Once your search results are in, the next step is turning those accounts into money in the estate. That means notifying each institution, satisfying whatever documentation they ask for, and getting the funds released.

Sunset does this part for you. When you ask us to close an account, we contact the institution, send the required documents, chase them until it's done, and get the funds deposited into your estate bank account. You don't sit on hold, and you don't fill out claim forms.

Fair warning about the pace: financial institutions are the slow part of estate settlement, and that isn't something anyone can fully fix. What we can do is make sure everything reaches the right department correctly the first time, and keep the pressure on until the account closes.

This page lists every account discovered during your search. It's your central view of which accounts need attention, which are moving, and which are finished. Each one shows the institution, the account type, and its current status.

No. You decide which accounts to pursue. Some aren't worth the effort, like a credit card with a zero balance, and some may have been handled already. For each account you can ask Sunset to manage the closure, skip it for now and come back later, mark it as already closed, or flag it as not a valid account if it doesn't actually belong to your loved one.

There's no required order. Some people start with the largest balances, others clear the easy ones first. Work through them in whatever order fits your situation and your energy.

Occasionally a search surfaces an account that's already closed, has outdated information, or belongs to someone with a similar name. Flagging it removes it from your active list. It's still useful to have seen it, because now you know you didn't miss anything.

The moment you ask us to manage an account, we take it from there.

We work with over 2,500 partner institutions, where we have a direct line to their closure teams and their internal process. For those, the death notification and required documents go out instantly.

For institutions we aren't partnered with, we prepare and send the documents the same day, and at most within one business day.

With partner institutions, receipt is confirmed instantly. With everyone else, we confirm receipt within 48 hours. "We never got it" is one of the most common reasons estate closures stall, so we verify rather than assume.

We follow up every week until the account is closed. Every contact is logged, including representative names, employee IDs, call times, and what was said. That record is what lets us escalate credibly when an institution loses paperwork or gives conflicting answers.

You don't need to track any of this or know the details. We're handling it.

We'll email you when we genuinely need something from you. In practice that's two situations:

Otherwise, quiet means it's moving.

Every account shows a status badge:

Honestly? Longer than they should. After all required documentation is submitted, institutions can take weeks to review and approve a transfer.

Estate departments tend to be small and understaffed. Requests pass through intake, verification, legal review, and processing, and can sit between each handoff. Many institutions still rely on manual review and decades-old systems.

None of that is something you did wrong. It's why we follow up weekly instead of waiting.

Sunset assembles a complete closure packet, which typically includes:

Our partner institutions accept the digital certificate from us, so your physical certified copies stay with you rather than being mailed around the country.

Institutions often respond with their own claim forms or a letter of instruction. Sunset completes these using information already in your account, so you're reviewing rather than filling out.

If a form comes directly to you instead of to us, upload it in the Documents tab. The same goes for any account paperwork you find while going through your loved one's records. Our software reads the information and uses it to help close that account.

When your signature is needed, you'll sign electronically through DocuSign from any device. Electronic signatures are legally valid and accepted by financial institutions nationwide.

Sunset provides free online notarization, available 24 hours a day. You connect with a notary by video call, verify your identity, and complete the notarization electronically. No appointment, no hunting for a notary during business hours.

Online notarization is legally recognized in most states and accepted by financial institutions nationwide.

Some accounts can't be released until a court has confirmed your authority. If you haven't completed Sunset's probate step, you may need to do that first. Sunset generates the probate documents for your state and county, and you file them with the court or work with an attorney. Sunset does not provide legal advice, so consult an attorney if you have questions about which documents your situation requires.

Our closure packet instructs institutions to mail checks directly to us:

Sunset
310 South Main Street, Suite 1125
Salt Lake City, UT 84101

When a check arrives, we deposit it into your estate or trust bank account and notify you. Under our current process it's unusual for a check to reach you instead of us.

You have two options. You can deposit it yourself using mobile deposit: endorse the back, log in to Sunset, and upload photos of the front and back. Or you can mail the check to the address above and we'll deposit it for you.

There is no dollar limit on mobile check deposits.

Some institutions wire funds instead of mailing a check. We handle that directly with them. If they send you a form asking for wire details, upload it in the Documents tab and we'll complete it.

All of it lands in one place: an FDIC-insured estate or trust bank account, insured up to $3 million. You have full access to pay bills, move money, and eventually distribute to heirs, with every deposit labeled by its source so the accounting stays clean.

If you haven't set one up yet, you'll be prompted to complete the bank account step before funds can transfer. Sunset generates the estate EIN through our IRS partnership and helps you open the account. It's free to open and maintain.

Once the bank verifies the death and your authority, it closes the account and releases the funds. Joint accounts with survivorship rights typically pass directly to the surviving owner without going through the estate.

Expect the account to be restricted as soon as the bank is notified. That's standard, and it's why we don't notify anyone during the search phase.

If an account names a beneficiary or is designated payable on death, those funds go directly to that person rather than through the estate. The institution pays the named beneficiary directly, and in some cases requires the beneficiary to contact them to start the process.

Retirement accounts usually have named beneficiaries, which can simplify things. The plan administrator verifies the death and the designations, then distributes accordingly. If there's no beneficiary, or the estate is named, the funds go through probate.

Some custodians require a rollover, meaning an account has to be opened with them, such as an inherited IRA, before assets can move. This is common and it lets you control the timing of selling investments, which can matter for taxes. Once the rollover is complete, funds can be wired into the estate bank account so everything sits together.

Tax treatment varies. Consider talking to a tax professional.

Life insurance proceeds go to the named beneficiary, not the estate, unless the estate itself is named. Payouts typically arrive within 30 to 60 days of complete documentation. Newer policies sometimes trigger a contestability review, which is routine and adds time without usually changing the outcome.

The issuer freezes the account and sends a final statement. Any balance becomes a debt of the estate. If your loved one was the only cardholder, the account closes. Joint holders and authorized users are handled differently, and the issuer will explain their options.

Debts are obligations of the estate, not of the heirs personally, with exceptions like joint or co-signed debt. They're paid from estate assets before anything is distributed. If the estate doesn't have enough to cover them, some debts go unpaid.

Real property works differently from financial accounts and is more hands-on. See our article on selling estate real estate.

Sometimes an account was already closed or transferred, or the underlying data was out of date. Disappointing, but still useful: you now know nothing was overlooked. We'll mark it and move on.

This happens more than it should. Different representatives give different answers, and requirements appear that were never mentioned. Our contact log exists for exactly this, and we escalate with specifics rather than starting over.

A few situations still require someone at a branch, particularly safe deposit boxes. This is one of the times you'll want a physical certified copy of the death certificate, along with your ID and your authority documents. Call ahead to confirm what's needed and whether you need an appointment.

Not for the closures Sunset handles. We send a verified digital copy, and our partner institutions accept it.

You'll want a physical certified copy for things outside the closure process, such as filing with a probate court, transferring a vehicle title at the DMV, transferring real estate, or visiting a branch in person. Two or three copies covers most families. See our article on ordering a death certificate.

We're already following up weekly, but if something feels wrong, ask. Use the chat in the app, call (385) 707-0082, or email [email protected] and we'll tell you exactly where it stands and what the institution has said.

Nothing. Sunset is free for families. There's no fee for document preparation, form filling, notarization, closure management, or the estate bank account, and we never take a percentage of the estate.

Estate settlement is hard, and dealing with financial institutions makes it harder. You shouldn't have to figure it out alone while you're grieving.

Chat with us in the app, call (385) 707-0082, or email [email protected]. Include your loved one's name and which account you're asking about. We reply to email within one business day and usually much faster.