Our story
Who we are
End of Life Tools is run by a small team of writers and researchers in the United States. We are not a funeral home, a law firm, or an insurance company, and we are not individually licensed funeral directors, attorneys, or financial advisors. Nothing on this site is professional, legal, medical, or financial advice.
We write by reading and citing primary public sources: U.S. government agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Social Security Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the IRS, along with the National Funeral Directors Association, publicly available state laws, and published industry surveys. Where we state a figure or a rule, we link to the original source so you can verify it yourself and confirm it for your own situation.
Funeral pricing, probate fees, and state rules change over time. We review high-traffic pages periodically and note a "last updated" date on our guides, but you should always confirm details with a qualified professional and the relevant agency before making decisions.
Tools & guides
What we offer
Free browser-based planning tools and a library of researched guides covering the practical questions families ask.
20 free planning tools
Calculators, checklists, and planners that run entirely in your browser. No account, and nothing you enter is stored on our servers. You can print or save results as a PDF.
See all toolsResearched guides
Plain-language articles on funeral costs, legal documents, estate basics, and more — each citing the public sources it draws from.
Browse the guidesTopics we cover
Transparency
How the site is funded
The guides and core planning tools are free to use. The site is supported by display advertising, optional paid downloads (printable PDF versions of certain planning results), and disclosed affiliate links to relevant services such as estate planning platforms. When a link is an affiliate link, we say so, and it may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
We have no financial relationship that lets a funeral home, vendor, or service provider pay for favorable coverage in our guides, and we do not sell personal data. Prices on this site are in U.S. dollars.
Our principles
How we work
Written with care
Most people find us during a difficult time. We try to keep our writing plain, calm, and free of sales pressure.
Sourced and cited
We research from primary public sources such as the FTC, Social Security Administration, the VA, the IRS, the NFDA, and published state laws, and we link to them so you can check the original.
Private by design
Our calculators and checklists run in your browser. We do not store the figures you enter on our servers, and we do not sell personal data.
Honest about who we are
We are writers and researchers, not funeral directors, attorneys, or financial advisors. Nothing here is professional, legal, medical, or financial advice.
Editorial commitment
Our editorial commitment
Because end-of-life information can affect real decisions during stressful times, we hold our content to a clear standard:
- Researched from primary sources — government agencies, the NFDA, published research, and publicly available state law.
- Sources linked, so you can verify — we cite the original so you can read it yourself.
- Reviewed periodically — pricing and rules change; we revisit pages and note when they were last updated.
- Editorially independent — vendors cannot pay for favorable coverage in our guides.
Questions or a correction?
If you have feedback, a question about the site, or spot a factual error in a guide, we'd like to hear from you. We read every message.
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Explore the free tools and guides — no account required, no sales pressure.