Fillable, plain-English paperwork systems

So no one you love is left guessing.

Fillable, plain-English systems that tell you exactly what to do, in what order, and why — for the hardest paperwork a family ever inherits.

Get the Executor’s Playbook — $49

Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms.

Or start with the free First 72 Hours checklist →

The Executor’s PlaybookPart 1 — The First 72 Hours

What today actually requires

Here is the entire mandatory list for the next 72 hours. Everything not on this list can wait, no matter how urgent it feels.

Get an official pronouncement of death (this usually happens without you doing anything)
Decide which funeral home or cremation provider will take the person into care, and arrange transport
Tell the people who need to hear it from a person, not a post
Secure the home, vehicle, pets, and anything valuable
Look for any prepaid funeral plan or written funeral wishes before you sign anything
Start one folder — paper or digital — where every document from this point forward goes

That’s it. Six items, and the first one is usually automatic. You can do this.

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The Executor’s PlaybookAppendix A — Phone Scripts

Script 1 — Funeral home: asking prices by phone

Funeral providers must give price information over the phone under the FTC Funeral Rule. Read it flat off the page if you need to.

“Hello — I’m arranging services for a family member who died [TODAY / THIS WEEK]. Before we come in, I’d like some prices over the phone. What is your charge for [DIRECT CREMATION / IMMEDIATE BURIAL / A TRADITIONAL FUNERAL SERVICE], and what does that figure include?”

If they resist: “I understand it’s easier in person, but I’d like the basic prices by phone first, please.” You are entitled to them.

Log the call before you hang up

[REPRESENTATIVE’S NAME — REFERENCE NUMBER]

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Real pages from inside the Playbook — every section explains itself before it asks anything of you.

$13,000what settling everything after a death costs the average family
13–20 monthshow long the process takes, start to finish
52%of people handling it say the load harmed their performance at work

Source: Empathy’s Cost of Dying study and The Grief Tax report — surveys of over 2,000 recently bereaved U.S. families. Full citations in Sources below. Most of that time isn’t legal complexity — it’s guessing: which office, which form, which order.

Three moments. Three systems.

Families meet this paperwork at three different doors — planning ahead, settling an estate, or caring for a parent who’s slipping. Each system stands alone; together they cover the whole arc.

Stage 1 · Planning ahead

The Family Continuity Binder

$37

Put your own affairs in order in a series of short, guided sittings — accounts, documents, passwords, wishes — with a plain-English explanation beside every section: what it’s for, who will need it, and what happens if it’s empty. The category’s best-selling print planners have been criticized by an elder-law attorney for offering “no explanation or advice” (see Sources). This one is built around the explanations.

Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms.

In production — join the list to be first

Stage 2 · After a death

The Executor’s Playbook

$49

What to do, in what order, for the first 90 days after a death. Sequenced checklists, account-closure letter templates, a probate-or-not decision tree, and a call log for the months of phone calls — so you don’t have to hold the whole project in your head.

Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms.

Available now See what’s inside

Stage 3 · Caring for a parent

The Parent Care Command Center

$44

Banks refuse valid POAs all the time, and Social Security, the IRS, and the VA each demand their own separate authorization (see Sources). This is the institution-by-institution map — which form each agency actually accepts — plus scripts for the branch manager and logs for medications and appointments.

Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms.

In production — join the list to be first

The complete set · All three stages

The Hearthline Complete Set

$89 ~~$130~~ bought separately

All three systems — the Binder, the Playbook, and the Command Center — as one set: every fillable and printable file, US Letter and A4, one purchase, yours forever. For the person putting their own house in order and quietly equipping whoever comes after.

Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms.

In production — join the list to be first

Every Hearthline product is a one-time purchase — never a subscription to your own documents.

What we promise — and what we don’t

A 30-day money-back guarantee on everything we sell. Try it for 30 days. If it doesn’t make the work lighter, we’ll refund you — no questions, no forms. Reply to your receipt; that’s the whole process.
Plain English. Every term of art (“probate,” “letters testamentary”) is defined the first time it appears. You should never have to translate.
Guidance beside every blank. What the section is for, who will need it, and what happens if it’s empty.
Buy once. Fillable PDF plus print-ready files, US Letter and A4, three-hole-punch safe. No subscription, no download limits.
Reviewed annually. Editions are dated, refreshed every year, and any state-specific requirement goes through a professional review cycle before it ships. How we work.
Honest about lawyers. We are not one, and we tell you plainly when hiring one for two hours is money well spent. What we sell is organization and sequence — which usually makes that first attorney meeting shorter and cheaper.
No fear-selling. No countdown timers, no scare headlines, no upsells inside a crisis document. You’re dealing with enough.

What people in this position say

There are no paid endorsements here — and no invented ones. As buyers review the Playbook, their named, dated words will appear in this space. Until then: these are real accounts from public caregiver forums, the threads we built the Playbook from.

A poster whose father had just died described the moment the funeral ends and the real work begins — an estate, a house, and every account, suddenly theirs to handle alone.

Documented on AgingCare, July 2024 — thread linked in Sources

Another was caught in the classic first-week bind: her father’s bank account frozen the moment the bank learned of the death, a cremation invoice due now, and no clear idea what she was allowed to touch.

Documented on AgingCare, June 2024 — thread linked in Sources

And the most common reassurance new executors hear from people who’ve been through it: it’s hard when you’re sad and tired and have no energy — but it does get done, eventually.

Documented on AgingCare, July 2024 — thread linked in Sources

“Eventually” is true. Our job is to make it sooner, with less guessing, for someone who was handed a map.

How Hearthline is different

Good products already exist in this category. Here’s the honest comparison — sources cited below — so you can pick what fits.

Option	Price	What it is	The gap we fill
Fill-in-the-blank print planners (e.g. the category bestseller, “I’m Dead. Now What?”)	~$27.65	A static print book of blanks	Reviewed by an elder-law attorney as offering “no explanation or advice” (Kimbrough Law — Sources, item 6). Hearthline embeds the why next to every blank — and is fillable on any device as well as printable.
The Nokbox	$69–$179	Physical folder kits — genuinely thorough	Physical-only and priced accordingly (Sources, item 8). Hearthline is digital-first at $37–$49: instant at midnight, printable if you want paper.
Everplans	$99.99/year	Digital storage subscription with checklists	A subscription to your own documents (Sources, item 9). Hearthline is buy-once: the files are yours, forever, on your own drive.

Free download

The First 72 Hours

A one-page checklist of what actually needs doing in the first three days after someone dies — and, just as important, what can wait. We’ll email it to you, along with a short note when new Hearthline systems ship. Unsubscribe anytime, one click.

This form works without JavaScript. If it doesn’t submit, email hello@hearthlinepress.com with the subject “First 72 Hours checklist” and we’ll send it by reply.

No spam, ever. Roughly one email a month. Your address is never sold or shared.

Sources

Empathy, The Cost of Dying (average $12,700 — rounded to $13,000 above — and 13–20 months): empathy.com/blog/cost-of-dying
Empathy, The Grief Tax (52% report work performance suffering): empathy.com/thegrieftax
AgingCare forum thread, July 2024 (“My father has passed — advice on dealing with estate”): agingcare.com/questions/…-488374
AgingCare forum thread, June 2024 (frozen bank account, cremation invoice): agingcare.com/questions/…-488069
AgingCare, “Make sure you are an authorized representative” (SSA / IRS / VA authorizations): agingcare.com/articles/…-202376
Kimbrough Law, category review of end-of-life planners (“no explanation or advice”): kimbroughlaw.net/single-post/planning-for-the-end-of-life…
Barnes & Noble listing, “I’m Dead. Now What?” (~$27.65): barnesandnoble.com/w/im-dead-now-what…
The Nokbox, pricing ($69–$179): thenokbox.com
Everplans, pricing ($99.99/year): everplans.com/pricing

A note about what this is — and isn’t.

This is an educational and organizational product. It is not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney. Hearthline Press is not a law firm, and no attorney-client relationship is created by purchasing or using this product. Laws differ by state and change over time; for decisions about your specific situation — especially anything involving a will, probate, taxes, or a dispute — please consult a licensed attorney or qualified professional in your state.