Introduction

In Articles 1–3 of this series, you mapped your workflow, identified inefficiencies, and evaluated which tools are available in your state. By now, you may already have a short list of solutions you’re considering — or you may have selected the platform you want to use in 2026.

But selecting software is only half the journey.
The other half — the part where most firms struggle — is implementation.

Even small workflow changes can fail without a thoughtful rollout plan. And on the other hand, with the right structure, even major transitions can happen smoothly and quickly.

Over the past 15 years, I’ve seen hundreds of evaluations and implementations succeed — and many fail. The difference almost always comes down to process adoption and human change management, not technology.

This guide gives you a simple, structured 9-step plan to evaluate, test, and roll out your chosen tools effectively — without overwhelming your team. Very small teams of one or two, as many family law practices are, will be able to merge a couple of these steps together while continuing the overall flow of this process.

⭐ Step 1 — Schedule a Focused Demo (60 minutes)

A proper demo isn’t just watching someone click buttons.
It’s your opportunity to:

• Validate state-specific support
• Review client data and document collection workflows
• Review financial statement generation
• Review child support and asset division capabilities
• Ask how tech stack and user experience aligns with modern best-practices over time

Treat the demo as a verification step, not a decision-maker.
Most of your decision-making insights will come from Steps 2–7.

👉 Schedule a demo of  DivorceHelp123. 

⭐ Step 2 — Select Your Tool Based on Workflow Fit

Now that you’ve evaluated the tools available in your state (Article #3), choose the one that:

• Eliminates the inefficiencies uncovered in your workflow audit
• Reduces duplicate data entry and rework
• Supports your state’s financial statement
• Simplifies client data and document collection
• Provides a modern and easy user experience for your staff and clients
• Built on a modern, maintainable technology stack

Avoid choosing based on:

• Name recognition alone
• What your colleague’s firm is using and has been using for 10 years

Choose the tool that best aligns with your workflow and your state.

⭐ Step 3 — Sign Up for a Structured Free Trial

A trial is far more valuable when:

• The start/end dates are clear
• Your team knows what they’re evaluating
• The vendor provides guidance: assistance in setting up your firm, training for your evaluators, and support along the way
• You test a real client matter or two, not only hypothetical ones
• You define “success criteria”
  

Great vendors with great solutions offer onboarding support even during the trial.

👉 Sign up for a Free 30-Day Trial of DivorceHelp123

⭐ Step 4 — Choose a “Champion” + 1–2 Evaluators

Every successful rollout has at least one internal champion.

Your champion should be:

• Comfortable with technology
• Respected within the team
• Invested in reducing inefficiencies
• Capable of guiding others

Add 1–2 additional evaluators so you receive feedback from:

• At least one paralegal
• One attorney or case manager
• Anyone involved in disclosures or financial statements
  

This small group will lead the evaluation and the eventual rollout.

⭐ Step 5 — Set Up Your Firm Within the Tool

Your champion and vendor should:

• Configure the firm
  
• Setup any integrations
• Add evaluators as users
  

This foundational setup will make the pilot smoother.

👉 Schedule a 30-Minute Free Trial Firm Setup

⭐ Step 6 — Train Your Small Evaluation Group

Before you test real matters, your evaluation group should receive:

• A 60 minute hands on training session
• A written or video overview of workflows
• Access to help resources: videos, interactive tutorials, articles… ideally in-app
• A sandbox (test) environment
  

Training the whole team at this stage is premature and often counterproductive.

First, get your small group confident and aligned.

👉 Schedule a 60-Minute Free Training session

⭐ Step 7 — Test with 1–2 Real Client Matters

This step is important.

Hypothetical scenarios hide real-world inefficiencies.

Initially choose a client comfortable using a computer. Try another client who is less technical to make sure the new platform will work for your firm as a whole.

Run the cases through:

• Client data intake
• Document collection
• Client reminders automation
• Done tracking automation
• Disclosure document organization
• Financial statement creation
• Child support scenarios
• Asset division scenarios
• Parenting time and property division scenario comparison reports generation
• Asset Distribution Excel report generation
• Itemized disclosure statement creation

Evaluate:

• Ease of use
• Reduction of rework
• Time savings
• Clarity for clients
• Accuracy
• Overall confidence level

Your champion should collect feedback and determine readiness for full rollout.

⭐ Step 8 — Move All Active Cases Into the New Workflow

This is one of the most important recommendations in this guide.

Never run two systems in parallel unless absolutely necessary.

Why?

• Staff becomes confused
• Staff who are resistant to change (every team has them) will continue using the old way
• Processes drift
• Things get lost
• Data becomes fragmented
• Training becomes inconsistent
• Reports become unreliable

Moving all active clients into the new workflow at once:

• Reduces confusion
• Makes training simple
• Establishes clear expectations
• Ensures the whole team moves together
• Reinforces the team’s commitment to newly improved workflows
  

This is also where prepaid Client Matters (Article #5) support your rollout financially.

Ask your vendor if they can provide affordable professional services to assist with moving over existing clients into the new system.

⭐ Step 9 — Train the Entire Team

After the evaluation group has validated the workflow should you:

• Train the entire team, hands on… your vendor should assist with this
• Provide a rollout roadmap
• Assign responsibilities
• Explain changes clearly
• Provide quick-reference resources
• Make sure on-boarding support is available and understood how to access

This reduces resistance and builds confidence.

Suggest hosting:

• A kickoff training session where each participant: 
• Is on their computers
• Is logged into new system
• has a real client handy they can use to create and follow along
• A 30-minute follow-up Q&A, one week after training session
• A feedback survey
• Office hours or support calls (if offered)
  

By this stage, your champion will already understand the workflow well enough to support your team internally, while relying on your vendor for the main training, troubleshooting, and support.

👉 Schedule a 60-Minute Free Training session

⭐ A printable 9-step checklist

If you are a paper checklist person, we have provided one for you:

⭐ Conclusion: A Smooth, Confident Transition Into 2026

With a clear plan, the right champions, and real client testing, your firm can implement new workflows smoothly — taking advantage of the lull during the year-end season — to streamline your kick off into a busy January.

This is your chance to eliminate inefficiencies, reduce rework, streamline financial statements, simplify disclosures, and empower your team with tools that support the way you actually practice family law.

In the next article, I’ll share a smart year-end strategy many firms use to reduce taxable income and fund their workflow improvements for the new year.