Sunset

What do they actually do

Sunset helps families and executors find a deceased person’s scattered financial accounts and move the money into a single estate bank account so bills can be paid and inheritances can be distributed. The web app automates asset discovery (banks, brokerages/retirement, life insurance, property/vehicles, business interests, crypto, debts, unclaimed property) and can generate county‑specific probate paperwork across all 50 states. They also open an estate bank account in the executor’s name and help obtain an EIN, then consolidate funds to that account for payments and final distributions, with user approval at each step (source; source).

What’s live today includes: automated discovery and match review, state/county‑specific probate document generation with online notarization where supported, and an FDIC‑insured sweep estate account with virtual/physical debit cards (the company discloses an “up to $3M” deposit‑placement program). Sunset says it runs identity/fraud checks and maintains a SOC 2 Type II posture. They report most families locate assets within 1 business day and typically within a week, though some bank confirmations can take up to two weeks. The service is free to families; Sunset is paid by bank partners based on interest/fees on placed deposits, not by charging users or taking a cut of inheritances (source; source).

Who are their target customer(s)

• Named executors / personal representatives: They must find all accounts, complete county‑specific probate paperwork, obtain legal authority (EIN/letters), and collect and move money while avoiding personal liability. This is time‑consuming and unfamiliar; banks can take weeks to confirm balances (source).
• A grieving family member trying to help: They often don’t know where assets are, how to legally access them, or which documents to file, and they’re stressed about paying immediate bills and funeral costs. They need a way to locate accounts and consolidate funds without hiring a lawyer or navigating banks themselves (source).
• Families with many scattered or digital assets: Tracking down every bank, brokerage, retirement, life insurance, crypto, and unclaimed property account is slow and error‑prone; missing assets delays bills and inheritances and can complicate probate (source).
• Funeral homes and bereavement/aftercare services (channel partners): They field money/estate questions outside funeral logistics and lack an easy, trustworthy referral that removes administrative burden while preserving their relationship with the family (source).
• Banks and financial institutions (deposit partners): They want compliant, auditable ways to capture and hold estate deposits and reduce friction from unclaimed or dispersed balances; a partner that funnels deposits and standardizes paperwork can help (source).

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Founder‑led, high‑touch pilots: personally run each case end‑to‑end (concierge onboarding, docs, manual discovery and estate‑bank setup) via warm introductions from 1–2 local funeral homes; collect testimonials and timelines to enable later referrals (source; source).
• First 50: Formalize referral pilots with several nearby funeral homes/aftercare services and run a paid pilot with a regional bank to place estate deposits and cover service economics; turn pilots into repeatable onboarding checklists and one‑page case studies (source; source).
• First 100: Scale the funeral‑home network (10+ partners) and integrate with aftercare/obituary platforms for automated referral flows; add targeted search/social aimed at executors/families. Launch a partner dashboard and standardized bank pilot package to speed deposit placement and reduce manual confirmations (source; source).

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

Roughly 3.09 million people died in the U.S. in 2023, providing an upper bound on annual estates requiring some degree of administration (CDC FastStats).

Bottom-up calculation:

Estimate U.S. TAM as: 3.09M deaths × 50% requiring probate/formal administration × 25% with fragmented assets likely to use a discovery+estate‑bank service × ~$300 net revenue per case (bank‑partner economics) ≈ ~$116M/year.

Assumptions:

• About half of deaths lead to estates requiring probate or formal administration (varies by state and titling/beneficiaries).
• Roughly a quarter of such estates have scattered assets and adopt a free, automated service like Sunset.
• Net revenue to Sunset averages ~$300 per completed estate from deposit‑placement interest/fees; actuals vary with balances, duration, and partner terms.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Empathy: Consumer app for families after a death; offers guidance, task tracking, and assistance for probate/claims and benefits—overlaps with post‑death coordination and support.
• Atticus: Executor‑focused software for probate and estate settlement with checklists, document generation, and support—aims to simplify executor tasks.
• Trust & Will (Probate): Online estate planning company that also offers probate support services in many states—competes on probate guidance and document prep.
• ClearEstate: Estate administration platform (U.S. and Canada) providing probate paperwork, accounting, and coordinator support—targets families and advisors.
• EstateExec: Executor software with tools and guidance for inventory, valuation, tasks, and distributions—DIY alternative for organizing estate settlement.