Resources

Practical guidance for navigating loss

Written for people going through it, not academics writing about it.

Featured

What to Do in the First 30 Days After Losing a Loved One

The weeks after losing someone you love can feel impossible to navigate. Here’s a gentle, practical roadmap for the tasks that need attention, and permission to take them one at a time.

May 12, 20267 min read

Immediate Steps

The Notifications Nobody Warns You About: Every Account, Agency, and Entity to Contact After a Death

Most families are stunned by how many organizations need to be contacted after a death. This comprehensive guide organizes every notification into categories so nothing falls through the cracks.

8 min read

Immediate Steps

When the Loss Isn’t Recent: Navigating Grief Administration Months or Years Later

Not everyone is ready to tackle the logistics right away. If months or years have passed and tasks remain unfinished, here’s what you can still do , and what may have changed.

7 min read

Financial

The Hidden Financial Cost of Grief: Why Missed Deadlines Matter

Grief doesn’t just take an emotional toll , it quietly drains bank accounts, forfeits benefits, and creates financial chaos that can last years. Here’s what the numbers reveal.

6 min read

Financial

Survivor Benefits Most Families Never Claim: A Hidden Money Guide

Over $15 billion in survivor benefits go unclaimed every year. Social Security, VA benefits, employer policies, state programs, and unclaimed property , this guide covers what you’re owed and how to claim it.

9 min read

Financial

Filing Taxes After a Death: Final Returns, Estate Returns, and Surviving Spouse Rules

The tax obligations that follow a death are complex and confusing. From the final 1040 to estate tax returns and surviving spouse elections, here’s what you need to know.

8 min read

Legal

Understanding Estate Administration: A Beginner’s Guide

If you’ve been named executor or are simply trying to close a loved one’s affairs, estate administration can feel like learning a new language. Here’s what you need to know.

8 min read

Legal

Probate Explained: What It Actually Costs, How Long It Takes, and When You Can Avoid It

Probate is one of the most misunderstood processes in estate administration. Here’s what it actually involves, what it costs in your state, and when you can skip it entirely.

8 min read

Legal

Digital Estate Planning: What Happens to Email, Social Media, Crypto, and Online Accounts When Someone Dies

Our digital lives are vast , email, social media, cloud storage, crypto wallets, subscriptions. When someone dies, accessing or closing these accounts is a modern challenge with few clear rules.

7 min read

Workplace

How to Support a Grieving Employee: A Guide for Managers

When a team member experiences a loss, most managers want to help but don’t know how. Here’s a framework for showing up with compassion while keeping the team supported.

6 min read

Workplace

Bereavement Leave Policies in America: What You’re Legally Entitled To and How to Ask for More

There is no federal bereavement leave law in the United States. Most workers get 3 days. Here’s the state-by-state landscape, what you can negotiate, and what progressive companies are doing differently.

7 min read

Workplace

The Employer’s Guide to Bereavement Benefits: Why the Best Companies Go Beyond 3 Days

Three days of bereavement leave was never enough. For HR leaders and executives, here’s the business case, the implementation framework, and what leading companies are doing differently.

7 min read

Emotional Wellness

Caring for Yourself During Grief: Small Tools That Make a Big Difference

In the middle of estate paperwork and phone calls, it’s easy to forget about yourself. Here are gentle, evidence-based tools to help you stay grounded when everything feels unsteady.

5 min read

Emotional Wellness

Grief Brain Is Real: The Neuroscience of Why You Can’t Think Straight After a Loss

Forgetting things, losing focus, making mistakes , it’s not weakness, it’s neuroscience. Here’s what happens in your brain during grief and how to protect yourself during the fog.

7 min read

Emotional Wellness

Beyond the 5 Stages: What Modern Grief Science Actually Says About How We Heal

The 5 stages of grief were never meant to describe how individuals grieve. Here’s what decades of modern research actually reveals about loss, adaptation, and the many forms grief takes.

8 min read

Family

What to Say (and Not Say) to Someone Who Is Grieving

When someone you care about is grieving, finding the right words feels impossible. That’s because it is , no words can fix this. But the right ones can make someone feel less alone.

7 min read

Family

Helping Children Understand Death: Age-Appropriate Conversations and Long-Term Support

Children grieve differently at every developmental stage. This guide covers what kids understand at each age, the language to use, behavioral signs to watch for, and how to provide lasting support.

8 min read

Family

When Grief Divides a Family: Navigating Conflict Over Estates, Roles, and Unequal Mourning

Loss can bring families together , or tear them apart. Estate disputes, different grieving styles, and unresolved dynamics often surface at the worst possible time. Here’s how to navigate the conflict.

7 min read

Emotional Wellness

The Death Taboo: Why We Avoid Talking About Dying and What It Costs Us

Western society treats death as the last great taboo. But decades of clinical research show that our avoidance of mortality doesn’t protect us , it leaves us unprepared, isolated, and financially devastated when loss arrives.

9 min read

Family

The Language of Grief: A Clinical Guide to Words That Help, Words That Harm, and Why It Matters More Than You Think

The words we choose when someone is grieving aren’t just social niceties , they’re clinical interventions. Research shows that language physically alters the grief experience. Here’s what the science says about getting it right.

10 min read

20 articles