Sunset is an estate settlement platform that helps families handle everything financial that needs to happen after someone dies.

Sunset finds financial accounts, assets, and debts in the deceased person’s name, prepares the probate paperwork required in your state and county, opens an FDIC-insured estate bank account, and helps close, transfer, and consolidate the estate’s accounts.

Sunset is free for families. We’re paid by the financial institutions that receive transferred assets, so there’s no fee, subscription, or percentage taken from the estate.

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Settling an estate means closing out someone’s financial life after they die.

It involves identifying what they owned and owed, obtaining the legal authority to act on their behalf, paying valid debts and final taxes, and transferring what remains to the people who inherit it.

Depending on the state and the size of the estate, it can be complicated or simple, either way Sunset can help.

Sunset handles the most time-consuming parts of estate settlement.

We search 2,500+ financial institutions like banks and retirement funds, the credit bureaus, and state unclaimed-property databases to find accounts and assets the family may not know about. We prepare probate documents specific to your county in all 50 states and help establish an estate bank account where recovered funds can be deposited.

Then Sunset helps close the deceased person’s accounts and move the funds into the estate account, ready for distribution to the heirs.

With Sunset, about 90% of account closures can be completed without you having to call or visit a branch.

The cost of settling an estate varies widely depending on its size, complexity, and where you live.

Hiring a probate attorney commonly costs $2,500 to $10,000, with more complex estates costing considerably more. In states with statutory probate fees, attorney fees may instead be calculated as a percentage of the estate. For example, a 3% to 7% fee on a $500,000 estate would be $15,000 to $35,000.

Sunset is free for families. There’s no fee, subscription, or percentage taken from the inheritance.

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Most estates require a core set of documents and accounts, including a certified death certificate, legal authority to act for the estate, a federal EIN, an estate bank account, and an inventory of the estate’s assets and debts.

Sunset can help with all of these except the death certificate!

Depending on the circumstances, legal authority may come in the form of letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a small-estate affidavit.

Once that authority is established, the estate can begin notifying financial institutions, paying valid debts and final taxes, and distributing the remaining assets to the heirs or beneficiaries.

Sunset prepares the paperwork required for these steps and submits what we can on your behalf.

‍Yes. Sunset works in all 50 states and all 3,000+ U.S. counties.

Sunset generates probate documents specific to the county where the estate is being settled and helps you complete the required steps. When notarization is required, online notarization is available where permitted.

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Sunset is an estate settlement platform that helps families discover and close the financial accounts, assets, and debts of a deceased loved one.

Sunset Free is designed for family members, executors, and personal representatives who are settling an estate themselves. It includes the full Sunset closure suite: financial account discovery, bank notifications, assisted phone calls and emails, estate bank account setup, probate document generation, and asset transfers all at no cost.

Sunset Pro is designed for probate attorneys, licensed fiduciaries, trustees, and aftercare specialists who settle estates on behalf of their clients. Sunset Pro starts at $500 per asset search, with monthly subscription plans available for solo practitioners, small firms, and large firms.

Both Sunset Free and Sunset Pro are available in all 50 states and U.S. territories.

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‍Sunset Free is completely free for families settling an estate. There are no upfront fees, subscriptions, or deductions from the inheritance. Families get access to asset discovery, probate document generation, account closure, asset transfers, and estate bank account setup at no cost.

Sunset Pro is our paid product for probate attorneys, licensed fiduciaries, trustees, and aftercare specialists. It starts at $500 per asset search, with subscription plans available for solo practitioners, small firms, and large firms.

Sunset's family product is funded through our relationships with financial institutions. When an estate's assets are transferred to a receiving institution, that institution may pay Sunset a referral fee, and Sunset may also earn revenue from funds held in the estate bank account. The estate does not pay Sunset, and all assets ultimately go to the estate's beneficiaries and heirs.

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The cost of settling an estate varies depending on its size, complexity, location, and whether professional help is required. Unlike software that simply gives you a checklist, Sunset actually helps carry out the work, from finding assets and generating probate documents to closing accounts and moving money into the estate account.

‍Yes. In many cases, you can settle an estate without hiring a lawyer. Sunset helps families handle the process themselves by finding assets, preparing probate documents, closing financial accounts, establishing an estate bank account, and collecting the estate's assets.

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Once you have an estate bank account, you can use it to pay legitimate expenses related to settling your loved one's estate.

If you paid estate expenses out of your own pocket before the estate account was established, you may also be able to reimburse yourself from the estate, provided the expenses are legitimate and properly documented.

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Sunset can be used by family members, executors, administrators, and personal representatives responsible for settling a deceased person's estate.

Sunset supports asset discovery and probate across all 50 states and every U.S. county, helping you manage the estate regardless of where your loved one lived or where the estate is being settled.

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Sunset is SOC 2 Type II certified and built with security and privacy at the center of how we handle sensitive estate information.

We use robust identity and fraud-prevention measures to verify deceased individuals and beneficiaries, and we conduct background checks on our employees. We continuously monitor and improve our security practices to protect the financial information, documents, and personal data entrusted to us.

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5 to 14 days.‍

We'll email you as soon as your requested searches are complete, and you can log in to review and close any discovered accounts when you're ready.

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.

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.

An 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 bank 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. Sunset generates a comprehensive Estate Asset Inventory with account numbers, balances, and more, giving your attorney exactly what they need to move forward quickly.

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.

Sunset Free is free for families settling an estate. Sunset Pro, our paid product for probate attorneys, licensed fiduciaries, trustees, and aftercare specialists, starts at $500 per asset search, with monthly subscription plans available for Solo Practitioners, Small Firms, and Large Firms.

For families, Sunset never charges a fee or takes a percentage of the estate. All family-facing tools are free, including search and discovery, probate document generation, account closure, asset transfer, and estate bank account setup. No upfront fees. No subscriptions. No deductions from the inheritance.

Our revenue from the family side comes from bank partners. They pay us a referral fee when assets transfer to receiving institutions, and we share in the interest while funds sit in the estate bank account. Sunset Pro subscriptions from professionals are how we sustain the rest of the product. All of the deceased's assets go to the beneficiaries and heirs.