Cairn
Pricing
Free for your first 28 days
Then $14.99 a month, one subscription for your whole account. See how we set the price
The heaviest lifting in any estate happens right at the start, while you’re also the least able to think clearly about it. So the part of Cairn that gets you through that stretch (the certificate, the funeral research, the first notifications) is free for 28 days. Your 28 days start when you start your first journey, and no card is needed. Cairn covers all 50 states, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
This mirrors the first five waypoints of the full journey map, plus a Week 4 wrap-up. Everything past this point is still ahead of you, but this is the part that can’t wait.
Whether to call a hospice line or 911, what a medical examiner’s involvement means, who needs to be the one point of contact starting now, and what to secure in the first week: the home, vehicles, pets, mail, valuables, and the person’s identity. And a clear reminder not to sell, give away, or divide anything yet.
How many certified copies to order, who is allowed to request them, and which vital records office issues them. That is the office for the state or territory where the death happened, which may not be where the person lived.
Searching and comparing funeral homes, cemeteries, and cremation providers near you, in keeping with your family’s beliefs and customs. Prices appear only where a provider publishes them, with the date Cairn found them. Cairn doesn’t book or arrange services. You reach out, and Cairn helps you know what to ask.
What to report, what stops automatically, and what survivor benefits might start. Then the other agencies that apply to your situation: the VA, the IRS (what it needs to know now), immigration services (USCIS), the DMV, passports, voter registration, state benefits such as Medicaid or SNAP, military retiree benefits, and federal employee benefits. A few simple questions show which ones likely apply.
Banks, credit cards, mortgages and other loans, life insurers, and employer or pension plans. Cairn helps you track who has been told, which ones need a certified death certificate before they’ll speak with you, and what to expect from each one.
Forwarding mail, canceling subscriptions, finding the will, and finding an attorney if you need one. Then a plan for what comes next. Cairn guides you to these steps but does not settle the estate for you.
That’s typically the heaviest stretch of the whole process. After your 28 days, one subscription at $14.99 a month keeps your journey going, so you can keep adding and updating your tasks. What comes after (asset inventory, probate, final taxes, and closing out the rest of the estate) is on the map today, and Cairn’s step-by-step help for it is planned for a later release.
See the full journey mapNo surprises at the end of the free days. Here is exactly what happens.
Cairn never asks for a card during your 28 days, so the free days can’t turn into a charge. A reminder appears in Cairn a few days before they end. On day 29, Cairn asks whether you’d like to subscribe. It never asks during a hard or painful conversation.
Your account becomes read-only. You can still see everything you’ve done, and you can subscribe whenever you’re ready. Closing a journey, downloading your information, and deleting it are always free.
Your 28 days keep counting if you pause. But if things become too much and Cairn suggests a rest, your free days stop counting until you come back, and the end date moves later.
If you’re handling more than one death, every case is covered by the same $14.99 a month. Starting a second case doesn’t restart the free days.
This is an early build. Four limits are worth knowing before you start, so nothing catches you off guard.
Coming later
Right now, Cairn supports a single authenticated user at a time. If a sibling or co-executor is sharing this work, you’ll coordinate outside Cairn for now. A hand-off summary and a download of your case make that easier. Shared, multi-person access to the same case is on the roadmap, not in this release.
Coming later
You can’t hand Cairn a death certificate, a will, or a policy to read yet. What it offers now is guidance, contacts, and comparisons. It tells you what to have ready but doesn’t store your documents. Document storage and extraction are planned, not part of this build.
Coming later
This release covers the first weeks after a death. Step-by-step help with listing and transferring assets, probate, trusts, and final tax returns is planned for a later release. The journey map shows those steps today, with sources.
Coming later
Cairn runs in the web browser on your phone, tablet, or computer. There is no iPhone or Android app to download yet. Native apps are on the roadmap.
Cairn opens to families once its clinical and legal reviews are complete. Your 28 days start only when you start your first journey.