Announcement

Introducing the Sunset API

Sunset's new API lets integration partners programmatically manage estates, probate, documents, and communications at scale.

March 12, 2026

The estate settlement process involves dozens of institutions, hundreds of documents, and months of coordination. Until now, every step lived inside the Sunset platform. Today, we're opening that up.

The Sunset API brings the full power of Sunset's estate and probate management platform to your existing tools and workflows. Whether you're a law firm automating case intake, a financial advisor tracking estate accounts, or a software company embedding estate management into your product — the API gives you direct access.

What you can do with the API

Manage cases end-to-end. Create new estate cases, record deceased and executor details, run identity verifications, and track letters of authority — all through simple REST endpoints. A single API call can spin up a new case and begin the intake process that previously required manual data entry across multiple screens.

Monitor financials across every institution. Access bank accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts, and retirement funds tied to an estate. Track individual transactions, recurring payments, signers, and POD/TOD beneficiaries. Pull statements and monitor balance history over time to build a complete financial picture.

Navigate probate in all 50 states. Look up probate requirements for every state and county in the US. Track court filings, deadlines, creditor claims, and distributions. Access downloadable probate forms and monitor case progress against jurisdiction-specific timelines.

Automate communications with full audit trails. Place recorded phone calls with automatic transcription and AI-powered summarization. Send emails with document attachments and delivery tracking. Fax documents to courts and institutions. Initiate online notarization sessions — all with complete records for compliance.

Handle documents securely. Upload and manage death certificates, court filings, property reports, insurance policies, and more. Download and share documents across collaborators with role-based access control.

Track real estate, vehicles, businesses, and unclaimed property. Request automated property valuations with tax assessments, comparable sales, and equity estimates. Monitor vehicles, business ownership interests, and unclaimed property searches — giving executors and attorneys a unified view of every asset in the estate.

Example: Creating a case

Getting started is straightforward. Here's how you create a new estate case:

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/v1/cases \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer your_api_key" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{
      "estate_value": "under_75k",
      "progress": "just_started",
      "possible_dispute": "no_dispute_expected"
    }'

{
    "data": {
      "id": "01K5WF06MJ6T99HRYE78AN7XM8",
      "estate_value": "under_75k",
      "progress": "just_started",
      "possible_dispute": "no_dispute_expected",
      "created_at": "2026-03-12T10:30:00Z"
    }
  }

From there, you can add deceased and executor information, upload documents, initiate searches, and track the case through every stage of settlement.

Built for integration partners

The API follows a clean REST design with consistent JSON responses, page-based and cursor-based pagination, and Bearer token authentication. We've published full documentation — including endpoint references, error handling guides, and detailed guides for every major feature area — at api.hellosunset.com.

Get started

The Sunset API is available by invitation to qualified integration partners. If you're interested in building on Sunset, email [email protected] with your name, organization, and a brief description of your use case. Our team will follow up within a few business days with credentials and staging environment access.

About Sunset

The estate settlement platform

Sunset finds what the deceased owned and owed, then handles the paperwork and transfers that settle the estate. More than 15,000 families have used it, and attorneys and fiduciaries use Sunset Pro for their clients' estates.

Find every account

One search across 2,500+ financial institutions surfaces bank accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, and debts in the deceased's name.

Prepare the paperwork

Court-ready probate documents for every state and county, plus an FDIC-insured estate account to hold the funds.

Close and transfer

Sunset contacts each institution, closes the accounts, and moves the money to the beneficiaries and heirs.

Frequently asked questions

What is Sunset?

Sunset is an estate settlement platform that helps families discover and close the financial accounts, assets, and debts of a person who has died.

Sunset 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, for $50 per estate.

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

How does Sunset help settle an estate?

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.

Who can use Sunset?

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 the deceased lived or where the estate is being settled.

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What is required to settle an estate?

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.

How long does it take to find the deceased's accounts?

Most accounts turn up within a day of starting a search. Some bank account confirmations take up to two weeks.

Closing accounts and moving funds take longer, because each institution works on its own schedule. The full estate settlement timeline also depends on whether the estate needs probate in your state.

Do I have to call the banks myself?

Usually not. About 90% of account closures through Sunset are completed without you calling or visiting a branch.

Sunset prepares and sends the closure and transfer requests for you, and the funds move into the estate bank account.

How much does Sunset cost?

Sunset costs $50 per estate, paid once when you sign up. It covers asset discovery, probate document generation, account closure, asset transfers, and estate bank account setup. Full details are on our pricing page. The credit bureau notification tool and the estate bank account have no charge.

Sunset Pro is 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.

The fee counts as an estate administration expense, so you can reimburse yourself from the estate. Sunset never takes a percentage of the estate, and all assets go to the beneficiaries and heirs.

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What security measures does Sunset have?

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 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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