Frequently Asked Questions

About Buried in Work

    • Buried in Work provides resources to simplify the burden of estate planning and the tasks surrounding end-of-life activities and estate transition.

    • Launched in memory of a personal loss — the passing of Buried in Work’s founder’s father after a prolonged fight with leukemia — Buried in Work’s mission is to simplify the burden surrounding estate planning, when someone dies, estate transition, and probate.

    • Our resources consist of free tools for do-it-yourselfers and paid products and resources for those who prefer directed assistance. For example, our signature product, the Estate Preparation Package, is a personalized and comprehensive organization system that helps our customers meticulously document their personal, financial, and health information for their families and next-of-kin. It is based on our free Estate Preparation Checklist.

    • 10,000 older adults turn 65 every day in the US.

    • The worldwide demographic landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, particularly in the age composition of the population. In 2017, there were 962 million individuals worldwide who were 60 years old or older. This figure is expected to increase dramatically, reaching approximately 2.1 billion by the year 2050, effectively doubling the older population.

    • Similarly, in the United States, the population of older adults is anticipated to double by the year 2030.

  • Vision

    • To be the premier authority in simplifying estate planning and transitions, creating a future where these processes are stress-free and accessible for all.

    Mission

    • To simplify the burden surrounding estate planning, when someone dies, estate transition, and probate.

    Values

    • Empowerment: To empower individuals and families with the knowledge, tools, and resources needed to take control of their estate planning and transition processes.

    • Simplicity: To prioritize simplicity and user-friendliness in all aspects of our services, ensuring that estate planning and transitions are straightforward and understandable.

    • Integrity: To uphold the highest standards of integrity and trustworthiness, ensuring that our solutions are reliable and that we act in the best interests of our clients and their legacies.

    • Buried in Work is for anyone who wants to organize their affairs and make the process related to death and estate transition as easy as possible. We recommend that everyone over the age of 18 has an Estate Preparation Package. That said, its importance increases as you age and have experience life changes (such as getting married or having a child).

    • We’re operating out of Potomac, Maryland, but have contributors all over the country.

    • We believe that comprehensive estate planning is far more than creating a will or trust. Instead, it’s a wholistic process of organizing your affairs to simplify the work associated with when someone dies and the transition of an estate.

    • This includes organizing all of the information that someone may need to help you throughout the process, including end-of-life decisions, funeral planning, estate transition and more.

    • No, Buried in Work will not help draft a will or set up a trust. Given the intricacies of your specific situation, we want to help you gather all of the information needed to create these documents, and you can choose to do so on your own or with the help of a professional.

  • We’d love to hear from you. Please get in touch from our Contact page.

    • Buried in Work offers the flexibility to tailor content for various organizations. For instance, retirement communities, financial planners, estate attorneys, and more can collaborate with us to provide co-branded materials, enhancing their customers' overall experience. Complete the form on this page to explore partnership and custom content opportunities.

About The Estate Preparation Package

  • The Estate Preparation Package is an essential tool for comprehensive estate planning. Beyond just having a will or trust, it provides a way for your family to have immediate access to crucial information for managing your affairs after you're gone.

    Many people think they're organized, but in emergencies, knowing where documents are isn't enough. This package ensures all essential information is readily available, saving your heirs and executor weeks of stress and work.

    Key benefits include:

    • Comprehensive Estate Planning: Avoids the stressful search for information in critical moments, ensuring your family has all the necessary details.

    • Cost Efficiency: Saves on attorney fees, which typically range from $150 to $400 per hour. The Estate Preparation Package helps minimize these hours and provides valuable information to attorneys and financial planners.

    • Financial Planning Support: Gives your financial planner a complete view of your estate, aiding in effective future planning.

    • Time-Saving for Heirs and Executors: Offers clear instructions and organized information, saving over 80 hours of work.

    The package includes:

    • Nine Tailored Sections: Reduces attorney and financial planner billable hours, focusing on comprehensive estate organization.

    • 50+ Essential Tools: Worksheets, forms, and logs in both printed and editable PDF formats for convenience and lifetime relevance.

    • Secure Storage Solution: A fire and water-resistant document organizer, capable of withstanding temperatures up to 2,000°F.

    • 32GB USB Drive: Pre-loaded with editable files and ideal for storing digital memories.

    • Premium Record-Keeping: A faux-leather binder and punch for easy document management.

    • Annual Reminders: Ensures regular updates to your estate plans.

    • Peace of Mind Guarantee: Assistance and support from the service team.

    The Estate Preparation Package is not just about legal documents but about providing a structured, comprehensive, and easy-to-manage system for estate organization, benefiting both you and your heirs significantly.

    • The Estate Preparation Package not only saves you time and money but also offers peace of mind by addressing the complex issues that often arise in estate planning and during times of bereavement.

    • It streamlines the process by consolidating all your vital documents and medical and end-of-life preferences into a centralized repository, ensuring your heirs and family members have easy access to everything they need in one convenient location.

    • Our Estate Preparation Package is meticulously customized and hand-assembled, tailored specifically to your needs and preferences. Unlike generic solutions, our system is designed for rapid access, providing your family and heirs clear guidance and managing your affairs effortlessly. It’s a comprehensive system that saves you and your loved ones time and hassle.

    • The package offers rapid access to critical information, clear guidance for your family and heirs during incapacitating events or loss, and an easy way to manage your affairs. It’s designed to make the estate transition smoother and less stressful for your loved ones, ensuring they have all the essential information readily available.

    • The package includes two premium three-ring binders for document organization, a fire and water-resistant file organizer, a 32GB USB drive with interactive PDFs for updates, and over 50 forms, logs, and worksheets organized into 12 sections and 61 sub-sections. It’s a complete system for organizing your estate information effortlessly.

    • The two binders serve distinct purposes: one is for safeguarding sensitive personal and financial information at home, and the second, portable binder contains essential medical information and directives for easy access in critical situations. This ensures your critical data is both securely stored and readily accessible when necessary.

    • By organizing your estate information comprehensively, the package can save multiple hours of attorney time, which typically costs between $150 and $400 per hour. This organization not only saves money but also provides your attorney with the information needed to serve you better.

    • While having a will or trust is crucial, they are just starting points. Our package ensures your family has instant access to all necessary information for managing day-to-day affairs and emergencies, going beyond just knowing where legal documents are stored.

    • The binders are color-coded for specific purposes: the blue binder is for storing sensitive personal and financial information securely at home, while the burnt orange binder, designed to be easily noticeable, is portable and contains essential medical information and directives.

    • This color distinction enhances functionality—blue signifies permanence and security, and burnt orange ensures visibility and accessibility when needed outside the home, making it simpler to manage and access vital documents efficiently.

    • Each Estate Preparation Package is designed to cover a single core family unit, which includes up to two adults and their children. This approach ensures that the essential estate planning needs of a family are comprehensively addressed within one package, making it a convenient and efficient solution for safeguarding the future of your loved ones.

    • After receiving the Estate Preparation Package, making updates is straightforward and user-friendly. Included in your package is a USB drive that contains all your personalized files in interactive PDF format. To update your documents, simply insert the USB drive into a computer, open the desired PDF file, and make your changes directly within the document. After updating, you have the option to save the file with the changes on the USB drive or print it out if you prefer a physical copy.

    • For those who choose to print their updated documents, we've provided a three-hole punch in the package. This tool allows you to easily prepare your documents for storage by punching holes aligned with the binder system. Once punched, you can then add or replace documents in your binders, ensuring your estate planning documents remain organized and up-to-date. This process ensures that managing your estate planning documents is both flexible and convenient, allowing for easy updates and safekeeping of important information.

    • By providing clear instructions and organized information, the package significantly reduces the workload and stress for your heirs and executor during the estate transition. It ensures a smoother process by eliminating the need for stressful searching and guesswork in critical moments.

    • Yes, one customer avoided losing a $403,000 life insurance payout by following our package’s steps. Another customer realized their bank accounts wouldn’t automatically transfer to their kids and corrected this oversight with our guidance. These stories highlight the package’s value in preventing costly oversights and ensuring your estate is properly managed.

  • Item descriptionThe Estate Preparation Package is designed with varying levels of digital literacy in mind. It includes:

    • Paper Format: This is the most accessible option, where you can write in your responses manually.

    • PDF Format: This option allows you to either print and fill out the form by hand, or complete it digitally and then print. This requires basic digital skills, such as opening and printing a PDF file.

    • Excel/Spreadsheet Format: Currently in development, this option will require a moderate level of digital literacy, including familiarity with spreadsheet software.

    • Online Platform: Planned for launch next year (2025), this option will cater to users comfortable with navigating online platforms.

    Overall, the package caters to a range of digital skills, from basic to intermediate.

    • Once complete, we recommend revisiting it once a year to update any minor changes, or at the time of any life changing event.

    • Absolutely! Many people purchase the Estate Planning Package for someone else, such as their parents, a sibling, a child, or their loved ones. Giving the gift of an organized estate is always appreciated.

    • Yes, to learn more about purchasing more than 10 Estate Planning Packages, visit our partnerships page.

    • You can purchase the Estate Planning Package here.