Now for your iPad: Contracts on tap

Now for your iPad: Contracts on tap
APR 07, 2011

Now for your iPad: Contracts on tap

The reliability of verbal agreements depends upon several factors: state law, circumstances, and overall agreeability of the parties involved. They can also be tricky to enforce. Written contracts tend to be more ironclad, but usually involve hiring a lawyer. But now, a company called Re-Evolve LLC has developed a new iPhone and iPad application that allows users to create their own contracts. The app provides users with thirteen templates –from non-disclosure, non-competition, model releases, bills of sale, property and rental leases, and photo permissions to resignation notifications. Promissory notes and letters of intent are in the works. Marriage contract? Don't hold your breath. “In most cases, the other party holds up to their end of the deal, but sometimes they develop selective memory or an exact detail was heard wrong,” says Preston Tucker, business development manager of Re-Evolve, which also creates tools for Android, Blackberry and the web. After drafting an arrangement, information can be securely saved in a user's profile and sent to the user's e-mail inbox, or to a third party. In case a conflict arises, both signers must agree that local laws will govern their contract. ContractsApp is available for purchase at the App Store, which charges $9.99. To learn more, visit http://contractsapp.com/.

InfoStreet offers e-mail archiving, employee directory

For anyone who has ever run into a compliance issue because of a long-deleted email, InfoStreet Inc.'s StreetSmart software suite offers a free, and setup-free, archiving service. The cloud-based Email Archiving addendum restores deleted e-mails, whether accidental or intentional. Only office administrators can delete the archive. The second application allows staff members to update their own profile in the company's employee directory, allowing them to decide what information to share with co-workers and what to share with their employers. Administrators oversee the profiles and can further trim unnecessary information. The directory is also cloud-based – that is, stored and maintained online. To get the new applications, visit http://www.infostreet.com

TRO helps firms tap into local markets

National Trust Advisors, a nationally chartered federal savings bank and independent trust company, is offering a TRO, or Trust Representative Office, to help RIA firms grow their wealth management businesses by targeting prospects within their local markets. This is a large pool of potential clients. According to Ronald G. Ferguson, CEO of National Advisors Trust, over 70% of families with net worth exceeding $1 million use trusts in their estate plans. The Trust Marketing Office program expands the TRO offering to provide RIAs with a customizable marketing program and branding services, along with a trust officer to manage the program. The pre-designed marketing materials carry the National Advisors Trust look, modified to include individual firm information and news. In exchange, the RIA becomes a National Advisors Trust Representative Office. A private label branding option is also available that enables companies to create their own marketing name, as long as it incorporates “Trust Services” or “Private Trust” into the logo. The service mix also includes lists of targeted estate planning attorneys, as well as brochures, invitations and presentation support (including webinars, seminars and CLE level education programs), newsletter templates and more. There is even a “TRO” conference-call study group, which meets in person several times per year to share best practices and provide feedback to NAT. For more information, and to read some TRO success stories, visit www.nationaladvisorstrust.com

Latest News

Investing for accountability: How to frame a values-driven conversation with clients
Investing for accountability: How to frame a values-driven conversation with clients

By listening for what truly matters and where clients want to make a difference, advisors can avoid politics and help build more personal strategies.

Advisor moves: Raymond James ends week with $1B Commonwealth recruitment streak
Advisor moves: Raymond James ends week with $1B Commonwealth recruitment streak

JPMorgan and RBC have also welcomed ex-UBS advisors in Texas, while Steward Partners and SpirePoint make new additions in the Sun Belt.

Cook Lawyer says fraud claims are Trump’s ‘weapon of choice’
Cook Lawyer says fraud claims are Trump’s ‘weapon of choice’

Counsel representing Lisa Cook argued the president's pattern of publicly blasting the Fed calls the foundation for her firing into question.

SEC orders Vanguard, Empower to pay more than $25M over failures linked to advisor compensation
SEC orders Vanguard, Empower to pay more than $25M over failures linked to advisor compensation

The two firms violated the Advisers Act and Reg BI by making misleading statements and failing to disclose conflicts to retail and retirement plan investors, according to the regulator.

RIA moves: Wells Fargo pair joins &Partners in Virginia
RIA moves: Wells Fargo pair joins &Partners in Virginia

Elsewhere, two breakaway teams from Morgan Stanley and Merrill unite to form a $2 billion RIA, while a Texas-based independent merges with a Bay Area advisory practice.

SPONSORED How advisors can build for high-net-worth complexity

Orion's Tom Wilson on delivering coordinated, high-touch service in a world where returns alone no longer set you apart.

SPONSORED RILAs bring stability, growth during volatile markets

Barely a decade old, registered index-linked annuities have quickly surged in popularity, thanks to their unique blend of protection and growth potential—an appealing option for investors looking to chart a steadier course through today's choppy market waters, says Myles Lambert, Brighthouse Financial.