Free tool
Write your own obituary
before someone else has to.
Somebody is going to write it. You know the details they'd have to guess at. Pick first person or third, answer what you want to answer, and the tool puts it in order as you type. It says died. Free, no account needed, and when you're done you can turn the opening into a card to post.
Preview
0 wordsEnter your name and the obituary starts building here.
Make the share card
A 1080 by 1350 image with your name, the opening of your obituary, and mortl.com, sized for an Instagram or TikTok photo post. It's drawn in your browser.
Signed out, nothing you type leaves your browser. The draft stays in this browser so a closed tab doesn't lose it. Signed in to a free account, the draft saves to your account so you can finish it on another device.
Read it out loud
Write yours. Film yourself reading it. Tag @mortl_inc.
Write the obituary you'd want read at your own funeral, then read it to the camera and post it. Tag @mortl_inc on TikTok or Instagram. If you'd rather post a photo, the share card has your opening lines and the address where your friends can write theirs.
Funny is fine. Keep it true. And leave out your birth date, your street address, and your birthplace, because people you've never met will read it.
Why write it yourself, three examples, and what to leave out
Why write it yourself
When someone dies, the obituary usually falls to the family, often in the same days they're planning the funeral. They have to guess at things you could have told them in a minute: the years at the job, the town you grew up in, which people you'd want named. Writing it now takes that job off them and gets the facts right. You also know details nobody else has, like the lunch you ate every day or the thing you never got around to.
It doesn't have to be the version that runs. Some people write a straight one for the newspaper and a funny one for the people who knew them. Keep both, and tell your family which is which.
Three examples, written by this tool
Plain, first person
I'm Denise Okafor, 81, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and I died at home.
I was born in Lagos. I was a pharmacist for 38 years.
I could tell you the side effects of anything in your medicine cabinet, and I did, whether you asked or not. I loved Sunday crosswords in pen, Nollywood movies, and the 6 a.m. walk. I was proud of paying off the house in 1994. I never got around to learning to swim.
I'm survived by my sons, Chidi and Emeka, my sister, Ada, and five grandchildren.
Instead of flowers, make the doctor appointment you keep putting off. I'd do all of it again.
Warm, third person
Rosa María "Rosie" Delgado died. Rosie was 67 and lived in San Antonio, Texas.
Rosie was born in Laredo. Rosie drove a city bus for 29 years and knew every regular by name.
Ask anyone who knew Rosie and the same things come up. She kept a bag of butterscotch candy by the fare box the whole time. Rosie loved the Spurs, her tomato plants, and loud family dinners. Rosie was proud of her three kids. Rosie never got around to seeing the Grand Canyon.
Rosie is survived by her husband, Tomás, their kids, Ana, Luis, and Marisol, and more cousins than she could count.
Instead of flowers, take a bus somewhere and say good morning to the driver. Rosie wrote this herself.
Starts with you, first person
I ate the same lunch every workday for 14 years: a turkey sandwich, an apple, and one square of dark chocolate. That was me. I'm Arjun Mehta, of Columbus, Ohio, and I died owing the library $4.20.
I was born in Edison, New Jersey. I wrote software for an insurance company for 22 years.
I loved bad horror movies, the Columbus Crew, and the treehouse in the backyard. I was proud of building that treehouse with my daughter. I never got around to returning those library books.
I'm survived by my wife, Priya, and our daughter, Meera.
Instead of flowers, return your library books. Turn the lights off when you leave.
What to leave out
Anyone can read a public obituary, including people collecting the answers to security questions. Experian lists what obituaries commonly give away: middle names, maiden names, place of birth, the town you live in, relatives' last names, education, work history, clubs, and military service. It warns that "information like a mother's maiden name is often used as a security question for online accounts." Experian, February 2, 2022.
That's why this tool never asks for your birth date or your address. If you post your obituary while you're alive, the same details still answer security questions on your own accounts, so leave out your birthplace, your maiden name, and your relatives' full names. Keep a complete version for your family, and post a shorter one.
Where to keep it
Somewhere the person who handles things after you die will find it: with your will, with your end-of-life plans, or in an email to them with "my obituary" in the subject line. Tell them it exists. Download it as a Word file so they can edit it.
Writing one for someone who died?
Use the obituary maker. It asks the questions a family needs answered: survivors, the service, donations, and what newspapers charge to run it. For the speech, the eulogy builder works from four answers. For more finished obituaries, read obituary examples.
Write-your-own obituary questions
What people ask before they write their own.
Short answers. The identity-theft source, Experian, is linked above.
How do you write your own obituary?
Start with the facts: your name, where you lived, and the work you did. Add one thing only you did, a few things you loved, and who you'd want named. End with what people should do instead of sending flowers, and a last line in your own voice. First person and third person both work.
Is it weird to write your own obituary?
No. It's the same idea as writing a will. Your family won't have to write it the week you die, and it'll say what you'd want said, with the facts right.
Should I write it in first person or third person?
Third person reads like a newspaper obituary, and the tool adds a line at the end saying you wrote it yourself. First person reads like a letter from you. Pick one and keep it the whole way through.
What should I leave out of my own obituary?
Your birth date, your street address, and your mother's maiden name, in any version that goes public. Experian lists place of birth, maiden names, and relatives' last names among the obituary details identity thieves use. If you post it while you're alive, those details still answer security questions on your own accounts.
Where should I keep it?
With your will or your end-of-life plans, and with the person who'll handle things after you die. Tell them it exists. A Word copy lets them edit it.
Plan the rest ahead →Does the tool save what I write?
Signed out, the draft stays in this browser so a closed tab doesn't lose it, and it isn't sent to MORTL. Signed in to a free account, the draft saves to your account. The share card is drawn in your browser.
The Death Dispatch
One email a week about death. The useful kind.
The Death Dispatch: one story worth reading, one law change, one practical thing to do, and a reader's question answered. Free, every week, and never a euphemism.
The short answer
To write your own obituary, start with the facts: your name, where you lived, and the work you did. Add one thing only you did, a few things you loved, and who you'd want named. End with what people should do instead of sending flowers. Leave out your birth date and address. The free tool on this page builds it in first or third person.
Reviewed October 2026 · Sources: Experian, What You Need to Know About Obituaries and Identity Theft (February 2, 2022)
How to write an obituary, with examples →Plan the rest ahead →
About this tool
What Write Your Own Obituary helps you do
Write the obituary you want people to read, in first or third person, and turn the opening into a card to post. Get the facts down in one sitting, then come back for the specifics another day. Read it out loud once and cut anything that doesn't sound like you. Then put a copy where the person who handles things after you die will find it.
Plan the rest ahead →