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The Professor Nedley Series

Judge’s Dissomaster Tips & Shortcuts

January 1, 2007

`            This is simply a page of tips and tricks to help in using Dissomaster in the courtroom.  They'll get you where you want to go faster and cleaner than you might otherwise divine on your own.  A couple of hints are based on operating on a Network.  You'll have to make your own adjustments if you're not on my network.

• Online Help:  Press F1 or go to “Help>Index & Contents”.  This gives you a complete manual that may be accessed in all of the standard ways.
• Tools: >Timeshare Manager gives you a tool to easily play with the numbers based upon a changing timeshare.  “Tools” also leads to the other two Dissomaster programs – Propertizer and Executioner
• > This means follow a computer path >to the next step.
• Dynamic Help: A tab at the bottom the gives you instant help on line entries.
• Children’s Box : You get there by clicking on the line that says “Number of Children” or Edit>Children.  Once the box pops down you can personalize this nasty business by putting in their names and birthdates.  This will also help allocate CS to the proper child by age.
• Saving to the “H” Drive:  \\scsdi303\users303\yourname. Do to both computers.  Go to “S” drive to copy the path.
• Print Problems:  Try changing fonts to #8, Arial.
• Domestic Partner Icon “DP”:  My advice – DON’T use it.  Do SS as you normally would, then use the “B” key instead.  (See article on Domestic Partner Taxation)
• The “B” Key: The “B” key is a “toggle” key, meaning that it shifts a result back and forth.  In this case the B stands historically for the term “Bumping”.  In the old days before computers the knowledgeable lawyers would compute the tax savings to the Payor because of the deductibility of SS and then ask the court to give the Payee some additional support from the saved money.  This process was called bumping and it was ultimately required by the Appellate Courts.  Two bumps were mathematically sufficient to get the maximum benefit.  Nowadays the computer automatically does bumping through an iteration or repetitive process.  To get back to the untaxed SS you simply hit the B key and it takes you back to the unbumped or untaxed support. Use it for Domestic Partners because neither the State or the Fed is going to permit deductibility.
• Tactics: Go to “Settings or the “Check” icon>Tactics tab” or in the alternative simply hit “T”.  The default is Tactic 9, which shows the result if the Exemptions are given to the NCP.  The numbers tend to confuse on the printout, so I use Tactic 1.  Tactic 1 requires the entry of user specified amounts.  If you enter no numbers you will not have the confusing additional entries on the printout.  HOWEVER, if you wish to set your own spousal support at either a lower or higher number, then by all means do it in the Tactic 1 drop down and “blank out” the regular SS calculation by clicking on the icon at the top.  In Tactic 1 you simply enter the CS number where it says “non-deductible support” and then enter whatever $ amount that you’ve chosen under “deductible support”. Voila – you’ve got a screen to print that doesn’t upset anyone with those bothersome guideline calculations.
• LingoBuster: If you’re stumped by the courtroom lingo you can always get help from Professor Nedley’s LingoBuster by going to Word>File>Open>Courts  “S” Drive>FM Folder>Judges Folder>LingoBuster>click once, then click on “copy”>then get out of that screen and “paste” LingoBuster anywhere on your desktop. Now you’ve got a tool to end all tools.
• Notes on a Case:  There’s a tab at the bottom that is self-explanatory.
• Keypad + Key: Highlight any of the entry lines with a dropdown or “+” sign and hit the + sign on your keypad.  It expands it and contracts it.
• “P”: Just hit P to print.
• “F”: Just hit F to get to the Findings Screen.
• Alt C or Cntrl O: Both get you to a new case.
• “S”: Hitting S gets you to the same place as the “checkbox icon” or going “Edit>Settings”.  Control S gets you to saving that case.
• Frequently Asked Questions: F1>Contents tab>Frequently Asked Questions
• States Without Income Tax: Use Settings>Taxes tab>Uncheck the State Taxes box.
• Government Employees: Use Settings>Taxes>Uncheck the FICA box.
•  Lightening Button: Calculate as you go button.