How Heirly works
Heirly guides families through the division of an estate in structured rounds — always transparent, always at the executor's pace, always with dignity.
Catalogue the estate
The executor creates an estate and begins adding items — furniture, jewellery, artwork, photographs, vehicles, and anything else that needs to be divided.
Upload a photo of each item and our AI will suggest a title and an estimated value, saving hours of manual entry. You can adjust anything at any time before rounds open.
There's no need to value every item precisely. Heirly is designed to handle the full range — from cherished heirlooms with deep sentimental meaning to items with a clear financial value.
Family expresses preferences
The executor invites family members by email. There's no account to create, no password to remember — each person receives a personal magic link that takes them straight into the estate.
Heirly runs allocation rounds, not auctions. Family members express what matters to them — there's no competition, no winner or loser, no anxiety about being outbid. Items are handled through two distinct processes:
Sentimental rounds
For items where personal meaning is what matters — a piece of jewellery worn by a parent, a book with handwritten notes, a childhood photograph. Each person says whether they'd like the item and why. The executor sees the responses and makes the final call.
Financial rounds
For items with clear monetary value, Heirly calculates a fair distribution using the estate's total value as a guide. The goal is financial equity across beneficiaries — not necessarily equal division of every individual item.
Most items are uncontested — only one person wants them — so they're assigned automatically without any debate. Heirly only surfaces the genuinely contested items that need a conversation.
Fair settlement
When all rounds are complete, Heirly produces a clear allocation ledger — every item, every recipient, every decision, visible to everyone in the estate.
Because the whole family has participated in the same transparent process, there's nothing to dispute and no reason for resentment. The executor can export a full PDF report for legal or record-keeping purposes.
The principles behind Heirly
No bidding. No auctions.
We never use auction language. Family members express preferences, not bids. This keeps the process dignified and avoids the anxiety of competitive dynamics between grieving people.
Executor-led, not system-led.
The executor decides when to open and close rounds. Heirly is a tool, not an authority. It structures the process, but the family retains complete control over the timeline.
Sentimental ≠ financial.
A photograph of a parent has no monetary value but infinite personal meaning. Heirly treats these differently, because conflating them is a common source of lasting pain.
Designed for grief.
Every interaction in Heirly is written to be warm, calm, and unhurried. There are no deadlines, no pressure, no jargon. Just a clear path through a difficult task.