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business Tuesday 17 May 2022

Liz Weston: Dealing with death? There’s an app for that

By LIZ WESTON of NerdWallet Subscribers also get around-the- "It can be really overwhelming to
Before the pandemic, entrepre- clock access to "care specialists" think about it in one sitting, but the
neurs Liz Eddy and Alyssa Ruder- who can answer questions and idea that every once in a while you
man had trouble getting venture help users search for specialized can pop in and add more is help-
capitalists to invest in their end-of- advisers, such as attorneys or tax ful," Henson says.
life planning app Lantern. Potential pros. People shouldn't rely on apps to do
business partners were skeptical as Everplans, a document-storage all their estate planning, says cer-
well. site and app, offers a free trial fol- tified financial planner and physi-
"We would hear, 'Oh, this is really a lowed by an annual $75 subscrip- cian Carolyn McClanahan of Jack-
niche issue,' which I think is pretty tion fee. sonville, Florida . Wills and trusts, for
hilarious," Eddy says. "Death is quite Lantern's free offerings include ba- example, are tricky to draft and
literally the only thing on the planet sic preplanning tools, an after-loss best done by experienced attor-
that affects every single person." checklist, document storage and neys, she says.
The past two years have highlight- collaboration tools. A one-time But McClanahan likes apps that
ed the importance of such prepa- $149 fee provides access to more help with tasks such as funeral in-
ration, even for younger people. resources and the ability to create structions, advanced care direc-
Abigail Henson, a 31-year-old col- additional plans. tives, pet care plans and obituary
lege professor in Phoenix, says she Cake's free features include end- drafts.
started using Lantern about 18 of-life planning, online memorials, "Anything that can get people to
months ago to plan her funeral, a post-loss checklist and document start thinking about planning for
tell her executor where to find her storage. A $96 annual subscription end of life is good," McClanahan
passwords and explain what she buys unlimited storage, a legal on- says.
wanted to be done with her social line will and one-on-one consulta- THINKING ABOUT YOUR LEGACY
media accounts. tions with the app's support team, Planning for your death can be
"I'm a planner, and I have control says Suelin Chen, Cake's co-found- a tremendous gift to the people
issues, so the idea of being able to er. you leave behind, sparing them
have a say in what happens fol- Some apps partner with employ- confusion and stress. But dealing courage users to think about their
lowing my passing was appealing," ers, insurers, banks and other com- with death's aftermath can still be legacies.
Henson says. panies that provide the app's fea- a heavy load, made even more Everplans, for example, has a work-
Planning for death and navigat- tures to employees or customers as complicated by grief. sheet to help people create an
ing life after a loss can be difficult, a benefit. The apps also may earn Families often spend thousands of ethical will, a document that com-
complex and sometimes expen- referral fees for connecting us- dollars and hundreds of hours on municates their values, life lessons
sive. However, several apps — in- ers with service providers. Lantern post-death tasks, says Ron Gura, and most important experiences.
cluding Lantern, Cake, Empathy has a "Funeralocity" tool to search Empathy's co-founder and CEO. Everplans also has templates and
and Everplans, among others — for funeral homes, for instance, Those chores can include arrang- guidance for writing letters and
promise to help. and Cake partners with Eterneva, ing the funeral, probating the es- creating videos with a legacy mes-
HOW DEATH-PLANNING APPS which turns cremated remains into tate, closing accounts, canceling sage.
WORK diamonds. services and dealing with various Cake's Chen says people often
Death-planning apps typically PLAN AT YOUR OWN PACE government agencies, including ask her if running a death-planning
have free tools for consumers, and Henson says she chose Lantern be- Social Security and the IRS. Apps al- app is depressing. Quite the oppo-
most have additional, premium cause she wanted a digital solu- low people to answer a few ques- site, she says. Thinking about what
services available for a fee. tion that allowed her to complete tions and get personalized advice. we value and how we want to be
For example, Empathy's free offer- preplanning tasks at her own pace "We can show you only the things remembered is an essential part,
ings include checklists, articles and and share them online with trusted that you need to do right now and not just of the death-planning pro-
collaboration tools for family mem- people. That felt more manage- also tell you what can wait," Gura cess, but of life, Chen says.
bers dealing with a death. Those able than tackling estate planning says. "It really gets at the core of what
who pay a subscription fee of $8.99 all at once and storing the docu- Death-planning apps primarily fo- makes life meaningful," she says. "I
a month or $64.99 per year can ments in a locked filing cabinet, cus on practicalities, such as com- am reminded every single day to
access a document vault and au- which is what her mother has done, pleting tasks and uploading impor- make the most of the time that I
tomated tools to close accounts. Henson says. tant documents. But many also en- have."q