Building Your Case

Create cases, catalog assets with images and documents, and invite beneficiaries.

Creating a New Case

Every estate engagement in Allocate begins with creating a case. A case is a container that holds all of the assets, participants, voting rounds, and allocation decisions for a single estate.

From your Dashboard, click “New Case” to open the creation form. You will need to provide:

• Case name — A descriptive name, typically the estate or family name (e.g., “Morrison Estate”).
• Description (optional) — Any notes or context about the engagement.
• Case type — Choose between Execution and Planning.

Execution vs. Planning Cases

Execution cases are the standard case type. You, as the manager, control the entire process: adding assets, inviting beneficiaries, running rounds, and making allocation decisions. This is the right choice when settling a deceased estate or when the property owner is not directly involved in the platform.

Planning cases include an additional participant: the estate owner. When you create a planning case, you provide the owner’s email address. The owner receives their own portal where they can review assets, see beneficiary information, and suggest allocation preferences. This is ideal for living clients who want to participate in distributing their property while they are still able to provide input.

Tip: If you are unsure which type to choose, start with an Execution case. You can always coordinate with the property owner outside of the platform.

Adding Assets

The Assets tab is where you build your inventory. Each asset represents a single item — a painting, a piece of furniture, a collection, or any other tangible property — that needs to be distributed or liquidated.

Click “Add Asset” to open the asset form. The key fields are:

• Title — A clear, descriptive name for the item (required).
• Maker — The creator, manufacturer, or original owner of the item.
• Type — A category label such as “Painting,” “Furniture,” “Jewelry,” or “Books.”
• Description — Additional details about the item, its condition, provenance, or significance.
• Value type — How the item’s value is recorded:
  • Exact — A single appraised or estimated value.
  • Range — A minimum and maximum value when the precise value is uncertain.
  • Unknown — When no valuation is available yet.

Image and Document Uploads

Each asset can include photographs and supporting documents. Images help beneficiaries make informed decisions during voting rounds, and documents provide a formal record.

To upload images, drag and drop files onto the upload area in the asset form, or paste from your clipboard. You can attach multiple images to a single asset. Images are displayed as a carousel when beneficiaries view the asset details.

Documents (PDFs, appraisals, condition reports) can be attached separately. These appear as downloadable files in the asset detail view. Beneficiaries can open documents in a new tab to review them.

Tip: High-quality photographs significantly improve the voting process. When possible, include multiple angles and close-up details of each item.

Bulk Import via CSV

For estates with many items, manual entry is not practical. The bulk import feature lets you upload a CSV file to create dozens or hundreds of assets at once.

From the Assets tab, click “Import CSV.” You can download a template CSV file that shows the expected column format. The key columns are:

• title — The asset name (required).
• description — Item description.
• value_type — One of exact, range, or unknown.
• value_amount — The value for exact items.
• value_min and value_max — The range for range-valued items.
• metadata — A JSON string for custom fields (e.g., {"condition": "excellent", "insured": true}).

The import validates all rows before creating anything. If any row has an error, the entire import is rejected and you are shown which rows need attention. Fix the issues in your CSV and try again. This all-or-nothing approach ensures your inventory stays consistent.

Metadata and Custom Fields

Every asset supports metadata — arbitrary key-value pairs that let you record information specific to your engagement. Common uses include:

• Condition — “Excellent,” “Good,” “Fair,” “Poor”
• Location — Where the item is currently stored
• Insured — Whether the item is covered by an insurance policy (boolean)
• Provenance — Origin or chain of ownership notes

Metadata fields can be strings, numbers, or booleans. Boolean fields display as “Yes” or “No” to beneficiaries. You can add, edit, or remove metadata fields at any time (as long as the asset is not locked in an active round).

Metadata is especially valuable for filtering assets when creating voting rounds. For example, you could create a round that includes only items marked as “insured: true” or items located in a specific room.

Managing Your Inventory

As your inventory grows, the Assets tab provides tools to stay organized:

• Search — Filter assets by title or description using the search bar.
• Sort — Reorder the asset table by name, value, or date added.
• Filter — Narrow the list by value type or other criteria.

To edit an asset, click on it in the table to open the asset detail view. You can modify any field, add or remove images, and update metadata. Changes are saved when you confirm the edit.

To remove an asset, use the delete option in the asset’s action menu. Assets can only be deleted if they have not been included in any voting round. Once an asset has participated in a round, it becomes part of the case history and cannot be removed.

Understanding Asset Lock States

When an asset is included in an active voting round, it enters a locked state. While locked:

• You cannot edit the asset’s details (title, value, description, metadata).
• You cannot delete the asset.
• You cannot remove the asset from the round.

This lock ensures that every beneficiary is voting on the same information. Once the round is closed, the asset unlocks and can be edited again or included in a new round.

Warning: If you need to correct an error on a locked asset, close the round first, make your changes, and then create a new round. This preserves the integrity of the voting data.

Inviting Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are the people (or entities) who may receive assets from the estate. In the Beneficiaries tab, you can invite them to participate in the allocation process.

Click “Invite” and enter the beneficiary’s email address. You can add multiple email addresses at once by separating them with commas or pressing Enter after each one. Allocate validates each email and checks for duplicates before sending invitations.

Each beneficiary receives an invitation link by email. When they click the link, they are taken to the platform where they can:

• View the active voting rounds they have been included in.
• Express their preferences by voting on assets.
• Review their own voting history.

Beneficiaries do not see other beneficiaries’ votes or the full case details. They only see the rounds and assets that have been shared with them.

Managing Participant Status

You can deactivate a beneficiary if they should no longer participate. Deactivating preserves their voting history but excludes them from future rounds. You can reactivate them later if needed.

The Beneficiaries tab shows each participant’s status, the number of rounds they have participated in, and their overall voting activity. This helps you track engagement and follow up with anyone who has not yet voted in an active round.