DecisionVault glossary: key terms explained
A quick reference for the terms you will see throughout DecisionVault and this Help Center.
Matter. The container for one client engagement. A matter holds the questionnaire, contacts, assets, documents, roles, and activity for that client.
Questionnaire. The client-facing intake form. Your workspace can have multiple questionnaire types (for example Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate), each customized separately.
Section. A chapter of the questionnaire. Sections can be shown always, hidden, shown after submit, shown conditionally, or added manually to a matter.
Fixed questions. The built-in contact questions, such as name and date of birth, that are part of every questionnaire. Custom questions are the ones your firm adds.
Financial inventory. The part of the questionnaire where clients list assets and liabilities. It can be exported as the Financial Sheet spreadsheet.
Roles. The fiduciary roles on a matter, such as trustee or executor. The questionnaire gathers a group of candidates, and the attorney assigns the ordered list. A role that "splits" captures separate answers for each client.
Design sheet. The internal worksheet where the attorney documents plan decisions during or after the meeting. It can be exported empty or filled as a Word document.
Meeting template. A reusable structure for capturing decisions in client meetings.
Plan Summary. The written description of how the estate is intended to be distributed, built on the matter with reusable templates.
Client Decisions Summary. The client-friendly export summarizing the decisions made on a matter.
Client user. A person, usually your client or their spouse, invited to fill in the questionnaire and use the Client Workspace.
Firm user. A member of your firm. Regular users view responses and documents; Firm Admins also manage settings, questionnaires, users, and billing.
Client Workspace. The portal where clients see their questionnaires, shared documents, and secure messages.
Follow-up. The stage where you flag missing items and DecisionVault emails the client automatically until everything is provided.
Stages and workflows. The steps a matter moves through, such as data gathering and drafting, which you can track and customize.
Feed and Matter Activity. The Feed tab shows the full history of one matter; the Matter Activity screen shows recent events across all open matters.
Sync. Pushing matter data to a connected tool on demand from the matter's sync screen. The first sync can create new records or link to existing ones.
Standard links. Your firm's reusable questionnaire URLs that let clients start an intake without an individual invitation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my client's screen look different from mine?
Clients see the Client Workspace and questionnaire only. Firm screens like Matter Details, the design sheet, and the Feed are never visible to clients.
Where can I learn more about any of these?
Search this Help Center for the term, and the related guide will walk you through it with screenshots.