How Divvl works

Sign in or create a free account at app.divvl.com. After signing in, you'll be guided through a short setup: give the estate a name (e.g. "Smith Family Estate"), choose your plan, and you're in.

1. Create an estate and add the items you need to divide.
2. Invite family members to create accounts.
3. Open a ranking round — everyone ranks privately.
4. Close the round and review the algorithm's allocations.
5. Resolve any ties, then Finalize & Lock.
6. Family members see their results. Everyone acknowledges.

Yes. Each account can manage multiple estates — useful if you're handling estates for more than one family. Switch between them using the ⇄ Estates button in the top bar.

Go to the Manage Items tab and click Add Item. Fill in the name, category, and optionally a photo, description, room, and condition. You can also set a tier (High / Medium / Low value) to help the algorithm weight allocations.

Up to 3 photos per item on Standard, Pro, and Estate plans — one main photo plus two detail shots (signature, damage, maker's mark). The Free plan supports one photo per item.

On Standard and higher plans, you can request an AI estimate for any item. Upload a photo and the AI will suggest a ballpark value with a brief rationale — useful for roughly calibrating tiers without a formal appraisal.

Available on the Estate plan. Take a photo of a room — a living room, bedroom, garage — and AI identifies the individual items in it, generating draft listings you review before adding. A fast way to catalogue a large estate.

Yes, on the Estate plan. Go to Manage Items → CSV Import. Download the template, fill it in, and upload. Items are created in bulk with all fields intact.

Tiers tell the algorithm how valuable an item is relative to others. The equity scoring weights items as 3 pts (High), 2 pts (Medium), and 1 pt (Low). Aim for similar scores across family members over multiple rounds — the Equity View shows you where things stand.

Go to the Family tab. Copy the invite link and send it by text or email — or use the built-in email invite form to send a personal message directly from Divvl. Family members click the link, create a free account, and are prompted to identify themselves by name.

No. Family members create free accounts and pay nothing. Only the estate administrator pays for the plan.

Yes. In Settings, set your participant name. You can then use the 👤 Name button in the top bar to switch to your family member view and rank items just like everyone else.

From the Family tab, you can resend the invite email at any time. The invite link never expires. If they're having trouble with their account, they can use the "Forgot password?" link on the sign-in page, or reach out to support@divvl.com.

You open a round, and every family member privately ranks the items they want — in order of preference. No one can see anyone else's choices until you finalize and lock the round. The algorithm then assigns items based on everyone's rankings, tracking equity across the family.

They sign in, browse the items, and click + Rank on anything they want. Items are numbered in order — #1 is most wanted. They can adjust rankings any time before the round closes.

Yes. In Settings, set a round close date. A countdown timer appears for all family members, and Divvl sends email reminders to anyone who hasn't ranked anything 3 days before the deadline (Pro and Estate plans).

An optional setting (Pro+) that hides individual rankings from the admin until the round is finalized. Useful if you want to prevent any perception of bias in the allocation. Available in Settings → Anonymous Ranking.

Yes. After finalizing a round, you can start a new one for unclaimed items. Items claimed in previous rounds are archived but remain visible in the Round History tab. Multi-round is available on Standard and higher plans.

The algorithm assigns each item to the person who ranked it highest. If two people give the same item their top rank — a tie — that item is flagged for your review. You resolve ties by assigning the item to one person, with a note explaining your decision.

Open the Allocation tab. Conflicted items are highlighted in red. For each one, choose who receives it from the dropdown — you can override any assignment. On Pro and Estate plans, you can request an AI suggestion that reviews the full equity picture and recommends who should receive the item and why.

The Equity View tab shows each family member's running score — High items (3 pts), Medium (2 pts), Low (1 pt). It helps you see at a glance whether the distribution is roughly fair across rounds, so you can make informed decisions when resolving conflicts.

Family members receive an email with their personal results (Pro+). Each person sees only what they're receiving — not the full allocation. They can then click to digitally acknowledge their results (Pro+), which creates a legal record of agreement.

Yes, but carefully. Use the 🔓 Unlock button to reopen the round. This clears the finalization and allows changes. Only do this if there's a genuine error — family members may have already seen and acted on their results.

A designation lets you assign an item directly to a specific heir — bypassing the ranking rounds entirely. Use this for items already named in a will, items you've pre-decided on, or sentimental items with an obvious home.

Designations are private until you publish them. You can add, change, or revoke any designation before publishing. Once published, each person sees only the items designated to them — not anyone else's.

Yes. Each designation has an optional message field — the heir will see it when their designations are published. A natural place for a note like "This was your grandmother's — she always wanted you to have it."

Available on Standard and higher plans. A timestamped, fully documented record of every assignment, admin override, round open/close dates, and participation record. Formatted for probate and suitable to hand to an attorney.

Available on Pro and Estate plans. A legally structured memorandum listing who receives what — formatted to attach to a will or hand to your estate attorney. Includes a legal preamble, a bequest list organized by heir, and signature lines for the executor and witnesses.

Available on Pro and Estate plans. After the round is finalized, each family member sees a button to confirm their results in writing. This creates a timestamped record that everyone agreed to the outcome — useful documentation if questions arise later.

Available on Pro and Estate plans. A clean export of the audit log — every action taken in the estate, with timestamps and the name of who did it. Formatted for probate court documentation.

Available on Standard and higher plans, and as part of the Home Inventory add-on. A room-by-room PDF with embedded item photos, serial numbers, purchase dates, estimated values, and replacement costs. Useful for insurance claims or personal records.

Divvl has five roles, each with different access:

• Admin — Full access. Manages items, views all rankings, resolves conflicts, finalizes rounds, and controls all settings.
• Family member — Can rank items and view their own results. Cannot see other people's rankings or the full allocation until finalized.
• Helper — Can add, edit, and photograph items. Cannot see rankings, votes, or equity data. Useful for a trusted person helping catalogue the estate.
• Guest — Browse-only access to items, via a shared password. Cannot rank or see results.
• Observer — View the allocation results only. Useful for an attorney or accountant who needs to review the outcome without participating.

Yes, on the Estate plan. Co-executor access lets you add multiple admin email addresses — each has full admin rights. Useful for estates with joint executors.

• Round close date — Set a deadline with automatic email reminders.
• Item rank cap — Limit how many items each person can rank per round.
• Anonymous ranking — Hide individual rankings from admin until finalized (Pro+).
• Show AI estimates to family — Let family members see estimated values on item cards.
• Multiple rounds — Enable or disable the ability to start additional rounds after the first.
• Required fields — Enforce that items must have photos, a room, condition, or description before they can be saved.
• Helper password / Guest password / Observer password — Enable and set access codes for each non-member role.

From the top bar, click ⬇ Backup at any time to download a full JSON backup of all items, rankings, settings, allocations, and notes. Keep copies somewhere safe — cloud storage, email, or an external drive.

The Free plan supports up to 25 items, 1 photo per item, and 1 allocation round. Data is retained for 90 days. No credit card required.

• Standard ($129) — 100 items, 3 photos, unlimited rounds, AI estimates, PDF allocation report, Insurance PDF. 2-year data retention.
• Pro ($229) — 250 items, plus email notifications, digital acknowledgment, Personal Property Memorandum, compliance audit PDF, anonymous ranking, and AI conflict suggestions. 4-year retention.
• Estate ($399) — Unlimited items, AI room import, CSV bulk import, multi-property tagging, co-executor access. Indefinite retention (activity-based).

Yes. Go to Settings → Plan & Billing and select your new plan. Your existing items, rankings, and data carry over.

A $39/year subscription that activates insurance PDF export — a room-by-room catalogue with photos, serial numbers, and replacement costs. Works as a standalone product (catalogue everything you own) or alongside an estate plan (parent's inventory converts to an estate in one step when the time comes).

You'll receive email reminders at 30 days, 7 days, and 1 day before expiry. After expiry, photos are deleted but text records are retained for 7 years. You can export all data at any time from the top bar.