When clients use the portal to add or update information, their submissions appear in your portal view for review. Nothing a client submits reaches the Estate Overview until your firm approves it, and you only approve what the client actually changed.
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 adds or changes information in the Client Portal, your firm receives an email notification (learn more). In EstateMin, the matters list shows a pill such as 3 Portal Updates next to the client's name.
Open the matter and, in the left panel, click Client portals.
Select the client's name. Their portal must show Status: Active.
Look for count badges on the steps. A badge shows how many new items have been submitted since your last review.
Click a step, such as Assets, to expand it. Each submission is listed on its own line with:
Action: Added for a new item, or Updated for a change to something already on the matter.
The item's Name, and its Role for people or Type for assets and debts.
An Add or Update button.
Click a name to check the details before approving:
For an update, the Changes submitted by client window highlights only the fields the client changed, with the old value in red and the new value in green.
For a new item, the window shows everything the client entered.
Click the approve button at the bottom of the window, such as Update Person or Add Person, or click Close to leave the item pending. You can also click Add or Update directly on the row.
After you approve an item, the window moves straight to the next one. Use the arrows on either side of the window to move back and forward between items.
Approved rows show a green Added or Updated label. Your client sees the same label in their portal.
✅ How to Approve Several Items at Once
In an expanded step, tick the checkbox next to each item you want to approve, or tick the box in the header row to select them all.
Click Add Selected.
The confirmation window lists how many items will be added and updated. Click Confirm, or Cancel to go back.
✏️ Client Updates to Items Your Firm Added
Your client can open any person, asset, debt, or expense listed under Already on file in their portal, update its details, and attach files. This means your firm can start an item with what you already know and let your client fill in the rest. For example, add a bank account with just the bank name, and your client can add the account details and upload statements.
These updates come to you as Updated lines and are reviewed the same way as any other submission. Nothing your client changes updates the Estate Overview until your firm approves it.
Your client cannot delete an item your firm has added. For what your client sees, see How Your Client Uploads Files in the Client Portal.
📁 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, in the left panel, click Client portals.
Select the client's name 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.
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.
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 you see on a client's portal page depend on the matter type and on whether you have assigned them a questionnaire.
Probate & Trust Administration | Estate Planning |
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Estate Planning portals created before 20 October 2026 keep their earlier steps, including a People step. |
Your client sees shorter step names in their own portal, for example People rather than People of the Estate. Because a questionnaire is assigned per client portal, two clients on the same matter can see a different set of steps.
💡 Good to Know
Expanding a step clears its badge, showing that you have seen the new submissions.
There is no reject button. If you don't want to accept an item, leave it pending and talk to your client.
While an item waits for you, your client sees it as Submitted (new) or Pending Review (a change). Once you approve it, they see Added or Updated.
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.