Estateably
Company: Estateably
Role: Director of Design
Case Study: Rebuilding Estate Settlement for the Digital Age
Estateably remains one of the most complex and ambitious platforms I have had the opportunity to design. The goal was nothing short of a full digital transformation of the estate settlement process, one of the most fragmented, manual, and emotionally charged workflows that exist. The platform set out to connect financial institutions, telecom providers, government agencies, legal professionals, and grieving families through a secure, compliant blockchain-powered network. The vision demanded radical improvements in transparency, security, regulatory compliance, and settlement speed, all while supporting people navigating deeply personal life events.
Establishing an Early Direction
Before formal interviews began, I conducted an initial wireframing pass based on early stakeholder requirements and business objectives. This helped frame the problem space quickly and gave leadership something tangible to react to. These early concepts acted as a starting point for deeper validation rather than a final direction.
Eighty Hours in the Trenches
We then spent more than eighty hours interviewing professional estate agents and service providers to truly understand how estate settlement works in practice. These interviews exposed the realities behind the paperwork: handoffs across institutions, repetitive document collection, unclear ownership, and constant delays. As patterns emerged, the early wireframes evolved into far more detailed and realistic flows. We tested these with users as quickly as possible, iterating continuously based on feedback.
At the same time, we built a detailed process chart to map how data and documents moved through the system. Gaining a deep understanding of the existing workflow was essential before attempting to redesign it. To help align internal teams and external stakeholders, we distilled the complexity into a clear, easy-to-digest infographic that visualized the future network and how its participants would interact.
Mid Fidelity Validation
Once the research was fully synthesized, we created an interactive mid fidelity prototype and placed it back into the hands of prospective users. This allowed us to validate core usability, identify points of friction, and pressure-test the end-to-end experience. These sessions led to several meaningful refinements before any visual polish was applied.
Moving into High Fidelity
After usability and core business requirements were validated, the product moved into high fidelity design. This phase focused on visual hierarchy, accessibility, trust signaling, and consistency across a rapidly expanding platform. The challenge here was balancing technical depth with clarity for users who were often navigating the product under stressful conditions.
Expanding the Platform Beyond Professionals
Beneficiary Concierge
In addition to the professional settlement dashboard, we introduced a consumer-facing Beneficiary Concierge. This experience gave executors and beneficiaries real-time visibility into the progress of estates in which they were involved. For many users, this was the first time they had clear, direct insight into a process that traditionally felt opaque and inaccessible.
Lifebook
We also designed Lifebook, a pre-death planning module that allowed individuals to organize their affairs in advance. This included inventory management, account documentation, password storage, and key personal records. The goal was to reduce the burden placed on families during already difficult moments.
CRA Dashboard
To support government integration, a dedicated dashboard was created for agents at the Canada Revenue Agency. This tool allowed estate files to be processed directly within Estateably, with specialized tools for approval, rejection, and audit flagging, all within a secure and compliant environment.
Supporting the Go To Market Effort
In parallel with the product work, branded tradeshow banners and supporting marketing assets were also designed to help position Estateably at industry events and communicate its vision to partners and regulators.
Outcome
Estateably emerged as a multi-sided, highly regulated platform that replaced slow, paper-based processes with a secure, transparent digital ecosystem. By deeply understanding the existing workflow and carefully rebuilding it from the ground up, the platform created meaningful improvements in speed, accountability, and user trust across every participant in the estate settlement journey.
Today, Estateably is trusted by more than 1,000 professional firms and continues to scale across North America. In Canada, the platform is available in all provinces. In the United States, Estateably is now live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.
Ok, last one. I promise.
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