Knowledge Base
Resources from the Empathy Care Team
An expertly curated selection of in-depth guidance and information about issues that your family may be facing. Understand probate, taxes, selling property, and more. Plus, get profound, compassionate advice on grief, emotional health, and interpersonal dynamics.
The Funeral
A funeral or memorial ceremony is an opportunity for you and your family and the community of those who knew your loved one to grieve, and to honor and celebrate their life. The type of service you choose and all of its details will depend upon several factors; we’re here to guide you through each one.
The Will
Whether or not your loved one left a will, you will need to make sure their property is passed on to the right people. With a will, inheritance will follow your loved one’s wishes; without it, state law will decide. Either way, following these rules will ensure that your loved one’s life and legacy are properly honored.
Listen: Understanding grief
When you’re in grief, it can make everything else seem so much harder. Let our original audio episodes guide you through the difficult mental and emotional terrain of grief with compassionate messages from experts in the field.
For more episodes
Searching for Documents
The document search can be a daunting task, but it’s important for finding your loved one’s assets, debts, accounts, and more. We’ll help you organize the search and understand which papers to scan, save for later, or dispose of safely.
Informing Others
Sharing the sad news when you carry such a heavy heart can be hard, but it’s important to let others into your circle of grief and allow them to support you at this very difficult time.
Loss is hard. Its vocabulary shouldn’t be.
We speak the specialized language of estates and funerals so you don’t have to.
Administrator
The person appointed by the court to handle the estate of someone who dies without a will.
The duties of an administrator are similar to those of an executor, but as there is no will to execute, he or she is named administrator and distributes assets according to a procedure dictated by state law.
Estate
The sum total of someone’s net worth, including all assets. From a legal standpoint, an estate is not simply everything the person owns, but the value of all of these assets minus any debts or other liabilities. Estates are calculated differently depending on their purpose.
For example, the taxable estate may include assets that are not in the probate estate.
Memorial
A service held to commemorate someone’s life. Memorials are generally considered distinct from funerals in that they are held without the body present and are not focused on the burial, although services where the urn with the loved one’s ashes is present are also called memorials. Traditionally, a funeral is a more formal service while memorials are often more unstructured.
To see the full glossary