A new digital approach to managing a loved one’s financial and administrative affairs after death is gaining attention from the estate and deathcare space, as inheritance software company Sunset looks to simplify one of the most frustrating aspects of loss.
In a recent video interview, co-founder and CEO Stephen Walter described Sunset not as traditional “estate administration software,” a term he argues can feel overly legalistic and intimidating, but as a direct-to-consumer inheritance platform designed to help families identify, manage and transfer a deceased person’s accounts and obligations.
Watch the video here or keep scrolling to the end of this short synopsis.
Walter said the idea for the platform was shaped by personal experience. After assisting his father with administrative tasks following the death of a friend—and later navigating similar responsibilities after the sudden passing of his father-in-law—he became increasingly frustrated by the difficulty families face when dealing with banks and financial institutions during probate and post-death administration.
What stood out, Walter explained, is how burdensome the process can be for families already in grief, particularly when attempting to distribute assets in accordance with a loved one’s wishes, including charitable intentions.
Sunset, he said, was built to replicate the type of assistance he wished had existed during those experiences.
The platform is offered at no cost to users.
While Walter doesn’t see why families would not use Sunset, he also shared some wisdom for families that want to navigate estate settlement issues on their own.
Practically, Walter advised that the first step in post-death administration often begins with a basic but crucial search: reviewing personal spaces such as wallets, purses, drawers and storage boxes for account statements and important documents. From there, families may need to forward mail—though he acknowledged this process is often cumbersome, requiring in-person coordination at a post office tied to the deceased.
The full interview embedded below explores how Sunset is attempting to bridge that gap between technology, administration and grief.
