When clients use the portal to submit or update information about the estate, their submissions appear in your portal view for review. Items submitted by clients are initially unapproved and must be reviewed before they appear in the Estate Overview, giving you complete oversight.
Files and questionnaires work the same way. A document your client uploads stays pending until you accept it into Estate Files, and a questionnaire they submit stays pending until you accept it.
🔍 How to Review Submissions
When a client updates information in the Client Portal, such as correcting a value, adding a new entry, or changing details on an existing item, your firm will receive an email notification (learn more).
You can then review the changes and update the estate information in EstateMin as needed. This allows clients to provide corrections or additions on their own without needing to contact your office directly.
Open the matter and click the Client Portals tab.
Find the client's portal card. They must have an Active status.
Look for notification badges on the progress steps. These badges show that new items have been submitted since your last review.
Click a step, such as Assets of the Estate, to expand it and see the submitted items.
Review each item. You can approve or reject individual people, assets, debts, and expenses. Client files and questionnaires work differently and are covered in the next two sections.
📁 How to Review Client File Uploads
When you request a document from a client on a key file, their upload stays pending until you accept it. Accepting it adds the file to that key file in Estate Files.
Open the matter and click the Client Portals tab.
Open the client's card and find the Estate Files step. The badge shows how many files are waiting.
Expand the step to see the list of key files. The Client Upload column shows which rows have a new file.
Click Review uploads on the row you want to check.
In the window that opens, read the Instructions you gave the client and open the Uploaded File to check it.
Click Add to Estate Files to accept the file, or Close to leave it pending and come back to it later.
The file will then appear on the key file. Files uploaded by clients will be marked with a green Client badge.
There is no reject action for a client file at this time (coming soon). If a document is wrong or you do not want it in the estate record, leave it pending and ask your client for a replacement.
A client's file reaches Clio only after you accept it with Add to Estate Files. For more on how files are synced, see How Documents Are Stored and Linked in Clio.
📝 How to Review a Submitted Questionnaire
If you have assigned a questionnaire to a client portal, the client's answers come to you for review in the same place. Open the client's Questionnaire step and click Review.
Questionnaires are not approve or reject. You can edit the answers, accept them with Complete and accept, or send the questionnaire back to the client with a note using Request changes. Requesting changes emails the client.
For the full process, including how revised submissions are compared against the version you already accepted, see How to Review a Client's Questionnaire.
📋 What Steps Are in the Client Portal
The steps your client sees depend on the matter type and on whether you have assigned them a questionnaire.
Probate & Trust Administration | Estate Planning |
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Because a questionnaire is assigned per client portal, two clients on the same matter can see a different set of steps.
💡 Good to Know
Clicking a step with a notification badge clears the badge, showing that you have seen the new submissions.
Each file can be up to 25 MB.
Clients cannot delete documents your firm has shared with them.
Files and questionnaires both reach Clio only after your firm accepts them.
💬 Need Help?
Use the chat bubble in the lower-right corner of EstateMin or email [email protected] for support.