Compared · read October 25, 2026

Five planners. Only one knows your state.

They all give you pages to fill in. Ours also has your state’s rules, the letters your family must send, and a date on every fact.

51state editions
Every state’s rules are different. The four others here sell one version for everyone; we make one for each state and DC.
1,200+dated facts
Each one names the official page it came from and the day we read it.
62 daysto stay current
Our system re-checks every fact. One not read again within that time comes off until it is.

Order the planner · US$39

We make The End of Life Planner. Facts about the others come from their own pages.

At a glance

At a glance
	The End of Life Planner	The Final File	Chartwell Books	I’m Dead, Now What?	The Nokbox
Your state’s rules	Yes	—	—	—	—
Letters to banks, insurers and agencies	Eleven	—	—	—	—
A date and source on every fact	Yes	—	—	—	—
Type into it on a computer	Yes	From $49	—	—	—
Price	US$39	$29 to $79.99	$16.99	$9.95	$69 to $139
Money back	30 days	30 days	—	—	7 days

A dash means their page did not say so. Their pages: The Final File · Chartwell Books · I’m Dead, Now What? · The Nokbox

Where the others win

They cost less, from $9.95.
They have more reviews. Ours is new to the US.
Most are a printed book. Ours is a PDF you print.

The detail behind the table

For anyone who wants the whole picture before choosing. Everything about the others is from their own pages, read on October 25, 2026.

How every fact stays current

Fees, forms and limits change. A planner bought today should not carry last year’s number, so ours is built to refuse one.

Every fact carries the day we read it.

Each official line names the body that published it and the date we checked its page. They come from more than 700 official pages on more than 200 websites, more than 140 of them government sites ending in .gov.

Old facts are held back, not printed.

A fact not read again within 62 days is withheld until it is: it does not print in the planner or on our pages. The planner is put together on the day you order it, so it carries only facts inside that window.

Each fact is due again a month after it is read.

At 31 days a fact is flagged for its next reading, a month before it would be held back. Every fact the planner carries today was read on or after September 28, 2026.

What we cannot date, we do not print.

No fact is written from memory or carried over from another state. If an office’s page cannot be read, its line waits until it can.

What each one includes

Planner by planner, as each seller describes it.

The End of Life Planner

What it is: Three PDF files, emailed straight after payment: your state’s planner with its eleven letters inside, a copy you can type into, and the guide.
Your state: One edition for each state and DC: what that state’s own court and records offices say about probate, small estates and death certificates. Nothing from another state.
Who to tell: More than 40 organizations, each in its own words: Social Security, the three credit bureaus, banks, card issuers, insurers and more.
Letters: Eleven blank letters to the organizations that must be told, each asking only for what that organization needs.
Price: US$39 once, no subscription.
Money back: 30 days from the day it is emailed, the price refunded.

The Final File

What it is: A printable PDF planner, 16 pages, downloaded as soon as you pay. Their page offers a free preview.
Price: Three kits, one payment each: $29, $49, $79.99.
In the dearer kits: A fillable version, letters to loved ones (the $49 kit). An executor's step-by-step companion and a digital-access guide (the $79.99 kit).
Your state: Not on their page
Money back: 30 days, their page says.

Their page →

End of Life Planner (Chartwell Books)

What it is: A layflat paperback book, 192 pages, to fill in by hand, published September 8, 2026.
Price: $16.99 from the publisher.
Your state: Not on their page
Letters: Not on their page

Their page →

I’m Dead, Now What? (Peter Pauper Press)

What it is: A spiral-bound hardcover book, 96 pages in 17 tabbed sections, to fill in by hand.
Price: $9.95 on Amazon.
Reviews: 4.6 from 15,098 on Amazon.
Your state: Not on their page

Their page →

The Nokbox

What it is: A box of labeled paper folders with 72 double-sided checksheets and 72 pages of instructions for the next of kin.
Price: $69 or $139, shipped.
Your state: Their page says every kit holds the same information.
Money back: Seven days to ask and seven more to send it back, with up to $40 kept for each opened item, their policy says.

Their page →

Also read: Everplans, an online account (free for three items, or $99.99 a year); The End of Life Planner (M. E. Hart), a 52-page paperback at $16.99; and Clever Fox, a hardcover notebook at $19.99 to $25.99, with 60 days to return it on Amazon. None names a state on the pages we read.

Questions people ask before choosing

Probate, small estates and death certificates are run by each state, and the rules, limits and offices differ. A planner written for everyone cannot tell your family which ones apply. Ours carries one state’s edition, with nothing from another state.

I’m Dead, Now What?, at $9.95, is the lowest price on the pages we read. Ours is US$39 once. They are different things: read the rows, not just the prices.

Everplans is an online account rather than a planner: free for three items, or $99.99 a year for Premium, their pricing page says. Ours is one payment, printed at home, with nothing to renew.

We make one of the five, so judge the page by its method. Every fact about the others comes from their own pages, read on October 25, 2026, with the link beside it. We give no opinion of their products. If a fact is out of date, tell us and it is changed.

No. A will says who inherits. The planner records what you have, where it is and who to tell. It is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney.

Yes. Within 30 days of the day the planner is emailed, say it is not right or not wanted and the price is refunded.

Who each one suits

The End of Life Planner

You want your family to know where everything is and what to do next in your own state: who to tell, in what words, and what that state’s offices say about probate, small estates and death certificates. You would rather fill in a PDF than a book, and you want to see the date on every fact.

The Final File

You want a shorter PDF planner, 16 pages, from $29, with letters to the people you love in the dearer kits.

A printed book

You want a bound book to write in by hand: I’m Dead, Now What? at $9.95, or Chartwell’s 192-page planner at $16.99.

The Nokbox

You want a physical filing system in a box, with labeled folders, from $69 to $139.

Want your state’s rules and a date on every fact? This is the one.

US$39 once. 30 days to change your mind.

Order the planner · US$39