Estate Planning matters are designed for clients who are planning their estate while still living. They capture the client's family, other loved ones, assets, debts and chosen decision makers to support document preparation. This is distinct from probate matters, which deal with administering an estate after someone has passed.
📣 We want to hear from you
Estate Planning in EstateMin is actively being developed. We'd love to hear what your firm needs for its estate planning practice, whether that's specific features, workflows, document types, or anything else. Your feedback directly shapes what we build next.
📋 What is included in an Estate Planning matter?
An Estate Planning matter has the following items in its left panel:
Estate overview: people, assets and debts. There is no Expenses section.
Decision makers: each client's preferred decision makers, in order of preference.
Estate files, Client portals, Deadlines and Activity log.
The Forms section is not available on Estate Planning matters. Court forms are only available on Probate and Trust Administration matters, and estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney and transfer on death deeds (TODDs) are not part of the forms library.
🧭 What steps does the Client Portal include?
New Estate Planning portals are set up family first, in this order:
Get Started
Family and Loved Ones: the client reviews their own details and adds family members and anyone else they would like to provide for.
Questionnaire, if your firm assigns one
Assets
Debts
Decision-Makers: the client lists who they have in mind for each role and adds each chosen person's details.
Estate Files
Portals created before 20 October 2026 keep the steps they already had: Get Started, Questionnaire (if assigned), Estate Files, People, Assets and Debts. On these portals the client's decision makers sit inside the People step.
The number of steps a client sees varies by matter type and by whether a questionnaire is assigned.
👥 What person roles are available?
Estate Planning matters use a set of roles tailored to planning. Hover over the info icon next to each role in the person form to see a short description.
Client
Personal Representative - Executor
Beneficiary
Trustee
Financial Power of Attorney (Agent)
A health care role, such as Health Care Agent
Guardian for Minor Children: the person named to raise and care for the client's minor children if neither parent can
Guardian for an Adult: the person named to make personal decisions, such as care and living arrangements, for an adult who cannot make them alone
Supplemental Needs Trustee: the person or entity named to manage a trust for someone with a disability without affecting their public benefits
Role labels follow the matter's state. For example, Connecticut matters show Health Care Representative, Conservator and Special Needs Trustee.
Roles are optional for family members, so you can record a client's children or other relatives before deciding whether they will have a role in the plan. See Adding and Editing a Person.
💑 How do couples' matters work?
An Estate Planning matter can have at most two clients, for example a married couple. When a matter has two clients:
When you add a family member, the form asks whose relative they are, for example Whose child?, with each client's name and Both as options.
Roles that belong to one client, such as Personal Representative - Executor and Beneficiary, ask which client they apply to. The People table shows this next to the role, for example "Beneficiary (of both)" or "Trustee (of Casey Smith)".
Assets have an Owned by field and debts have an Owed by field, each with the two clients' names and Both.
The Relationship column in the People table describes each person's relationship to the clients, for example "Child of Casey Smith & Jordan Smith", and shows the clients' marital status. The same detail is included when you export the Estate overview.
Each client has their own tab on the Decision makers page.
📝 What is the Decision makers page?
Click Decision makers in the matter's left panel to record who each client has in mind for each role, in order of preference. Four Yes/No questions decide which roles are listed. Changes save straight away and are shared with the client's portal. See How to Record a Client's Decision Makers on an Estate Planning Matter.
➕ How do I create an Estate Planning matter?
When linking a new matter in EstateMin, select Estate Planning as the matter type. The matter is set up with the left panel items and Client Portal steps described above.
💡 Good to Know
Once a matter has two clients, the Client role is greyed out with the message "An estate planning matter can have at most two clients." Matters that already had three or more clients keep them.
Client Portals on Estate Planning matters can only be created for a person with the Client role.
On matters created before 20 October 2026, existing people may show "(of: Not set)" or "(for: Not set)" next to roles such as Personal Representative - Executor or Beneficiary. Open the person and choose which client the role applies to.
When your client adds or changes people, assets or debts in the portal, you review each change before it is added to the matter. See Reviewing Client-Submitted Files, People, Assets, Debts, and Expenses.
💬 Need Help?
Use the chat bubble in the lower-right corner of EstateMin or email [email protected] for support or to share feedback on Estate Planning.