Our mission
A calm guide in your pocket.
Not a funeral home.
Mourning Guide exists to help people plan the practical and personal side of death — and to give families one clear next step when it happens. We're not here to sell you anything. We're here to help.
Understand account types
Five ways people use Mourning Guide
These are not upgrades of each other. They are different kinds of accounts. Pick the one that matches your situation — you can add more later on the same email.
1. Planning for yourself
Most commonYou document your own accounts, wishes, letters, and documents so your family has a map when the time comes.
- Who logs in: You, with your email
- Who pays: You — 14-day free trial, then $89/year if you keep Guide Plan
- Not the same as: The grief path (see below) — this is planning ahead
2. Planning for a parent or loved one (you manage)
An adult child (or relative) builds the plan for Mom, Dad, or someone else. The person the plan is for does not need their own login or email.
- Who logs in: You — you are the plan owner
- Who pays: You — separate subscription if you also keep your own plan
- Switch plans: Use Viewing at the top of the app
3. Helping manage someone else's plan (invited relative)
A sibling or relative invited you to help build a parent's plan. You can edit the vault, but you are not the owner.
- Who logs in: You, with your own email (from the invitation)
- Who pays: Never you — the person who set up the plan handles billing
- What you see: Only the shared family plan — not the inviter's personal plan
4. Grief path — someone just died
Always freeStep-by-step help right after a loss. This is not a paid subscription and not an upgrade from planning. It is a separate, free path for families in the first days and weeks.
- Cost: $0 — always, with no credit card
- Best for: "I need to know what to do right now"
5. More than one plan on the same email
Many families keep My plan and Mom's plan under one login. Each planning plan has its own trial and its own $89/year subscription. Add another anytime from Settings.
Plain language: Guide Plan ($89/year) is the paid subscription for planning ahead. The grief path is free support after a death. They are different products for different moments — not steps on the same ladder.
Why we built this
Because no one should have to guess when they're already in pain.
When someone dies, their family faces hundreds of practical decisions in the worst possible mental state. Which bank? Which phone number? What documents does Social Security need? Does the cell carrier have a bereavement process, and if so, what is it?
Meanwhile, the person who planned everything — who knew the answers — is gone. And everything they knew went with them.
Mourning Guide changes that. Not by solving death — nothing does — but by giving families a map. The accounts, the documents, the wishes, the letters. The things that make the difference between chaos and clarity in the days and weeks after a loss.
And for people planning ahead: the gift of sparing your family from guessing.
"I wanted my kids to have answers, not questions."
That's what planning ahead with Mourning Guide is for. Not paperwork. Not a legal service. A calm, private place to leave everything your family will need.
For families helping a parent
Set it up for them. Keep your own plan too.
Many adult children build a Mourning Guide for a parent who will never open an app — and keep a separate plan for themselves. One email login. Two plans. Switch anytime from the header.
1. Add a plan for them
Choose A parent or loved one at signup — or add another plan later from Settings. Enter their name and state. You build the vault; they are the person the plan is for.
2. No text required
If your parent can't confirm by SMS — no mobile phone, dementia, or they simply won't use text — that's fine. Confirm you're helping on their behalf and start building immediately. No waiting on a text reply.
3. Switch between plans
Use the Viewing menu at the top of the app to flip between My plan and Mom's plan (or Dad's). You pay for each planning account separately if you keep both on Guide Plan.
What we don't require
- Your parent does not need their own login or email
- SMS confirmation is optional — not a blocker
- Your parent never has to touch billing unless you want them to
- When the time comes, your family still unlocks everything at no cost if the plan was active
Who we are
Your guide. On your side.
We are
- A private, secure vault for everything your family needs
- A calm, step-by-step guide for grieving families
- An independent advocate — not owned by anyone selling anything
- Plain language, no jargon, no fear-based sales
- Direct to consumer — no employer code required
We are not
- A funeral home or funeral package seller
- A law firm or probate service
- An employer-gated or insurance-company benefit
- A marketplace taking referral fees or commissions from any provider
- In-app grief therapy or clinical mental health
How we work
Principles we won't compromise on.
Map, not keys
We store institution names and contacts — never passwords, SSNs, or account numbers. Enough for your family to act. Nothing a thief can use.
Your data is yours
Export everything anytime — full PDF with original files, sent to your verified email only. Delete everything with MFA. We'll never hold your data hostage.
One step at a time
Grief comes with cognitive fog. Our grief path shows max 3 tasks at a time. "Done for now" — explicit permission to stop. No overdue badges, no urgency theater.
No paid placement
Funeral home finder, keepsake companies, grief resources — we list what helps, not who paid us. We are not affiliated with any service we mention, and we receive no referral fees or commissions. Your trust comes first.
Honest about AI
We won't pretend AI knew your loved one. Eulogy prompts are real, human-written starters — not generated content. We'll always be clear about where AI is and isn't used.
Grief is free, always
Grief support is free now and will always remain free. No upsells, no paywalls — ever. No one navigating loss should have to think about cost.
Start where you are.
Planning ahead is free for 14 days — no credit card. And if someone just died, the grief path is free right now and always will be.