Sunset App announces its “Free Estate Asset Discovery” tool

July 31, 2024/Business, Products/

Any funeral director who has been around for any length of time has had an arrangement for the fictitious bachelor, “Uncle George”. Now, “Uncle George” died suddenly and his family members are sitting across the table from you wondering about funeral arrangements. . . .

You tell them, “Uncle George has no pre-arangement plans with us”. The family has no other option but to make tentative plans and then figure out how they will be paid for — either through, what they hope, are “Uncle George’s” assets or, if need be. . . .they will have to pick up the tab themselves.

Information is powerful to have. We live in what author John Naisbitt coined in his 1982 bestseller Megatrends, “The Information Society”. But, Nasibitt also said this about the Information Society, “We are drowning in information and starved for knowledge”.

Quite frankly, that’s where that fictional family sitting across the arrangement table from you finds themselves. There is “information” everywhere, but how do they access it? As a funeral director at this time, the information you possess can help them with getting clergy or a celebrant, a venue for a service, grave space, and other service type information.

However, for them to access “Uncle George’s” bank account and investment records, even if they know where to look, they probably have to wait for death certificates which will take days or weeks. In the meantime, they are wondering how they are going to access the funds to make your funeral service payments.

That type of situation is probably what led Sunset App to authorize a system of “Asset Discovery” free of charge for consumers. As part of their estate app this tool can help alleviate those “what does he own” issues.

In my book, just like having the knowledge of how to get certified celebrants or find available grave spaces, it’s a tool every funeral home should have available to help families in this situation. After all, Death Care client families look to you for “solutions”.

Here’s what Co-founder of Sunset App, Stephen Waller told me recently, “My 2 cents is that every estate process has to start with a roadmap; the assets. We figured, why not just get that in every family’s hands for free. Not only will you have a clean list of assets you know about, but we always find things that you didn’t know about.”

You can learn more about Sunset App’s “Free Estate Discovery Tool” here.

You can access the Sunset App website here.

Tom Anderson
Funeral Director Daily

Funeral Director Daily take: I think the recent release of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) 2024 Consumer Awareness and Preferences Survey points out that we are living in an increasingly competitive environment for Death Care services.

One answer in that survey indicated that less than 50% (47.5%) visited or contacted only one funeral home prior to picking a funeral home for services. . . . That means that over 50% (52.5%) visited two, or more, funeral homes before making a selection.

In simple terms to me, that points out that Death Care clientele is looking for information — it may be price, it may be amenities, it may be hospitality, or any number of things — that will help serve them in the best way possible. It probably means that funeral homes have to “Up their game” on their amenities. . . .

And, going forward, an “asset locating system” may be a tool that is an amenity that is beneficial to certain clientele.

As I continue moving forward, it is easier and easier for me to say, “It’s not my grandfather’s funeral home anymore”.

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