Your first steps
Everything you need to start cataloging your family's heirlooms today.
Heirloom is designed to feel natural from the first minute. This guide walks you through creating your vault, adding your first items, and inviting your family — in the order that works best.
Head to the sign-up page and enter your name, email, and a password. You'll receive a confirmation email — click the link inside to activate your account.
Once confirmed, you'll be prompted to name your vault. We suggest something like "The Sullivan Family Vault" or simply your family name. You can rename it any time from Settings.
Click Add an heirloom from the main catalog page. At minimum, give the item a name — everything else is optional, but the more you fill in now, the more valuable the record becomes over time.
We recommend starting with the fields most likely to be forgotten: the item's origin, its original owner, and any story attached to it. These are the things that disappear first when an object changes hands.
Upload at least one photo while you have the object in front of you. You can add more later from the Edit page.
If you're cataloging a collection all at once — clearing out a house, going through an attic — use Quick Add from the catalog page. It lets you set shared defaults (custodian, location, category) once, then blaze through items one by one. Each submission resets to the next item automatically.
You can enrich the records later. Quick Add is about capturing the objects before they disperse.
Go to Members in the navigation. You can invite people by email or generate a join code to share. There are two roles:
The vault owner (you) can change roles or remove members at any time.
Stories are longer narratives that can be linked to one or more heirlooms and family members. They're ideal for accounts that span multiple objects, or for memories that don't belong to a single item.
Go to Stories in the navigation and click New Story. You can attach photos, record an audio narration, and link the story to items in your vault.
The Inheritance section shows all active items organised by their designated recipient. For each item, you can assign a specific person, describe a flexible preference, or note that the item can be donated if no one wants it.
When you're ready, export a printable Inheritance Plan PDF from the Export page. This document is designed to accompany — not replace — formal estate planning documents.