After-loss & legacy
Untangling the practical, digital, and financial aftermath, and preserving a life story.
5 roles in this field
After Loss Professionals
Explore career paths for professionals who guide families through estate tasks, bills, and grief support after a death.
Daily Money Manager
Help older adults, people managing an illness, and families after a death keep on top of bills, paperwork, insurance claims, and the everyday financial admin nobody warns them about.
Digital Legacy Specialist
Learn what a digital legacy specialist does, from organizing accounts and passwords to memorializing profiles, and whether the work suits your skills.
Personal Historian
Help individuals capture, preserve, and share their life stories through writing, audio, or video as a personal historian.
Preneed and Advance Planning Specialist
Discover how to become a preneed and advance planning specialist, helping families prepare for the future with confidence and care.
Certifications in this field
Certified Financial Planner™They’ve passed a rigorous national exam and meet ethical and education standards for comprehensive financial planning. Chartered Life UnderwriterThey’ve completed advanced training in life insurance and estate planning with a strong ethical component. Licensed Insurance AgentThey’re legally authorized to sell insurance products in their state, including life, health, and long-term care coverage. Retirement Income Certified ProfessionalThey specialize in helping clients transition from saving to sustainable income in retirement. Certified Preplanning Consultant Accredited Estate Planner®They’re an experienced, credentialed professional who collaborates with other advisors to develop advanced estate plans. Digital Legacy & Estate Tech TrainingThey understand how to manage digital assets like photos, social media, emails, and cloud files after death. Professional After Loss SpecialistThey’ve been trained to assist families with post-death logistics including paperwork, account closures, and estate tasks.
Where to train
University of Maryland, Baltimore – Aging and Applied Thanatology Graduate CertificatePost-baccalaureate graduate certificate, 12 credits, online Marian University – Thanatology (Graduate Certificate and MS)Graduate Certificate in Thanatology; Master of Science in Thanatology Hood College – Thanatology and Trauma, Crisis, Grief & Loss CertificatesGraduate Certificate in Thanatology; Graduate Certificate in Trauma, Crisis, Grief and Loss Digital Legacy Association – Digital Assets & Digital Legacy TrainingProfessional training, no degree International Institute of Genealogical Studies – Personal Historian CertificatePersonal Historian Certificate
Other fields
Funeral & deathcare operationsThe people who run services, care for the body, and keep a funeral home working. Death investigation & forensicsDetermining how and why someone died, and the specialized work that surrounds it. Clinical & bedside careMedical, spiritual, and therapeutic care for people in their final months and days. Companionship & grief supportNon-clinical presence before a death, and support for the people left behind. Estate, financial & legacy planningThe professionals who help people plan, protect, transfer, administer, and give away assets during life and after death.