Closing Accounts After Death: 3 Services Compared (2026)

To close accounts after a death, you need proof of death, legal authority to act, and a plan for financial accounts, digital accounts, debts, and transfers. Sunset is built for financial account discovery, probate paperwork, closure, transfer, and distributions; Empathy is mostly guidance and task support; GoodTrust focuses on selected online accounts.

This guide compares the three services in plain English so you can decide which one fits the job in front of you. It is informational and is not legal advice.

What closing accounts covers after a death

Families often use the phrase "closing accounts" to mean several different jobs. Some are financial, some are household tasks, and some require court paperwork before anyone will speak with you.

Financial accounts can include:

• Bank accounts
• Brokerage accounts
• Retirement accounts
• Life insurance
• Loans and credit cards
• Mortgages and HELOCs
• Estate bank account setup for consolidations and distributions

Digital and household accounts can include:

• Email
• Social media memorialization or deletion
• Cloud photo and video accounts
• Subscriptions and streaming services
• Utilities
• Other non-financial logins

Legal prerequisites often include:

• Proof of death
• Authority to act, such as letters testamentary, letters of administration, trust documents, or limited power of attorney
• Probate filings when they are needed

A family may be able to cancel a streaming service with a death certificate and basic information. A bank, brokerage, or life insurance company may require court-issued authority or trust documents before it will close, transfer, or release funds. If you are just starting, our guide to closing a bank account after a death explains what banks usually ask for.

The main difference between Sunset, Empathy, and GoodTrust

The clearest way to compare these services is by the kind of account they are built to handle.

Sunset focuses on the financial side of the estate settlement. That includes finding financial assets and liabilities, generating county-specific probate paperwork, setting up an FDIC-insured estate account, closing accounts, transferring funds, and preparing for final distribution to beneficiaries and heirs. The family stays in control, and Sunset acts with user approval.

Empathy focuses on guidance, checklists, and task support for the family. Its tools can pre-fill forms to help cancel memberships and accounts. Care team support is available on paid tiers. In most cases, the family still performs the actual outreach to institutions. Empathy is not a legal or financial service.

GoodTrust focuses on online and digital accounts, such as Facebook, Google Photos, streaming services, and subscriptions. Users can buy a Digital Executor VIP package that includes help to memorialize or delete 5 or 10 accounts. GoodTrust performs outreach to the selected sites after required documents are uploaded.

Scope and who does the work

Sunset is built for end-to-end executor work around financial accounts. It searches 2,300+ financial institutions to find accounts and assets, helps identify liabilities, generates state- and county-specific probate packets, opens an FDIC-insured estate account, and helps close or transfer funds for final distribution. Sunset also refers families to a local probate attorney when counsel is needed.

Empathy gives the family a task library, checklists, and tools that can pre-fill cancellation forms. That can save time, but the family typically carries out the steps, sends documents, calls providers, and follows up.

GoodTrust is narrower by design. It is a digital executor for online accounts. If your main concern is memorializing a social media account, deleting a cloud account, or stopping a digital subscription, GoodTrust may fit that need.

Authority to act

Account closure is not just a customer service task. Many companies will ask: who has the right to act for the person who died?

Sunset's Terms of Use allow an estate executor or administrator to grant Sunset limited power of attorney for the specified estate. That authority is used for account discovery and, after explicit user permission, account closure and related actions.

Empathy provides education and tools but does not provide legal, financial, or accounting advice. It is not presented as a legal agent that acts on your behalf.

GoodTrust requires the user to sign a power of attorney so GoodTrust can represent them when dealing with websites to memorialize or delete online accounts.

The right document depends on the estate and the institution. Some families have letters testamentary from probate court. Some have letters of administration. Some are acting as trustee under trust documents. Some tasks may rely on a limited power of attorney. If probate is needed and you are unsure where to begin, Sunset can generate state- and county-specific probate packets and refer you to a local probate attorney when legal counsel is needed.

Timelines and speed

For Sunset, most families locate the vast majority of assets and liabilities within 1 business day to 1 week through automated searches. Some bank confirmations can take up to two weeks.

For Empathy, timing depends on the family's actions and each provider's process. The software can help by pre-filling forms for cancellations, but the family typically completes the steps.

For GoodTrust, timing depends on each website's policy and responsiveness. After you select sites and sign, GoodTrust reaches out and "makes it happen," but each site controls its own process.

No service can make every bank, insurer, website, or court move on the same schedule. The practical question is whether the service is doing the outreach and closure work for you, giving you forms to send yourself, or handling only selected online accounts.

Pricing model as of October 2025

Sunset is always free to families. Sunset's family product is funded through our bank partnership. The estate does not pay Sunset, and all assets go to the beneficiaries and heirs. There are no fees, subscriptions, or percentage of the inheritance.

Empathy's app is free to download. Premium access is typically subscription-based. For example, the App Store shows in-app purchases such as $8.99 monthly or $64.99 yearly. Many beneficiaries receive access at no cost through insurer or employer partners.

GoodTrust's Digital Executor VIP packages are offered for 5 or 10 accounts. Pricing varies by offer and is not listed on the product page. GoodTrust's estate-planning bundle, a separate product, is advertised at $149 with a $39 annual membership thereafter.

Side-by-side comparison

Service	Main closing scope	Who completes closures	Legal authority	Typical timeline	Pricing model
Sunset	Financial accounts: banks, investments, insurance; probate documents; estate account; distributions	Sunset executes closures and transfers with your approval	Limited POA from estate through Terms of Use	1 business day to 1 week to discover most assets; some bank confirmations can take up to two weeks	Always free to families
Empathy	Household and digital tasks, plus guidance on financial tasks and form pre-fills	You or your family carry out outreach; Empathy guides	No legal or financial advice; not a legal agent	Varies by user and provider; guided by checklists	Subscription in-app purchases, such as monthly or yearly; often free through partners
GoodTrust	Online and digital accounts, including social, cloud, and subscriptions	GoodTrust performs outreach to selected sites	POA signed for website actions	Varies by site policy	VIP packages for 5 or 10 accounts; separate estate-planning plan available

When Sunset is the best fit

Sunset is a fit when the work is mainly financial. That can include bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, credit cards, loans, mortgages, HELOCs, estate account setup, probate documents, account closure, transfers, and distributions.

Families choose Sunset when they need one place to:

• Find financial assets and liabilities across 2,300+ financial institutions
• Generate county-specific probate documents for all 50 states and 3,000+ counties
• Use online notarization where needed
• Open an FDIC-insured estate account, with FDIC insurance up to $3,000,000 through program banks
• Close financial accounts and transfer funds with approval
• Prepare final distributions to heirs and beneficiaries

Sunset is SOC 2 Type II certified. Identity verification and fraud prevention are built in. Sunset has helped 15,000+ families settle estates.

If the person who died had bank accounts you cannot find, old credit cards, loans, or property tied to more than one institution, starting with assets and liabilities first can prevent missed accounts. It can also reduce the chance that an executor distributes money too early before debts, expenses, or required transfers are understood. For related steps, see our guide on opening an estate bank account.

When Empathy is the best fit

Empathy may be the right fit when you want structure and reminders while your family completes the work. It can help organize tasks, provide a library of guidance, and pre-fill forms for cancellations.

That can be helpful for memberships, subscriptions, and account shutdowns where the provider expects the family to send a form, make a call, or submit documentation. Empathy may also be useful if access is provided through an insurer or employer partner at no cost to the beneficiary.

The tradeoff is that Empathy is generally not the service doing the closures for you. It gives guidance and tools, and care team support is available on paid tiers, but the family usually handles outreach.

When GoodTrust is the best fit

GoodTrust is best suited to online accounts. If your main job is to memorialize a Facebook account, delete online profiles, handle Google Photos, cancel streaming accounts, or stop subscriptions, GoodTrust's Digital Executor service may fit.

The VIP packages cover 5 or 10 accounts. After the required documents are uploaded and a power of attorney is signed, GoodTrust contacts the selected websites.

GoodTrust is not built around bank, brokerage, insurance, probate, estate account setup, or estate distributions. It is focused on the digital account layer.

Why financial accounts usually come first

After a death, it is tempting to cancel everything right away. Some cancellations are simple and low-risk. Others can create problems if done too early.

Financial accounts should usually be identified before major transfers or distributions happen. Executors and administrators may need to know what assets exist, what liabilities exist, which accounts have beneficiaries, which accounts are part of probate, and whether an estate account is needed.

Closing accounts can also help reduce fraud risk. Unwatched mail, open financial accounts, unused credit cards, and active logins can expose a deceased person's identity. Our guide to deceased identity theft covers the accounts and records families should protect first.

Sunset's process starts with asset discovery and liabilities because the estate cannot be settled well if the family does not know what exists. Once accounts are identified, Sunset can help with probate packets, an FDIC-insured estate account, closures, transfers, and distributions.

Security and compliance

Families share sensitive documents during account closure: death certificates, Social Security numbers, court documents, IDs, bank details, trust documents, and beneficiary information. Security should be part of the decision.

Sunset is SOC 2 Type II certified. Estate accounts are FDIC-insured, subject to program limits. Identity verification and fraud prevention are part of the process.

Empathy and GoodTrust both emphasize data security, including 256-bit encryption. Before uploading documents to any provider, read its terms and privacy policy so you understand how your information is handled.

FAQ

What is the fastest way to close accounts after a death?

The fastest path is to gather proof of death, confirm who has authority to act, identify the financial and digital accounts, and handle them in the right order. Sunset can help find financial assets and liabilities, generate probate paperwork, open an FDIC-insured estate account, and close or transfer financial accounts with user approval.

Do I need probate before closing accounts?

Sometimes. Banks, brokerages, insurers, and other institutions may ask for letters testamentary, letters of administration, trust documents, or other proof of authority. Some smaller or beneficiary-designated accounts may avoid probate, but the rules depend on the account and state law. This guide is informational, not legal advice.

Is Sunset free for families?

Yes. Sunset is always free to families. Sunset's family product is funded through our bank partnership, the estate does not pay Sunset, and all assets go to the beneficiaries and heirs.

What is the difference between Sunset and GoodTrust?

Sunset focuses on financial estate work: finding assets and liabilities, probate packets, FDIC-insured estate accounts, account closures, transfers, and distributions. GoodTrust focuses on online accounts, such as social media, cloud accounts, streaming services, and subscriptions.

What is the difference between Sunset and Empathy?

Sunset performs financial account discovery and can help close or transfer accounts with approval. Empathy offers guidance, checklists, form pre-fills, and paid care team support, but the family typically completes the outreach to providers.

If you are settling an estate and do not know where all the accounts are, Sunset can help you start with asset discovery, probate paperwork, an FDIC-insured estate account, and account closures. Learn how it works at hellosunset.com/how-it-works.