Why I Spent a Year Creating a Spreadsheet to Help Families After a Death
I originally published a version of this blog post on Medium, March 2025
A few years ago, I helped launch a new probate service. As part of that work, I interviewed people who’d recently lost someone close to them.
One conversation in particular has always stayed with me. Julie (not her real name) had just lost her father. While she was grieving and helping her family through the funeral, she was also trying to manage his estate — and the pressure was immense.
She told me, "If I was left quietly to get on with it, it would be okay. But with everything else going on, it just piled on pressure."
Sadly, Julie’s situation is incredibly common. There’s a huge amount to sort through after someone dies: accounts to close, people to notify, legal forms, finances, decisions — and all of it in the midst of grief. It’s exhausting.
That’s why, after years of thinking about it, I finally did something. I started making a spreadsheet.
A year of quiet work
I’ve spent much of my career trying to make probate simpler. I studied law, became a solicitor, and later co-founded one of the UK’s first online probate tools. I’ve also worked as a product designer in this space — including at Kings Court Trust and Farewill.
Even though I no longer work in the legal sector, it’s still something I care about deeply. In early 2024, I began sketching out ideas for a simple tool that could help people like Julie. The goal was to make something clear, practical, and easy to use.
Over the course of a year, I tested early drafts with friends, including one who had recently lost both parents. Later, I shared a free version in an online forum. That part was nerve-wracking — but the feedback was amazing. It helped me make the tool better, and gave me the confidence to keep going.
An early sketch of ideas for my spreadsheet
By January 2025, the first full version of the After Death Spreadsheet was ready.
What the spreadsheet does
Designed for Google Sheets and Excel, the After Death Spreadsheet is there to help families and executors stay organised during probate. It’s structured around three main areas:
Assets and accounts — a place to list everything the person owned, from bank accounts to belongings, and track progress as things are sold or closed.
Tasks and documents — a way to keep on top of the to-do list, including who to notify, what to cancel, and which documents are needed.
Estate accounts — a clear financial summary of everything coming in and going out, including an estimated distribution amount.
It also includes helpful notes and tips throughout, and it’s designed to be shared with family members if needed. People have used it in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and beyond.
Not perfect. But helpful.
I wanted the spreadsheet to be simple and kind. Something you could open without feeling overwhelmed. Something that would help you make sense of things during a difficult time.
Each time someone gets in touch to say it helped — even just a little — it means the world.
What’s next?
The After Death Spreadsheet is just one part of what I’m building. There’s also the Before Death Spreadsheet, which helps people get their affairs in order while they’re still here. It includes financial details, documents, contacts, wishes — and everything from the After Death version too. It’s designed to support your loved ones before and after the time comes.
Looking ahead, I’m hoping to create more tools for planning and navigating difficult moments — including funeral planning and other resources families often need, but rarely have.
If you have thoughts, suggestions, or stories to share, I’d love to hear from you.
And if you’re in the middle of it right now — overwhelmed, grieving, and trying to hold everything together — I hope this small tool can help make things just a bit easier.
