What actually happens when you die?

THE DEATH DISPATCH
NOVEMBER 1, 2026 · MADE FOR THE LIVING

FROM STEPHANIE

Death comes with a lot of questions. Some keep you up at night. Some send you digging through a drawer for paperwork nobody can find.

This week, we’re taking on what happens when you die, what you can decide now, and how to leave your family a little less to figure out.

Have a question you’ve been meaning to ask? Ask MORTL. Start wherever you are.

01

What happens to the body? What might a dying person experience? And what, if anything, comes after?

This week’s deep read walks through the research, its limits, and the beliefs people turn to for answers.

In the 2023 AWARE II study, 11 of 28 interviewed cardiac arrest survivors reported memories or perceptions suggesting awareness. The findings concern resuscitation and do not establish what happens after irreversible death.

It also covers decisions you can make now about your body, money, and accounts.

MORTL WEEK

Make your wishes easier to find and share. During MORTL Week:
Annual Premium: $41.40 for your first year, usually $69.
The Folder: $35.40 once, usually $59.
Monthly Premium: $5.40/month for your first three months, usually $9/month.

You can also give someone a year of Premium for $41.40.

New: The Family Book. The recipe you never measure. The story everyone asks you to tell. The things your family will want in your words. Save one recipe and one story with a free account. Premium unlocks the full book and a version you can print.

Buying for a team? Employer and school plans are 40% off the first year. See plans for your organization.

Ends Saturday, November 7, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

02

As of October 1, 2026, Maryland allows transfer-on-death deeds. A properly completed and recorded TOD deed can pass your home to a named beneficiary without probate for that property.

You keep control while you’re alive, including the ability to sell, refinance, or revoke the deed. It must be recorded in the appropriate county land records before you die. A signed copy in a drawer won’t do it.

Own a home in Maryland? Check the signing and recording requirements, and how a TOD deed fits your estate plan.

The Maryland guide · How TOD deeds work · SB 651 on the Maryland General Assembly site

03

If you couldn’t speak for yourself, would the people caring for you know what you wanted? A living will puts those treatment wishes in writing. MORTL’s free builder walks you through:

Download your draft as a PDF or Word file. Check your state’s current signing requirements, sign it properly, and share it with your healthcare agent and care team.

04

"My mom wrote her will by hand and signed it, but nobody witnessed it. Does a handwritten will count in Colorado?"

Yes, it can. Under C.R.S. § 15-11-502(2), a will can qualify as a holographic will without witnesses if the signature and material portions are in the person’s own handwriting.

Whether your mom’s specific document qualifies depends on its wording and circumstances.

Keep the original safe, avoid writing on it or adding pages, and have a Colorado probate attorney review it. If she’s still living, an attorney can help confirm that her wishes are properly documented.

Answered in September.
Read the full answer
The Colorado guide
Ask MORTL a question

Your one thing this week: write down your treatment wishes and tell the person you’d want speaking for you.

Need a place to organize the rest? The Folder is $35.40 once through November 7, with family sharing for up to five trusted people.

Forward this to that person. It’s a pretty good way to start the conversation.

Stephanie Werner
Founder & CEO, MORTL

You're going to die. Let's talk about it.

U.S. guidance. General information, not legal or medical advice.