The real problems
After someone dies, four things hit you at once.
Most people don’t know this until they’re in it. Here’s what we’ve learned from families who’ve been through it.
I don’t know what they had.
Hidden accounts, surprise debts, forgotten subscriptions. Most families have no complete picture of what needs handling. You find things for months.
Tip:Pull a free credit report on the deceased. Check mail for 6+ months. Search the NAIC life insurance locator and NAUPA unclaimed property database.
Everything is trapped behind a lock screen.
The phone is locked. Email needs two-factor. Passwords are gone. Apple requires a court order. Every account leads to another locked door.
Tip:Port the phone number to Google Voice immediately, before the carrier cancels the line. That number is the skeleton key to their entire digital life.
The bank froze the account. Bills are bouncing.
Banks freeze accounts the moment they learn of a death. Auto-pay fails. Mortgage bounces. Late fees pile up. And nobody warned you.
Tip:Move auto-pay to a different account before you notify the bank. If the account is already frozen, call estate services to request emergency releases.
I have to call 15 companies and say ‘my mother died’ each time.
Every institution wants something different. Different address, different format, different department. It takes days of phone calls and letters. This is the problem we solve.
Problems 1–3 are harder. They take time, legal knowledge, and sometimes a court order. But problem 4 — the notification burden — is something you can finish tonight. That’s where we start.
How it works
Three steps. No friction.
The First 30 Days checklist is free. Here’s what happens when you ask for it.
Tell us a little about your situation
Your name, your email, and who this is for — a parent, a spouse, a friend, or yourself planning ahead. Takes thirty seconds.
We use this only to send you the checklist and an occasional update. Nothing shared, nothing sold.
We send the First 30 Days checklist
A clear, prioritized PDF of what needs doing after a death — phased by urgency, with the things nobody tells you, and a guide for finding accounts you don’t know about.
Print it, share it with family, save it for later. It’s yours to keep.
Use it at your own pace
Most families work through the first phase the first week, then come back to the rest. There’s no rush. The checklist picks up wherever you are.
More tools — letter templates, an interactive task tracker — are on the way. The checklist is the start.
Why Afterward Guide
We researched every institution so you don’t have to.
Most people don’t have a friend who’s been through this before. Afterward Guide is that friend — the one who sits down at the kitchen table and says: “Here’s what you do next.”
Verified institutional data
Every address, every department, every requirement is researched and verified. We don’t guess. When we say “send this to Equifax P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA 30348” — we’ve confirmed it.
Written by AI, verified by research
AI writes the prose. We verify the facts. Every institution’s contact details, required documents, and processes are checked against official sources. The AI never invents an address.
Free while we build the rest
We’re a small team. The checklist is free for now while we build out the rest of the toolkit. No subscription, no account, no login — just the resource and an occasional update if you want one.
We know things nobody tells you
Credit bureaus share death records — notify one and the others update automatically. Banks freeze accounts the moment you call — move auto-pay first. Credit card companies often forgive balances — if you know to ask.
What we cover
Free resources
Start here, even if you’re not ready to buy.
Free, useful, no strings. The checklist is the start of a calmer way to handle the weeks after a death.
First 30 Days Checklist
A printable guide with everything you need to do in the first month, organized by urgency. Includes the five things nobody tells you.
Get the free PDF“What Do I Need to Notify?” Quiz
Answer 8 questions about your situation. We’ll tell you exactly which institutions to contact and in what order.
Coming soonThe Afterward Guide Blog
Institution-specific guides: how to notify Bank of America, how to freeze credit for a deceased person, what to do about joint accounts.
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