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Death touches everyone. Understanding it shouldn’t require a medical degree or a law library.
The Death Expert blog covers end-of-life planning, funeral industry news, consumer rights, green and alternative burial options, grief resources, and the legislation shaping death care in New York and beyond. Written by a licensed funeral director and certified grief counselor with 20+ years of experience, every post is designed to inform, empower, and occasionally challenge the way we think about dying.
For families. For caregivers. For funeral professionals. For anyone who has ever realized they need to know more than they do.
Start reading below.
When Bad News Comes: Why You Need an End-of-Life Coach Now
The oncologist said the words you'd been dreading: "We're running out of options." Or maybe it was the neurologist explaining that the disease is progressing faster than expected. Or the cardiologist saying the next hospitalization will likely be the last one. However...
Family End-of-Life Planning: Why a Facilitated Dinner Works Better Than DIY
You know you need to have the conversation. You've known for months. Maybe years. You've started to bring it up at Thanksgiving. You've thought about it during doctor's appointments. You've drafted texts to your siblings that you never sent. "We should really sit down...
How One Dinner Can Save Your Family From Fighting Over Your Funeral
The last time Jennifer spoke to her brother Mark was at their mother's funeral. Not because of old childhood resentments. Not because of politics or lifestyle differences. Not even because they'd grown apart over the years. They stopped speaking because of a casket....
Setting the Table: The Family Dinner That Prevents Estate Planning Disasters
Nobody wants to talk about death at dinner. But Sarah Martinez wishes her family had. When her father collapsed from a sudden stroke at 68, Sarah and her two brothers found themselves in a hospital conference room, forced to make impossible decisions. Did Dad want to...
Remembering the Schoharie Limousine Crash
Inside a historic home in the heart of this upstate town, a small team of professionals this week set out to do the unimaginable: Perform the work of a month’s worth of funerals in just a few days.
An assumption is not a plan, as this family found out. #estate #floorboards #cash #alwaysmoneyinthebananastand
An assumption is not a plan, as this family found out. #estate #floorboards #cash #alwaysmoneyinthebananastand ♬ son original - Easy Piano