What’s Happening in Deathcare Right Now (And Why It Matters for Your Family)

Trend Report · Q1 2026 Good Grief March 2026 7 min read

Nobody wants to think about death paperwork. But the deathcare industry is shifting in some genuinely fascinating — and sometimes unsettling — ways, and a lot of it directly affects what families deal with after a loss.

This report covers what we've been tracking in Q1 2026: the financial toll of grief, why estate settlement still feels like a second full-time job, how AI is showing up in some unexpected places (including your loved one's social media), and what new research is telling us about what Americans actually want when it comes to end-of-life care.

"The broader public wants to pursue green death options but the current regulations and laws in the funeral industry do not support the will of the people."

— Caitlin Doughty, founder of The Order of the Good Death

That quote pretty much sums up the tension right now: people want change, but the system hasn't caught up yet. If you've ever tried to close a bank account for a deceased loved one, you know exactly what we mean.

The Financial Side of Grief (It's Rougher Than You Think)

A 2025 study by Western & Southern Financial Group surveyed over 2,500 Americans. The numbers are sobering.

62% of Americans feel financially unprepared for the death of a loved one W&S Financial Group · 2025

51% struggled financially after a death in the family W&S Financial Group · 2025

39% put funeral or estate costs on a credit card W&S Financial Group · 2025

6 wks average time to access a deceased person's bank account W&S Financial Group · 2025

$11–15K+

typical out-of-pocket costs in the first 90 days after a death W&S Financial Group · 2025

Most families are financially blindsided. The funeral industry has seen funeral-related debt jump from 14% to 37% of families. Meanwhile, the average estate settlement takes roughly 570 hours of administrative work — more than 14 full work weeks of paperwork, phone calls, and bureaucratic runarounds. While you're grieving.

Good Grief tracks every estate task, deadline, and document in one place — so nothing slips through the cracks.

Try it free →

What People Actually Want (vs. What They're Getting)

Caitlin Doughty has partnered with Professor Tanya Marsh at Wake Forest University School of Law on the largest annual survey of American funeral preferences. In 2025, they surveyed 1,510 adults about what they actually want done with their bodies after death. Here's what stood out:

• 1Only about 33% ranked cremation as their first choice — even though the national cremation rate is 62%. Cost, availability, and family pressure are pushing people toward cremation whether they prefer it or not.
• 2Over half would consider a green burial. Human composting and water cremation (alkaline hydrolysis) are gaining real traction as alternatives.
• 3Gen Z is showing a surprising resurgence of interest in traditional casket burial — potentially reversing decades of movement toward cremation.
• 4Embalming — the cornerstone of funeral industry regulation — is of interest to only a minority of Americans. Most people don't want it, but many states are still built around it.

The takeaway

There's a growing gap between what people want and what the funeral industry offers. Doughty and Marsh's work through The Order of the Good Death is pushing for transparency and reform — and it's some of the most important consumer advocacy happening in this space right now.

AI Is Joining the Family (Whether We're Ready or Not)

AI isn't just writing obituaries anymore — it's showing up as your deceased loved ones. A growing number of startups are offering "griefbots": AI chatbots, voice clones, or video avatars trained on a deceased person's texts, social media posts, and photos. Four real examples from the past year:

Dec 2025 Meta's "Forever Posting" Patent

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Meta was granted a patent for technology that would let AI take over a deceased user's Facebook or Instagram account — responding to DMs, commenting on posts, even making new posts — indefinitely. Meta says they have "no plans to act on it," but the fact that they patented it tells you where things are headed.

Aug 2025 The Parkland Victim Who "Testified"

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Journalist Jim Acosta interviewed an AI avatar of Joaquin Oliver, one of the 17 victims of the 2018 Parkland school shooting. Oliver was recreated using AI so his "voice" could continue advocating for gun reform — seven years after his death.

2025 A Murder Victim Addressed His Killer in Court

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An AI avatar of Chris Pelkey, an Arizona road rage victim, spoke during the sentencing phase of his killer's trial — four years after his death. His sister created the avatar, which expressed forgiveness. This may be the first time AI has been used this way in a courtroom.

2025 2wai and the Viral Grandma Ad

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The app 2wai launched with a viral ad showing a grandson speaking to an AI version of his deceased grandmother at every stage of his life — childhood, graduation, wedding. Emotional, technically impressive, and a lot of open questions about where healthy grieving ends and digital dependency begins.

⚠ Good Grief take

Right now, nothing is stopping someone from turning you into an AI chatbot after you die — unless you say otherwise. If you don't want to be a griefbot, put it in writing. Start with passwords, account access, what you want to happen to your social media, and whether you consent to any kind of digital recreation. The AI stuff is evolving fast, and a clear plan is the only way to make sure your wishes are carried out.

The Administrative Burden (Still a Nightmare, Still Fixable)

If you've settled an estate, you know: it's not the grief that breaks you, it's the paperwork. And the hold music. And the faxes. Yes, faxes. In 2026.

• 60+
  institutions involved in the average estate settlement Banks · Courts · Insurers · Government agencies
• 570 hrs
  of administrative tasks families face settling an estate Equivalent to 14+ full work weeks
• 32%
  of Americans have a will — the majority navigate intestacy laws No will = the state decides everything
• 20–40%
  increase in probate backlogs in major metro areas since 2020 Delays measured across US court systems

The silver lining? There's a growing ecosystem of tools designed to simplify this. Digital estate settlement platforms, document vaults, and guided checklists are making it possible for families to handle more of this without hiring an attorney for every step.

570 hours of death admin, finally in one place. Good Grief organizes every task, deadline, and document for families navigating estate settlement.

Try it free →

The Rules Are Changing (Slowly)

Most funeral homes still aren't required to post their prices online. The federal rule governing funeral pricing was written in 1984. Human composting went from illegal everywhere to legal in 12 states in just six years. Digital estate law is still a patchwork — which means your family's access to your crypto, subscriptions, and accounts depends heavily on which state you're in.

• 0 → 12
  states have legalized human composting since 2019 Consumer demand is outpacing regulation
• 1984
  the year the FTC Funeral Rule was written — still no online price disclosure required The Order of the Good Death is leading the push to change this
• RUFADAA
  digital estate coverage is expanding but inconsistent state-to-state A real problem for crypto, subscriptions, and digital accounts

The Centre for Death and Society's 2026 conference theme is "Death and Power" — who controls the systems and narratives around death. If you want to know where this industry is going, that's the one to watch.

The short version

62% of families are financially unprepared. 68% have no will. AI can now post as you after you die. Here's what to do about it.

1. Money · Do this now Talk about money before you have to.

   Know where the accounts are. Know who's paying for what. A 20-minute conversation now saves weeks of panic later.

2. Legal · Do this now Get a will.

   Without one, the state decides everything. It doesn't have to be expensive or complicated — it just has to exist.

3. End-of-life · Write it down Say what you actually want.

   Cremation, green burial, donation to science — whatever it is, write it down and tell someone. Most people's wishes aren't followed because they were never made clear.

4. Digital · Do this now Lock down your digital afterlife.

   Make a list of accounts and passwords. Decide what happens to your social media. And if you don't want to become an AI chatbot, say so explicitly — because right now, nothing's stopping it.

5. Tools · Good Grief Use the tools that exist.

   You don't have to figure this out alone. Checklists, document vaults, guided plans — that's why Good Grief is here.

Sources

1. Western & Southern Financial Group, "Financial Impact of Death on American Families," 2025 survey of 2,500+ adults.
2. Doughty, C. & Marsh, T., Wake Forest University School of Law, "American Funeral Preferences Survey," 2025 (1,510 respondents). Published via CANA.
3. The Order of the Good Death — Caitlin Doughty, ongoing advocacy for funeral transparency.
4. Meta Platforms, US Patent 12513102B2, granted December 30, 2025.
5. Scientific American, "Can AI 'Griefbots' Help Us Heal?" 2025.
6. Nature, "Ready or Not, the Digital Afterlife Is Here," 2025.
7. Centre for Death and Society (CDAS), "DeathTech" special issue, 2025; "Death and Power" conference, 2026.
8. National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), "2025 Cremation and Burial Report."
9. Cremation Association of North America (CANA), industry data and survey hosting.

Good Grief helps families navigate estate settlement with checklists, document storage, and trusted vendor connections. Because nobody should have to figure this out alone.

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