Accouncement
Sunset's inaugural Report evaluated 100 of America's largest financial institutions on how they treat bereaved families.
February 25, 2026
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Every year, more than 3 million American families lose a loved one. What follows isn't just grief. It's an avalanche of phone calls, paperwork, and dead ends as they try to close bank accounts, claim life insurance, and transfer retirement funds. The average family spends over 500 hours on estate administration. Most of that time is spent fighting the institutions that are supposed to help.
Today we're publishing Sunset's inaugural 2025 Estate Settlement Report Card, a comprehensive evaluation of 100 of America's largest banks, brokerages, retirement providers, and life insurance companies on how they treat families during this process.
The results are not good.
What we found
We graded each institution across six categories: Process Accessibility, Documentation Requirements, Timeline, Staff Training, Communication Consistency, and Dedicated Estate Support. Every grade was based on real family experiences during the 2025 calendar year, over 1,000 of them.
The overall average grade was a C. Only 11 out of 100 institutions earned above a C. Thirty-six received a D. None failed outright, but the bar for failure is low, and the bar for "satisfactory" shouldn't be the ceiling.
Some of the most troubling findings:
55% of institutions still don't let families start the estate process online. In 2025, families are being told to drive to a branch, sometimes in another state, just to notify a bank that someone has died.
Regional banks performed the worst, averaging a D+. Many require in-person visits, lack dedicated estate teams, and provide inconsistent information from one representative to the next.
Staff training is the industry's biggest weakness. We routinely encountered representatives who had never handled an estate case, gave contradictory instructions, or couldn't answer basic questions about their own institution's process.
Who got it right
Not everyone failed. A handful of institutions have invested in making this process humane.
Capital One earned the highest overall grade, an A. Their dedicated estate operations team is responsive, knowledgeable, and handles the entire process over email after a single phone call. Bank of America and U.S. Bank also earned A- grades, with U.S. Bank's assigned "Life Events Specialist" standing out as a model for the industry.
Among brokerages, Fidelity and Vanguard led the way with B grades. Robinhood, perhaps surprisingly, earned a B+. Its digital-first approach translates well to estate settlement.
The institutions that scored highest shared common traits: a dedicated estate services team, a single assigned case manager, clear documentation requirements published upfront, and a commitment to keeping families informed throughout the process.
Who needs to do better
At the bottom of the rankings, Valley National Bank, First National Bank of Pennsylvania, First Horizon Bank, Columbia Bank, Cadence Bank, and Bank OZK all received D grades. These institutions lack online initiation, require in-person visits, and scored poorly on staff training and communication.
Some big names also underperformed. Chase, the largest bank in America, earned a C- with D grades in four of six categories. KeyBank earned a D+ with an F in staff training. TD Bank, Truist, and Regions Bank all earned D+ grades.
The pattern is clear: size doesn't equal quality. Having thousands of branches means nothing if the people staffing them can't help a family close an account after a death.
What we're asking institutions to do
Based on our findings, we're calling on every financial institution to adopt five practices:
Enable online estate initiation so families can begin the process remotely. Assign a dedicated case manager as a single point of contact. Publish clear documentation requirements upfront so families aren't surprised weeks into the process. Train all customer-facing staff on estate procedures. And commit to a defined settlement timeline with proactive updates.
These aren't radical ideas. The top performers already do all of them. The question is whether the rest of the industry will follow.
Why we built this
Sunset exists because this process is broken. We're a Y Combinator-backed software company that helps families discover and transfer financial assets after a death, completely free. We search across thousands of financial institutions to find accounts families didn't even know existed, then help them navigate the settlement process.
We built this report card because families deserve to know what they're walking into before they pick up the phone. And because institutions need to know that someone is watching.
This is our inaugural edition. We plan to publish this report annually. We hope next year's grades look better.
For press inquiries, contact press@hellosunset.com.
HOW WE MAKE MONEY
We’re paid by banks, not families
Just like any bank, we make money from interest yielded while money sits in the estate bank account.
No out-of-pocket costs or fees
You never pay for anything out of pocket. Ever.
We make money on interest
No hidden costs. No surprise fees. No fine print.
You keep all your money
We never take a cut of your inheritance.
Frequently asked questions
How quickly will I see results?
Most results come fast. Here's the general timeline after your account is validated:
- Within hours: Creditors and debts, some bank accounts, property records (all 50 states), vehicle titles, and unclaimed property
- 1–2 business days: Retirement accounts (401k, IRA, pension), investment accounts (brokerage, stocks, crypto), life insurance, and business ownership. Note: these searches don't run on weekends or bank holidays.
- 7–14 days: Comprehensive bank account search with confirmed balances across all account types
Most families have 100% of assets discovered within 5–6 days.
Who can use Sunset?
Any family member, executor, administrator or personal representative responsible for managing a deceased person’s assets can use our software tool. We support asset search and probate in all 50 states and every county in the U.S.
Am I responsible for their debts?
No, the deceased was solely responsible for their debts. If a loan was backed by a physical asset, such as a home or vehicle, you have options to transfer or payoff from estate proceeds.
For a loan that was jointly held, the responsibility remains with the other person on the account, often a spouse. Sunset automatically identifies if a debt has a living responsible party, and clearly flags it.
What is an estate bank account? Who controls it?
A estate bank account is a standard bank account in the estate’s name where all funds are consolidated. You can use it to pay expenses, view a full transaction history, and eventually distribute inheritance to beneficiaries.
With one click Sunset can set up an estate back account.
You control the estate bank account. You can pay bills, taxes, and distribute the funds to heirs.
All estate bank accounts set up by Sunset are FDIC insured and protected from fraud and identity theft.
How can I pay estate expenses?
With your estate bank account you can use to pay expenses to settle your loved ones affairs. You can also reimburse yourself for expenses you may have paid out of pocket before the bank account was set up.
This includes paying for funeral expenses, accountants and attorneys if needed (most families do not need these services when working with us), realtor fees when selling property, money going towards settling debts, money spent fixing up a property before selling it, etc.
What security measures does Sunset have?
Sunset is SOC 2 Type II certified, and we hold ourselves to the highest standards in how we build our software and store data so that you’re always protected. We have in-depth fraud and identity verification measures on the deceased and the beneficiaries, and we run background checks on all employees.
What about probate documents?
You can use our software to generate and sometimes file probate documents in every county nationwide.
Online notarization is also available through Sunset.
If your case is unusually complex, or disputed, we recommend hiring experienced probate counsel.
Can Sunset help my probate attorney?
Yes. Attorneys regularly recommend Sunset to their clients. Before your attorney can guide you on the right probate path, they need a complete picture of the estate's assets and debts, and most clients don't have one. Sunset generates a comprehensive Estate Asset Inventory with account numbers, balances, and more, giving your attorney exactly what they need to move forward quickly.
Will financial institution be notified of a Sunset search?
No, we do not notify any financial institutions of the death when performing our searches, except for in the case of life insurance.
Our process combines document review, data integrations, and indirect verification with financial institutions. Families usually discover most accounts within 1 day, although some bank account confirmations take up to two weeks.
Financial institutions are only notified after a request for closure and transfer has been made by you.
How much does Sunset cost?
Sunset is free to use. Sunset never charges families or takes a percentage of the estate.
All of our tools are free, including search and discovery, probate document generation, asset transfer, and more. No upfront fees, subscriptions, and deductions from the inheritance.
Our bank partners pay us a referral fee, based on interest generated from estate bank accounts. That way, all the deceased’s assets go to the beneficiaries and heirs.
