Press Kit. MMXXVI
MORTL in
the Media.
MORTL helps people figure out what to do before and after a death. It publishes plain answers, 51 cited state guides, ordered checklists, original reporting, and practical planning tools, in language that respects the people involved. Press inquiries, interview requests, and media assets are below.
press@mortl.comAbout MORTL
Approved MORTL boilerplate.
Short (50 words): MORTL helps people figure out what to do before and after a death. Built for adults who don’t know where to start, it publishes plain answers, 51 cited jurisdiction guides, ordered checklists, practical tools, and provider information. Its sources and commercial relationships are public.
Long (100 words): MORTL is an independent publisher that helps people figure out what to do before and after a death. Built for adults who don’t know where to start, it publishes 51 cited jurisdiction guides, original reporting on grief, aging, end-of-life care, estate law, funeral costs, and death culture, ordered checklists, practical tools, and provider information. Public guidance doesn’t require an account. Optional saved features help people organize a plan and hand selected information to family. MORTL isn’t a law firm, medical provider, funeral home, or financial institution. Its sources, corrections, provider standards, revenue model, and commercial relationships are public.
Use this language as written. For a custom description, contact press@mortl.com.
Newsroom
What’s new and newsworthy.
Dated announcements, original reporting, and data notes journalists can use. Every claim links to its source or the page that carries one.
AI search keeps recommending death-planning platforms that no longer exist
MORTL runs the same 30 death-planning questions through live search every week and logs what comes back. In the August 17 and August 24 runs, top results and AI-assembled answers kept recommending Cake and Lantern to people planning for death or handling one. Both platforms are shut down, and their user accounts are gone. Dated run logs, the full question set, and per-question results are available to journalists on request.
MORTL publishes the record of the Cake and Lantern shutdowns
Two of the most recommended end-of-life planning platforms of the last decade were acquired and shut down, and neither closure got the coverage the acquisitions did. MORTL verified the timeline against primary sources: Foundation Partners Group, the second largest US funeral provider, announced its acquisition of Cake on September 5, 2024, and joincake.com now lands on the buyer's funeral brand. Wellthy announced its acquisition of Lantern in May 2023 and retired it. The stories tell readers whether their documents still count and how to get them back.
MORTL launches the Living Will Builder, free to build
The new builder turns plain-language choices into a living will draft: what you want if you're dying, permanently unconscious, or lost to advanced illness, the case most state forms skip. The signing block follows each state's witness and notary rules, with the statute cited. Free to build in the browser; Premium downloads it. It joins the will template, financial power of attorney, and advance directive worksheet in MORTL's open-builder set.
Maryland becomes the 35th jurisdiction to allow transfer-on-death deeds
The counts circulating online disagree with each other. MORTL's verified count: Maryland's law took effect October 1, 2026, and 35 US jurisdictions now allow transfer-on-death deeds. State-by-state rules, statute citations, and recording steps are in MORTL's 51 state guides, each with a dated change log.
Working on one of these? press@mortl.com answers within 24 hours on business days, with data, methodology, and interviews.
Founder
About the founder.
Stephanie Werner founded MORTL in 2026 after her father died of brain cancer and her family was left to work through hospice, paperwork, costs, and decisions without a clear guide. She has more than 18 years of experience leading brand, growth, and marketing across consumer and healthcare companies. She built MORTL to turn the practical realities of death into plain, sourced, useful information. She holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a bachelor’s degree in Strategic Communication from The Ohio State University. Based in Denver, Colorado.
Interviews & headshots: press@mortl.com
The Launch Film
Why MORTL exists, from the founder.
Stephanie Werner on her dad, Joby, and the company built in his honor. Free to embed and quote with attribution.
Watch the launch video on its own page, or on YouTube.
Press Release
MORTL Launches Free Death Planning Platform for Every U.S. State
Denver. July 31, 2026. For immediate release.
MORTL, an independent death media and information company, announces its official public launch at mortl.com. The national resource helps people prepare for their own death and gives families a clear order of operations after someone dies.
The premise appears on the homepage: "You're going to die. Let's talk about it."
Founder and CEO Stephanie Werner created MORTL in honor of her father, Joby Horn, who died from brain cancer in 2022. His death became the personal reason behind a company built to make the legal, financial, medical, and logistical realities of death easier to understand.
"My dad, Joby, died of brain cancer in 2022. I built MORTL in his honor so families don't have to navigate the law, paperwork, money, and logistics during the worst week of their lives," Werner said. "There should be one clear place to start, whether you're planning years ahead or someone you love died this morning."
The need is widespread. Caring.com's 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study found that only 24% of surveyed U.S. adults had a will, meaning 76% did not. The National Funeral Directors Association reports that the national median cost of a funeral with viewing and burial is $8,300. Families often face those costs and decisions while grieving.
MORTL launches with:
- 51 free state guides covering all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with plain-English information on probate, advance directives, estate taxes, death certificates, cremation and burial law, organ donation and related official forms.
- A free personalized planning dashboard and 31-item end-of-life checklist covering documents, people, accounts, digital assets and final wishes.
- A "Someone Just Died" path that remains free forever, requires no account and carries no advertising, affiliate links or sponsored content.
- The MORTL Edit, Ask MORTL, a death and estate glossary, state comparison tools, a provider directory and The Death Dispatch weekly newsletter.
- Optional premium planning tools, family sharing, an exportable folder for loved ones and an annual estate health check.
MORTL sources its legal and procedural information from state statutes, court rules, federal law and official government forms. The company publishes its sources, review process, corrections policy and commercial disclosures. Editorial decisions remain independent of advertisers, sponsors, affiliates and listed providers.
MORTL is an educational media and information resource. It does not provide legal, medical, financial, or mental health advice.
"Death is universal, yet families are still handed dozens of tasks with no order of operations," Werner said. "MORTL gives people plain answers before a crisis and practical guidance when the crisis is already here."
About MORTL
MORTL is a death media and information company built for the living. It covers end-of-life decisions, grief, aging, funeral costs, estate law, and death culture through free state guides, original reporting, practical planning tools, and a provider directory. MORTL tells the truth plainly, cites its sources, and discloses commercial relationships. Learn more at mortl.com.
Media contact: Stephanie Werner, press@mortl.com. As distributed July 31, 2026 via PRLog and openPR.
Key Facts
The numbers that matter.
Story Angles
Story ideas for journalists.
AI keeps recommending death-planning services that shut down
MORTL's weekly 30-question benchmark keeps catching live search results and AI-assembled answers recommending Cake and Lantern, both gone. The people asking are often grieving. MORTL has the dated run logs, the shutdown records, and the primary sources.
A funeral chain bought the best-known death-planning site. Then it closed.
Foundation Partners Group announced its acquisition of Cake, whose catalog its own release said over 100 million people had used, in September 2024. The planning site is gone and joincake.com now lands on the buyer's funeral network. The consumer question: what happens to your plan when the platform holding it gets acquired.
The media brand that says 'You're going to die'. And means it as a compliment
MORTL makes its official public launch on July 31, 2026, in an industry dominated by pastel gradients and grief counselors: a blunt, editorially independent media company treating death the way adults actually talk about it.
The $8,300 national funeral median: what the number includes and leaves out
NFDA's 2023 member survey reported an $8,300 national median for a funeral with viewing and burial. Cemetery interment, a monument or marker, and cash-advance charges weren't included. MORTL helps families understand the choices, ask for itemized prices, and plan before a crisis.
24% of surveyed U.S. adults reported having a will in 2025. MORTL is working to improve that.
Caring.com and YouGov surveyed more than 2,500 U.S. adults in January 2025. Twenty-four percent reported having a will. MORTL publishes 51 State Guides covering probate, advance directives, estate tax, and intestacy.
Death positivity meets editorial independence: the new media brand with no funeral home ties
MORTL's editorial coverage is independent of its commercial relationships. Where affiliate revenue or sponsored placements exist, they’re clearly labeled. The death industry doesn’t shape what MORTL covers or how it covers it.
The advance directive gap: why most Americans don't have one and what happens when they don't
MORTL's state-by-state advance directive guides cover each state's statute, the state-specific forms, and the legal traps that catch families off guard.
For custom pitches, data requests, or to arrange an interview: press@mortl.com
Brand Assets
Logo files.
All logos are provided as high-resolution PNG with transparent backgrounds. Don’t alter the logo, change its colors, add effects, or place it on backgrounds that reduce legibility. For usage questions: press@mortl.com
Brand Colors
Color palette.
Five colors. Everything on MORTL comes from these, with no exceptions.
Extended palette.
Tints, shades, and opacities of the five core colors. Never a new hue.
Typography
Typefaces.
Contact
Get in touch.
Response time: within 24 hours on business days. For urgent requests, note "URGENT" in the subject line.