Entrepreneur turns grief into guidance
Photo by Terry Tan De Hao | Unsplash.com
When Adam Zuckerman’s father died suddenly of a leukemia relapse just 12 days after a visit to the hospital, Zuckerman found himself crushed by grief — and overwhelmed by paperwork.
“What I realized was, [paperwork] takes a lot more time than I thought it should, and that the process is pretty complicated, and I’m not the only person who’s gone through it,” he said in an interview with the Beacon.
That experience — of managing the dozens of financial, legal, and personal tasks that follow a loved one’s death — was the seed for Buried in Work, the online resource center he founded soon after.
“It’s a tongue-in-cheek, punny name. Our logo’s a coffin, if you look at it really closely. My dad had a really crazy, funny sense of humor,” Zuckerman said.
What began as a website chronicling his own experience has grown into one of the most comprehensive digital platforms for end-of-life planning and estate administration. Headquartered in Maryland, Buried in Work now offers free tools, guides and checklists for individuals navigating the complex logistics of death.
Zuckerman’s message is clear: preparing for the inevitable doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
“A lot of what happens from estate planning to end of life to aging in place…it’s all connected on a spectrum,” he said. “But that pathway is different for everybody because you’re unique — just like everybody else.”
How the website helps
The Buried in Work website (buriedinwork.com) is designed to be user-friendly. Within its nearly 175 information hubs are articles covering digital legacy management, how to write ethical wills, and ways to organize financial records. There are checklists and printable guides for executors, caregivers and older adults who are planning ahead.
But Zuckerman and his team don’t stop at forms and file folders. They’ve also created resources that spark emotional conversations, such as the interactive card game One More Story, which prompts users to share meaningful memories and wishes with loved ones.
The ”Buried in Work” podcast interviews attorneys, funeral directors, and everyday people who’ve navigated loss, offering both practical advice and heartfelt perspectives. The first episode featured a “coffin confessor,” a person who delivers (not always pleasant) messages from the deceased at their funeral.
“A lot of people think estate planning — wills, trusts — is really boring,” Zuckerman said. “And we want to show that there’s a lot more than that. Comprehensive estate planning for us is everything in between.”
The goal, Zuckerman says, is to reduce the burden on families by encouraging open conversations before a crisis hits.
“That’s really what we want to do — make it so people don’t have to have those conversations at the end, so they can focus on having the conversations and the questions and one more story…That’s what you need to be focused on: the memories, the legacy, the family heirlooms. Because when somebody passes away, all the stories, all their experiences, unless they’re recorded somewhere, they disappear with them.”
Buried in Work even includes a section on common mistakes, such as forgetting to update beneficiaries or leaving out online account access, that can derail an otherwise solid estate plan.
A lot of the information on the website is developed in response to the questions Zuckerman has received, because if one person has a question, others will likely have the same one, he said.
“The questions that we get are bizarre and wonderful. So one person asked us, ‘Hey, I’ve got basic information about my family’s history. What do I do to find a grave in the area?’ or ‘Somebody passed away. How do I move a piano?’”
Zuckerman sees it all as a labor of love — born from loss, but shaped by community. “I want to have an inbox of so many people saying, ‘Thank you. You helped us. You made our life easier.’”
For more information, visit buriedinwork.com.
