THE LATEST VERSION is 7.4
Checking for updates. Use your Update Checker regularly (see Help menu) to make sure you always have the latest version and look here to see what has changed whenever you get updated.
Downloading and installing updates
Registered users: the latest download will install over the earlier version without disturbing your data. Back up data first to be safe. The new version will be registered if you are current now.
Unregistered or past-date registrations: DealMaker Pro will work as a demo until you register. How to register.
DEALMAKER PRO UPDATE NOTES
CHANGES in version 7.4 — September 18, 2025
Fixed “a Husband” and “Wife” on Screen IX, prior to use the short names
for the case.
Moved the ‘same-sex marriage’ choices from the ‘marriage/domestic
partnership’ section. The parties may now indicate their individual
genders.
Screen 1 – Pro version only: Simplified the Petitioner / Nickname
selection; Petitioner / Respondent text reflects the selection made on
Screen 1b.
Changed Ed Sherman to Nolo Press Occidental for copyright purposes.
Changed the address from the Carlsbad address to the Modesto address.
Changed the phone numbers to the new 800 number.
Added Arabic numbers to all screens
On Screen 7.8 changed the text from “As privacy is of great concern,” to
“Privacy is of concern;” in order to make the text fit the screen. The
text in the agreement remains unchanged.
On Screen 8.2, Line D.1 has been reworded to fit on the screen. The
text in the agreement text remains unchanged.
If none of the days are selected on Screen 7.3 Lines 3b or 4b, the
agreement does not include the “on {list of days} of” text. Although
DealMaker does not enforce the restriction, not choosing days will
typically require the use of the ‘Other’ selection on the next line.
For example, the ‘Other’ text might read, “when the children don’t have
after school activities”, which will produce:
Additional Weekly Hours. Begin at 3pm and ends at 9pm on the same day,
and will take place when the children don’t have after school activities.
Fixed a bug that sometimes allowed the Agreement body to overwrite the
footer text.
‘Both’ was added as a choice for marriage or partnerships. A second
pair of dates indicate the duration of the second relationship. NOTE: it
is presumed that the marriage was entered into second, e.g. when same
sex marriages were codified.
Changes in the agreement:
In PURPOSE OF AGREEMENT, now always finishes the paragraph with, “as if
we were each single”, rather than attempting to replace the ‘we’ with
‘he or she’
Removed any mention of husband and wife from the “we were married”
section (Section I.A.)
CHANGES in version 7.3 — March 16, 2024
Fixed a bug that sometimes produced invalid PDF output.
Removed the By Phone, By Fax and By Mail registration options. All registrations should now be done using the Online option. Eliminated and updated the Help file entries.
February 27, 2023: Fixed TIPS text. Typo, on Parenting Plan – Other Holidays, added a closing quote around, 9 am on the holiday to 4 pm the next day. Clarification on Parenting Plan – Options tip: removed “and the next two screens” when creating a simple parenting plan.
March 16, 2024: Updated the Check For Update URL from http to https. Updated the Run After Download logic to open the file explorer if DM couldn’t launch the installer.
CHANGES in version 7.3 — December 29, 2023
Fixed a bug that sometimes produced invalid PDF output.
CHANGES in version 7.2— July 26, 2023
Added the ability to print the information required by California Rules of the Court Section 2.111, including the Page 1 information block and the representative signature block.
Added Screen 1c to collect the information.
Added the ability to import the attorney’s information from an external file.
Added the ability to export the attorney’s information to an external file.
Fixed the bug that generated child support text and warnings when the case is a “husband and husband” and the pregnancy status was “unknown”.
CHANGES in version 7.1— June 28, 2023
Typos: Removed “the” from the Value paragraph on the “Transfer of Community Pension Fund” and “Division of Community Pension Fund” popups. Added “the” to those sections of the agreement. These changes make the surrounding text match the formatting of the date strings.
Added the ability to specify a dollar amount for the “Division of Community Pension Fund” to the popup and agreement.
CHANGES in version 7.0— May 5, 2023
Typos: “jurisdiction” to “jurisdiction” in Family Code Section 3048(a) text. Extraneous periods ( “.” ) when sections of a detailed parenting plan were not printed. Extra space ( ” ” ) between “Parenting Plan For” and the name(s) of the child(ren).
Modified the footer on the exhibit pages (e.g. parenting plans) when included as an exhibit. Now reads “Settlement Agreement – EXHIBIT for and “.
In the General / Children section of the agreement, modified the “are” in “There <is/are> the following minor child(ren) of the parties:” to reflect the number of minor children and/or pregnancy specified in the agreement.
Removed “as” from “Our holiday parenting schedule will be (as) arranged from time to time by the parents.” in the Simple Parenting Plan text.
In the “Care Time” paragraph of a Parenting Plan, modified “At all other times <they, he, she>
will be with .” to reflect the number and sex of (a) child(ren) in that plan.
Fixed the missing Weekend and Weekday section for a Simple Parenting Plan. When a Detailed Parenting Plan was defined, and “None” was selected for a Weekend or Weekday section, and then the Parenting Plan was switched to a Simple plan, the “None” selection prevented the section(s) from being printed. This logic has been corrected so that the Weekends and Weekdays sections always print for Simple plans.
CHANGES in version 6.9— April 26, 2023
Added Family Code Section 3048(a) text. The text is included when the agreement is for California and there are minor children.
Added Family Code Section 4065(c) text. The text is included when the agreement is for California and welfare is being received or has been applied for.
Typos: Removed unnecessary colons (‘:’) from section titles. Added period to first choice on Community Property and Debts Screen (Screen IV).
Performed a thorough review of the Agreement generator code. Eliminated double spaces following periods in 59 places. Added required periods in 11 places.
Indented the list of Holidays and Special Day in the Parenting Agreement. Eliminated Special Days header text when no special days are defined.
CHANGES in version 6.6— February 17, 2023
Screen VI Spousal Support, “Payment” Line – Layout is now adjusted to accommodate differing lengths of the party names.
Screen VI Spousal Support, “Optional: Support terms cannot be changed” line – When the “termination date and amount” option is selected: changed “is/are” to “are” on the screen, and changed “is” to “are” in the generated agreement text.
Capitalized “Spousal support”, “Partner support” or “Alimony” in the next sentence in the agreement.
CHANGES in version 6.5— December 15, 2022
Removed the redundant “, respondent,” from the Family law section when the case is configured to refer to the respondent throughout the agreement as “Respondent”.
Fixed typo to add a period at the end of “There are no minor children.”
Modified the EULA language about installing the program on multiple computers to more closely reflect the actual single-user enforcement policy.
CHANGES in version 6.4— September 28, 2022
Added the ability to specify same-sex marriages. Modified the user interface and agreement to specify “he” or “she” where known, rather than the generic “he/she”.
Added the option to specify that a second wife is pregnant.
CHANGES in version 6.3— May 25, 2022
Added a paragraph to the Child Support section of an agreement to show financial responsibilities (per Family Code Section 5616) should a child support situation ever involve a collection company.
CHANGES in version 6.2— April 21, 2022
(PRO Only) Fixed and improved the interactions between selecting “petitioner” and “respondent” on Screen 1.1, Section B, and designating the petitioner on Screen 1.2. The petitioner can be set on Screen 1.1 but once set, can only be changed on Screen 1.2.
Improved the tips text for Screen 1.1 Lines B1 & B2.
CHANGES in version 6.1— April 18, 2022
Split the first screen into Parties Information and Case Information. Expanded the Case Information to capture more details about any legal filings.
Added generic filing language to the Agreement for states other than California.
Added a clause for uncontested cases.
Added a clause for irreconcilable differences.
Added optional sentences about the status of Forms FL-130 and FL-130A. (only applicable to California cases)
Under BASIC CHILD SUPPORT, the Reserved clause was changed by inserting, ” The parties agree that the needs of the minor children are being adequately met at this time.” Also inserted “to be” in “No support to be ordered now,…” (the next sentence).
Under BASIC CHILD SUPPORT, added “Pursuant to Family Code, Section 4065: The parties are fully informed of their rights under California’s “Statewide Uniform Guideline” and are fully informed of their rights concerning child support.” (only applicable to California cases)
Fixed the problem that caused curly brackets ( “{” or “}” ) in the user’s text entries to create errors in the RTF output.
Added “PETITIONER” and “RESPONDENT” next to the parties’ signature lines on the signatures page.
CHANGE in version 6.0— October 26, 2020
Version 6.0 changed the address for Nolo Press Occidental from our old Santa Cruz, CA address to our new one in Carlsbad, CA.
FIX in version 5.9— September 17, 2019
When adding more than one Separate Real Property (Screen III -> Edit List -> Real Estate button), the popup repeated the address of the first property added. This was only a display issue on the popup; the display was correct if the popup was dismissed and reactivated, and the agreement text was always correct. DealMaker 5.9 corrects this problem.
CHANGE in version 5.8— January 21, 2019
DealMaker 5.8 fixes a glitch so than now there will be no reference to children in the agreement if there are no children eligible for support in the divorce
CHANGE in version 5.7— June 21, 2018
DealMaker 5.7 adds a clause in section VI. Spousal/Partner Support where both parties acknowledge and waive all rights to spousal support per Family Code § 4320 et seq.
FIXES in version 5.6— March 16, 2018
Users who tried to register after February 28, 2018 using the online registration option were not able to complete their registration. This has been fixed, and the online registration system is working correctly now.
FIXES in version 5.5— January 7, 2015
Version Shuffle. Due to changes in a Microsoft tool, DealMaker version 5.4 had a bug that hangs when accessing popups on Screens III and IV. We found and fixed the bug within a few hours, but if you are one of the few that has version 5.4, you should immediately update to 5.5. To be certain which version you have installed, look to the left of the File menu in the menu bar.
Version 5.4 and 5.5 contain a typo fix and new language for California cases on the notary signature page that is required by law.
CHANGES in version 5.4— January 6, 2015
Version 5.4 adds required language to the notary signature page for agreements that will be filed in the State of California.
FIXES in version 5.3— June 17, 2013
Division of CP Real Estate that is held until sold. Payment of overhead pending sale — item 5 on Screen IV > item 5 on the Division of Real Property popup. Corrected an error in the language for reimbursing a party who has had to make payments of overhead for which the other party was responsible.
Section XII, Waiver of Advice of Counsel. Many clients of PRO users objected to the language that asserted, “I have access to sufficient funds to retain an attorney for this purpose if I want one,” as they did not, in fact, have sufficient funds. As it is not essential to the waiver, this language has been removed.
FIXES in version 5.2— January 3, 2013
A new Read Me file file is now available that provides important advice and cautions to consumers based on feedback from users of the consumer version of DealMaker and from professionals who help them. The Read Me dialog can be printed and is always available under the Help menu.
FIXES in version 5.1— November 6, 2012
Arbitration option. Screen X. Removed the option to require arbitration. Feedback indicated that arbitration is not suitable in a variety of situations and that it would be better to leave it to parties to decide at the time a problem arises whether or not to arbitrate. The Mediation/Arbitration Help file was modified accordingly.
Pension funds dialog bug. On Screen IV, items 1 and 3, when you fill out the Pension Fund dialog and check a box to indicate who is to get the fund, DealMaker would always award the fund to the employee, not necessarily to the person selected in the dialog. This has been fixed.
Pension Fund Help File. Improved. Cautions about potential problems if a pension fund is not transferred very carefully, including exactly as required by IRS rules.
FIXES in version 5.0— May 13, 2012
Custody. For California cases, a clause desired by some clerks was added at the end of Section VII (Custody).
Registration. In version 4.9, when checking for updates, if a new version is available, the information dialog displays text that runs off the right margin, making it difficult to read easily. This has been fixed in version 5.0.
FIXES in version 4.9— September 12, 2011
Registration. The registration process has been revised and made smoother. Minor bug fixes.
Minor bug fixes. Small tweaks and improvements.
FIXES in version 4.8— June 17, 2011
Screen IV. Community Property, item 5 popup. Corrected language used in the agreement when title to community real property is to be held as-is without change.
Screen 7.5, Other Holidays. In the previous version, the field for entering begin and end times for each holiday would only be available if “Odd Years” was checked. This has been fixed.
Miscellaneous fixes. A few minor and typographical fixes were made.
FIXES in version 4.7— January 6, 2011
Notary Page. Professional users can set a Preference (File > Preferences) for entering the county in the notarization paragraphs. In domestic partnership or civil union cases, you can also choose whether the notary language will use “he” and “she” or “he/she.” If you check a box, DealMaker will prompt for this information each time an agreement is printed.
Notary Page. Notarization language was updated and improved.
Typographical fixes. Some typographical changes were made in the agreement for better clarity and consistency.
FIXES in version 4.6
Version 4.6 was not released.
FIXES in version 4.5— June 15, 2010
Unable to enter data. Unable to enter data if a state other than California was selected. This has been fixed.
FIXES in version 4.4— June 2, 2010
Left column navigation. If a Simple Parenting Plan was selected on Screen 7.2, clicking on Options in the left column would produce an error message instead of going to the requested screen. This was been fixed in version 4.3. Versions 4.3 was not released, as version 4.4 came quickly thereafter.
Inability to view or print agreement. If “Travel with a child” was selected on Screen 7.6, but you did not specify which parent’s permission was needed, you would not be able to view, print or save the agreement. This has been fixed.
FIXES in version 4.2— January 29, 2010
Bug, File > Save As. In version 4.1, (released for only part of one day), if you used Save As, DealMaker would give it an incorrect file extension. This has been fixed and files are now correctly saved.
FIXES in version 4.1— January 28, 2010
Saved files. Due to Windows 7, DealMaker now stores saved files in a different location than before. You can see where they are stored in File > Preferences, if you like, you can choose another location. You’ll need to move previously saved data files from the old location (C:\Program Files\DealMaker) to the new location.
Note: If you open a file from the old location, it will be saved back there unless you use Save As to put it in the new location.
Save agreement as RTF. If you attempted to insert your own custom parenting plan into the body of the agreement, the RTF output would be incomplete. This has been fixed. The View and PDF modes were not affected.
Screen 8.2, item C1, Health Insurance. The screen and the related part of the agreement have been updated and reworked for greater clarity.
WHAT’S NEW in version 4.0— January 5, 2010
Fewer Exhibits. Following better practice, all property lists are now inserted into the body of the agreement. This is the way many judges prefer it. Parenting plans are optionally inserted or attached as an Exhibit and your preference for all new cases can be set in File > Preferences. Child support calculations (if any) continue to be attached as an Exhibit.
Minor tweaks. Numerous minor adjustments to make things look better and work more smoothly.
FIXES in version 3.2— August 14, 2009
Property lists, Screen IV, items 1 and 3. If a pension or real estate item had been entered in a property list at items 1 or 3, some items could not later be deleted from that list. Affected items would disappear from the visible list but remain in the document and appear the next time the popup was called or the agreement printed. This has been fixed.
FIXES in version 3.1— April 7, 2009
Screen IV, item 6, popup item 4. Dividing Community Interest in Retirement Fund—at item 4 on the detail popup, you can enter the percentage each party will pay for document preparation, but DealMaker was not entering this information into the agreement. This has been fixed.
Screen VII, Other Holidays. Parenting plan, item 7—Special Days: If this was once checked and later unchecked, DealMaker would still print Special Days in the agreement and show it as an Exhibit. This has been fixed.
FIXES in version 3.0— March 3, 2009
Screens VI and VIII. Fixed payment fields so they update immediately after entry of monthly total amount.
Screens VI and VIII. Reworded language for various payment periods to make them grammatically correct.
Waiver of spousal support. Improved agreement language to make it clear as to exactly who is waiving the right to spousal support.
Case data icons. Fixed linkage to case data file so the DealMaker icon appears and double-clicking the case will start DealMaker Pro.