A Collection
Things Every Family Should Know — But Nobody Teaches Us
Nobody sits us down and explains these things in advance. Here they are, answered plainly, one at a time.
What actually happens when someone dies
A practical order for who to notify in the first day after a death, so you're not trying to figure this out from scratch while grieving.
What happens to your money when you die
What typically happens to bank accounts, credit cards, and household bills after a death, and how to keep things running smoothly during the transition.
Who makes decisions if you can't
A clear explanation of how advance directives, living wills, and healthcare proxies relate to each other, and why most people need more than one document.
What your family needs to know about your passwords
How to set up digital legacy features in advance, so your family doesn't have to navigate platform policies alone after you're gone.
How funeral arrangements actually work
A practical starting point for making funeral arrangements when there's no existing plan, organized in the order most families find it easiest to decide.
What happens if you die without a will
What happens legally when someone dies without a will - how intestate succession works and who typically inherits.
How much dying actually costs
A realistic overview of what different end-of-life choices typically cost, to help with both advance financial planning and immediate decisions.
What happens to your mortgage
How to handle transferring a vehicle title and continuing mortgage payments after a death.
What happens to your pets
Why pets are easy to overlook in estate planning, and the two main ways - a written designation and a pet trust - to make sure they're genuinely provided for.
What happens to your social media
How to handle a loved one's email, social media, photos, and other digital accounts after their death — an increasingly common part of settling affairs.
Who gets your belongings
How property gets distributed after a death, whether or not a will exists, and what happens without one.
What happens to your body
Gentle, practical guidance on what you can do — and don't need to do — in the time between a death and the funeral home's arrival.
How organ donation actually works
How organ and tissue donation works after a death, and what a family needs (and doesn't need) to do.
What your children should know
Practical, age-based guidance for talking with children about death, including what language to use and avoid.
The documents your family will desperately look for
The documents that matter most for a family during a medical crisis or after a death — and how to ask about them without it being awkward.
What funeral directors wish every family knew
Composite, illustrative reflections drawn from common themes funeral directors describe about their work - not verbatim quotes from a specific named individual.