-approved rate. A range shown in an example or entered in a scenario is not a recommendation. Document the basis for the rate used in your matter.

Pro and Expert support up to six consecutive monthly payment phases. Each phase can have its own amount, duration, discount rate, and annual adjustment. Expert can also replace individual installment amounts. Irregular payment dates are outside this model.

The model uses equal monthly periods. Changing the valuation date moves the payment schedule while keeping each payment’s discount period the same. It does not revalue fixed historical payment dates.

It compares a stream of future support payments with a proposed present arrangement. This calculator values the payment assumptions you enter; the terms and effect of any agreement require separate consideration.

It is the sum of the entered monthly payments after discounting each payment to the valuation date. Total future payments shows the undiscounted sum. The difference is the time-value discount.

No. It values the payment stream entered. It does not determine appropriate support, apply legal factors, predict a court order, or recommend a settlement.

No. It assumes the entered payments continue for the full modeled term. It does not assign probabilities to these events. Alternative scenarios show the effect of changed assumptions, not the likelihood of those assumptions occurring.

No. Optional tax percentages in Pro and Expert illustrate the payer’s cost and recipient’s receipt for periodic support only. They do not determine the tax treatment of a lump sum. Review the applicable instrument and tax rules separately.

You can share it as a calculation scenario with its assumptions and limitations. A generated report does not establish that its amount, duration, or rate is appropriate, and it does not guarantee acceptance by a court or another professional.

Yes. In Expert, open Cash flow, choose Every payment, and select Edit. The replacement affects that installment only. You can adjust multiple installments independently.

A phase sets an amount, duration, rate, and annual adjustment for a consecutive group of monthly payments. Annual adjustments start at payment 13 of each phase. An Expert payment adjustment replaces one generated installment after that escalation is calculated.

Yes. Zero means no modeled payment for that installment. A balloon replaces the entire regular installment, so enter the total payment you intend to model. To restore a generated payment, clear the replacement or use Restore calculated amount. Negative cash flows and an arrears ledger are outside this feature.

Individual replacement amounts stay fixed in dollars. The ordinary payments and the calculated reference amounts change. An explicit replacement equal to the current calculated amount also stays fixed until you restore the calculated amount.

Individual date editing is not included. Dates follow regular monthly anniversaries from the valuation date. Changing only the valuation date moves that schedule without changing its monthly discount periods. Adjusted installments whose dates move require review before report creation.

Cash flow identifies adjustments that moved or no longer have an installment. They remain in your working draft and backups. Keep a moved adjustment on its new date, reassign it explicitly, or restore the calculated amount. Provisional results are labeled and report creation waits until you resolve the changes.

Amount sensitivity varies ordinary phase amounts while replacements remain fixed. Rate sensitivity discounts all effective payments at the trial rates. Duration trials exclude adjustments outside the trial term and identify those exclusions. Extended terms do not repeat a balloon. Reverse calculations use the effective payment schedule.

Each modeled payment equals retained support plus released support. When an offer is entered, Edit payment also accepts an explicit retained replacement. Retained support cannot exceed that installment. The application does not silently reduce retained support or divide an adjustment between retained and released amounts.

Yes. Adjusted scenarios automatically include a reconciliation and explanations in full reports and executive summaries, including selected comparison scenarios. Turning off monthly detail or applying firm branding does not hide adjustments. A summary can require additional appendix pages.

Restore calculated amount removes one replacement. Undo adjustment edit restores the previous adjustment set until another relevant edit or navigation. Saved report versions retain their issued inputs and files. Expert account recovery versions and downloaded workspace backups preserve saved adjustments.

Yes. Amounts, reasons, source references, and review context travel with scenario copies, workspace backups, and optional account saves. Excel has keyed adjustment inputs and working formulas. Zero differs from an empty record. Check all workbook validation messages after editing; exported files do not update the application or one another.

Open Expert to import work containing individual payment or retained-support adjustments. Pro does not silently remove them to make an import fit. Your existing Pro scenarios remain unchanged if that import is rejected.

No. It models zero cash flow for that installment. The feature does not decide what is owed, record collection history, waive support, or calculate arrears. Explain the assumption and its basis in the adjustment reason.

Basic provides a one-page calculation. Pro offers an executive summary or a full analysis with selected exhibits and workpapers. Expert adds firm branding and the selected Expert analyses. The contents depend on the options you choose.

Expert adds reusable report templates, comparison of saved report versions, and Word, Excel, and PDF packages. You can add your firm name, logo, color, and contact details. Method, scope, review status, and report identifiers remain visible. Executive summaries retain a free-preview footer during this preview.

The ZIP includes a fixed PDF, an editable Word report, Excel workpapers with formulas, and the exact input backup. All share a report ID and creation time. The PDF contains selected sensitivity exhibits and charts. The workbook recalculates payment schedules, reconciliations, selected alternatives, and any entered offer. Edits to an exported file do not update other files or saved report history.

No. Reports reproduce your assumptions, selected outputs, and commentary. “Reviewed by preparer” records your selection; it does not mean Jeremy or another independent professional reviewed the matter.

Pro and Expert compare scenarios in the current workspace. A report makes up to three complete alternatives available alongside the active scenario. This report limit does not limit the on-screen comparison.

Use the professional-services inquiry to discuss the work your matter needs. A conflict check and agreement on scope and fees come before work begins. Creating a report or using Expert does not create a professional engagement.

Basic and Pro save work in this browser. Expert offers optional account storage after ChatGPT sign-in. Open Account storage and choose Save to account to upload the current workspace and templates. Each save creates a recovery version. New reports created in account mode are saved there too. Existing browser reports are not uploaded automatically.

No. Browser recovery drafts are kept as you work. Choose Save to account after editing. A visible status distinguishes unsaved changes from an account save. Conflicting saves from another device are rejected so that newer account work is not silently replaced. Account storage is individual; staff sharing is not included in this release.

In Pro, open the three-dot scenario menu and choose Download backup. On the other device, open Pro and choose Import saved work. Expert offers matter downloads and Import matter backup under Manage matters. In Expert, you can also sign in on the other device and open your saved account workspace. Account reports can be downloaded from Created versions. Browser-only reports must be transferred separately.

Clearing browser data can remove locally saved work. Private browsing may discard it when the session ends. Work saved to an Expert account remains available after sign-in. The site cannot restore work that existed only in the cleared browser. Keep downloaded backups and PDFs outside the browser.

A completed Pro scenario that was retained when closed can be reopened through Expert, under Manage matters and Previously saved work. A downloaded backup is the safest way to preserve your work before closing scenarios.

Check the assumptions for validation messages and resolve any incomplete Expert offer. If the error mentions fonts, retry with a working connection. Check your browser’s downloads, and download a backup before refreshing or closing the page. Do not clear browser data to troubleshoot.

No. The inquiry sends the information entered in that form. Your calculator scenarios are not attached.