End-Of-Life Websites Popping Up All Over

A recent article in The New York Times focused on a woman facing tragic irony: Just as she was developing a web-based business focusing on end-of-life planning, the East Hampton, N.Y., resident received word that her brother had been killed in a traffic accident.

“Suddenly, her fledgling business, Everplans, a website that helps people create detailed end-of-life plans, took on greater meaning,” according to the story.

“In the middle of building this site to help all of these hypothetical people that might die someday, my family experienced a tragedy,” Abby Schneiderman told the newspaper. “My brother was 51 and had all of the resources to have a plan in place. But my family was still left with a huge amount of logistics and complicated decisions that we had to make.”

“Just as she was building the tool to help people navigate through the mental fog that follows such a devastating loss, she and her family were experiencing it,’ the article noted.

“It turned what had been a project into a mission,” said Ms. Schneiderman, now 33. “And we wanted to make sure that nobody was left in the same situation my family was in, which was without a plan.”

The story went on to explain that the woman’s business startup is part of a growing trend.

“The number of end-of-life planning and document storage sites is on the rise, like AfterSteps.com and Principled Heart, and many of those, too, have sprung from personal loss or out of necessity. Other websites deal with a specific piece of planning, such as online memorials, sending emails from the grave … or what should happen to your Facebook account. And some estate planning lawyers are said to be working on storage sites of their own.

“Whatever method you use, what’s most important is that you put a plan in place and let your inner circle know where to find it.”