Practical Solutions for Caregiving and Serious Illness

At 23, entrepreneur Sarah Grifferty experienced firsthand how difficult and complicated the practical work of settling an estate can be after someone dies. She founded LooseEnds to make the process easier for other families.

Sarah led a lunchtime conversation at End Well 2023 in Los Angeles.

EW: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Sarah Grifferty: I’m the founder and CEO of LooseEnds, an after-loss service that helps families settle affairs following the death of a loved one.

Although I spend most of my days thinking about death, grief, and the logistics that follow, I’ve never felt “passionate” about the subject in the way entrepreneurs are often told they should.

What I do feel is endlessly frustrated and curious about what families are expected to endure. I’m committed to finding solutions that can help during some of the most difficult times in a person’s life.

EW: Was there a defining moment that led you to address end-of-life experiences openly?

Sarah Grifferty: I lost both of my parents when I was fairly young and became an executor at 23.

At a basic level, I knew it would be a terrible emotional roller coaster. What I wasn’t prepared for was how difficult the practical side would be: the coordination, paperwork, asset management, and countless other responsibilities.

I was shocked to discover how few resources existed to help. That experience stayed with me for a long time and eventually led me to find a better way to support families who had recently experienced a loss.

EW: What societal norm or belief about death and dying most needs to be challenged or redefined?

Sarah Grifferty: I think there is a myth that estate planning takes care of everything.

I will always encourage estate and end-of-life planning. But we often have the illusion that if someone plans ahead, everything will be easy afterward.

It is a compelling myth because it allows us to believe we have taken care of everything before death. I wish families and professionals spoke more openly about what will remain and how to navigate it.

I hope we can continue encouraging end-of-life planning while also making space in our society to recognize and support everything that cannot be done in advance.

EW: How can different professions and disciplines work together to create a more human-centered approach to end-of-life experiences?

Sarah Grifferty: I often imagine a world where financial institutions, utility providers, insurance companies, and government agencies work together to make processing, transferring, or closing accounts easier after a death or incapacitation.

Today, you may have to write the deceased person’s name dozens of times, spend hours on hold with customer service teams, and encounter unexplained delays at every turn. These are the last things someone should have to focus on while grieving.

I dream of a day when you can call or go online and immediately reach the right person, someone who speaks with empathy and assures you that your loved one is more than a pile of paperwork.

EW: Is there a book, film, artwork, or other piece of media that profoundly shaped your views on mortality?

Sarah Grifferty: I rarely saw anything in mainstream media that resembled my own experience of grief and loss until I watched Manchester by the Sea.

It lacked some of the glamorization of death, dying, and grief that I often saw in film and television. It showed the ordinary things I dealt with: spending so much time in the car, the awkwardness of accepting constant condolences, and the complicated feelings surrounding inherited responsibilities.

It made me feel seen.

EW: Why are you attending End Well 2023?

Sarah Grifferty: For the people involved in this work.

One of the great pleasures of working in this field is meeting some of the most hopeful, innovative, influential, and grounded people. I deeply appreciate this community.

EW: Who do you hope to meet there?

Sarah Grifferty: Anyone I haven’t met yet!