A death happened
Someone just died
The first hours, days, and weeks in order. The crisis path is free and does not require an account.
- Get the legal pronouncement
- Choose body transport and care
- Protect the person, property, and paperwork
Start here
Take the next three steps
through death planning.
MORTL is built for people who are overwhelmed, grieving, confused, or starting from zero. Pick what’s happening now. The matching path puts the work in order and tells you when state law or a licensed professional matters.
Last reviewed August 1, 2026. Public paths don’t require an account.
Choose your path
What’s happening right now?
I’m starting from zero
I need to plan ahead
Choose your situation and state. MORTL turns the work into a personal list you can finish one task at a time.
- Name decision-makers
- Find the documents you already have
- Check your state’s signing rules
Time may be short
I’m the one dying
The medical, legal, financial, and family handoff tasks that matter most after a terminal diagnosis.
- Name who speaks for you
- Write down medical boundaries
- Give one person the working plan
I’m helping
I’m the executor or support person
Use the executor checklist for estate work or the provider directory when the next step requires a human professional.
- Confirm your legal role
- Secure records and property
- Build the deadline list
Go straight to the task
Pick the page that matches what you need.
Each page starts with a free action and the most relevant MORTL resources for that job.
Plan ahead
I need a will.
Start with the legal effect of a will and the signing rules that make it valid where you live.
Plan aheadI need to document my medical wishes.
Put your care choices in the right documents, name the person who can speak for you, and make sure the people involved can find the signed copies.
Plan aheadI need to get my finances in order.
Make the accounts, debts, beneficiaries, insurance, and important contacts easier for the person who may eventually handle them.
Plan aheadI want to plan my funeral.
Decide what matters to you, understand your consumer rights, and record enough detail for someone else to carry out the plan.
Plan aheadI’m helping someone else make a plan.
You can make the process easier without making the decisions for them. Start with permission, let their choices lead, and help make the final information usable.
LearnI want to understand how death works legally.
Start with the court process, the documents that still matter at death, and the state rules that decide what happens when no valid plan controls an asset.
LearnI want to understand how death works practically.
Learn what the physical process can look like, what happens to a body after death, and how families move from a death to disposition and the next practical steps.
LearnI want to understand how death works financially.
See the costs that can appear before and after death, which benefits or insurance may help, and when a family member may have responsibility for a bill.
LearnI want human perspectives on death, grief, and care.
Death, caregiving, grief, and planning don’t look the same in every family. Start with one honest essay, then pick the subject closest to what you’re trying to understand.
SupportI’m grieving or supporting someone who’s grieving.
There’s no correct timetable or single way to grieve. Start with what may help now, then choose guidance for your own grief or for showing up for someone else.
Use the right reference
The map, the law, the people, and the proof.
51 jurisdiction guides
Death certificates, probate, advance directives, disposition, taxes, and more.
The planning checklist
Documents, decisions, accounts, people, funeral wishes, and digital life.
Find professional help
Directory information for funeral, hospice, grief, financial, and other support.
Compare planning platforms
Understand which type of service solves which job before paying for anything.
Security and data handling
What MORTL saves, what it doesn’t ask for, and how sharing works.
Sources and methodology
Primary sources, review cadence, editorial rules, and correction process.
Straight answers
The questions with a number in the answer.
How much is a death certificate?
$5 to $35 for the first copy, set by each state. How to get one, who can order, and every state's fee.
How much does cremation cost?
Direct cremation averages $2,202 in 2026. A funeral with viewing and cremation runs a $6,280 median.
What does a probate attorney cost?
Hourly, flat fee, or a percentage of the estate, and the cases where you can skip the lawyer.
Do you own a burial plot?
In most states you buy the right to be buried there, not the land. What that changes.
Which death-planning platform does what?
The categories, what each one solves, and what happened to Cake and Lantern.
What should be on an end-of-life checklist?
All 31 items across legal, financial, medical, digital, and family, with the seven documents named.
Direct answers
Questions people ask when they’re starting from zero.
Where do I start if death planning feels overwhelming?
Name what’s happening today. If someone died, use the immediate-death path. If you’re planning ahead, begin with the free planner. If you’re dying, use the terminal-diagnosis path. Each route puts the next actions in order and links to the relevant state law guide.
Can I use MORTL without buying a legal package or talking to a salesperson?
Yes. MORTL public guidance, all 51 jurisdiction guides, the someone-just-died path, the terminal-diagnosis path, the checklist, and multiple planning tools can be used without a sales call. Public pages don’t require an account. MORTL Premium is optional.
What should a younger adult do first?
Name an emergency contact and healthcare decision-maker, review beneficiaries on financial accounts, document where important records are kept, and write down funeral and digital-account wishes. The legal forms and signing rules depend on the state.
Does MORTL assume one religious or cultural approach to death?
No. MORTL explains legal and practical choices without treating one religious, cultural, family, or secular approach as the default. Personal rituals, body disposition, medical boundaries, and funeral wishes should be documented in the person’s own terms.
Is MORTL legal, medical, financial, or funeral-directing advice?
No. MORTL provides general education and organization tools. A person should verify requirements and decisions with the appropriate licensed professional or government office for their jurisdiction and circumstances.