How to verify an email from a Sunset user
If you received an email from a sunset user trying to settle an estate, you can verify the user with Sunset.
What is the Sunset platform?
Sunset is an estate settlement platform that helps families handle everything that needs to happen after someone dies.
Sunset finds the 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 accounts and transfer assets to the people who inherit them.
Sunset is free for families. Banks pay Sunset when transferred assets arrive at their institutions, so there is no fee, subscription, or percentage taken from the estate.
What to do if someone emailed you from a Sunset domain.
If you received an email or letter about a deceased account holder and you want to confirm it came from us, this page is the authoritative source. It is published by Sunset Software, Inc. on our primary domain.
Estate correspondence is sent by the family member or court-appointed representative who is settling the estate, from their own named mailbox on sunsetuser.com. The signature is theirs.
Sunset operates the mailbox and prepares the documentation on their behalf, which is why the letterhead reads Sunset Estate Services and asks that checks and documents be mailed to our Salt Lake City address.
This is what to look for:
3
independent verifications before we contact you
SOC 2
Type II certified, with annual audits and pen testing
$0
Sunset is 100% free for families settling an estate
Verified Sunset domains
These are the only domains Sunset uses. If a message claims to be from Sunset and arrives from anywhere else, please report it to [email protected].
How Sunset works
Sunset is used by the family member or representative settling the estate. By the time your institution hears from us, the identity checks and the paperwork are already done.
Step 1. We verify the death and the family
Before anything is sent, Sunset confirms the account holder is deceased, verifies the identity of the person acting for the estate, and reviews the legal document granting them authority. Three separate checks, each recorded and timestamped.
Identity is verified against third-party sources including credit bureau records, together with document verification on the death certificate and the court instrument.
Step 2. We find the accounts
Sunset searches across 2,500+ financial institutions, credit bureau records, and state databases to identify every account and asset held by the deceased, so the estate is settled once rather than in pieces over months.
If you've received notice from a Sunset user, it's because the account was discovered using our proprietary search tool.
Step 3. The representative contacts you
The email comes from the representative's own named mailbox on sunsetuser.com and is signed by them, because they are the one making the request. Sunset operates the mailbox and prepares the documentation on their behalf. Sunset is also empowered as an agent of the estate or trust to open bank accounts, contact financial institutions, etc.
If you respond to an email from sunsetuser.com, the reply will be routed to the representative, the Sunset user, who contacted you.
Step 4. Closing the account protects you too
An open account belonging to someone who has died is a standing fraud risk, and one that tends to surface long after the death, when the trail is cold. Notifying you early, with documentation attached, lets you flag the file and close it before anyone attempts to use it.
Sunset also reports the death to Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, at the request of the Sunset user.
Step 5. Funds go to an estate account, not a personal one
Sunset opens a dedicated bank account in the name of the estate, with its own EIN issued by the IRS. Checks are made payable to the estate, so nothing is ever disbursed into a beneficiary's personal account, and you are not left deciding whether an individual is entitled to the funds.
The account is held in an FDIC-insured sweep with up to $3m in coverage, and the representative uses it to pay the decedent's final bills and taxes before distributing what remains to the heirs. If it is easier for your institution to send a check by mail, the address is in the answers below.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know this request is legitimate?
Mail from our domains is authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC at a reject policy, so a spoofed message claiming to be from us is rejected before it reaches you. The domains we send from are listed above. To confirm a specific request, call our estate services line at (385) 217-8786.
What is Sunset's relationship to the account holder?
A family member or court-appointed representative is using Sunset to settle the estate. They send the correspondence and sign it. Sunset verifies their identity and their legal authority to act, prepares the documentation, and receives documents and checks on the estate's behalf.
What documentation comes with the request?
A certified copy of the death certificate, and where the estate requires one, the document granting authority to act, such as letters testamentary, letters of administration, or a small estate affidavit.
Can I respond by mail or fax instead of email?
Yes. Mail to Estate of [account holder], c/o Sunset Estate Services, 310 South Main Street, Suite 1125, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. Fax to +1 (607) 601-2440. Checks should be made payable to the estate and mailed to that address.
Does Sunset charge our institution or the family?
Neither. Sunset is free for the families who use it, and we never invoice institutions. We are paid by our bank partners for setting up and funding estate bank accounts. If anyone claiming to represent Sunset asks you for payment, it is fraudulent.
How do I report a message I believe is fraudulent?
Email [email protected]. Include the full message headers if you can.
