🎬   See It In Action

_{📂 Or watch locally: demo/Afterword_Digital_Legacy.mp4}

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✦   The Problem

When a person dies, their family inherits a digital life they never asked to manage. 100 online accounts. Banks, streaming services, social media, government portals, insurance, healthcare, e-commerce — all sitting open, many still billing. 15 months is the average time a family spends trying to close them. $2,160/year in subscriptions continue charging the estate. 0 tools existed to help — until now.

3,600,000 US deaths per year 100 avg accounts per person 15 mo. avg digital estate closeout $2,160 avg annual ghost charges 0 open-source tools (before this) "94.5% of families report the digital estate process caused physical and mental health deterioration on top of their grief." — Empathy Cost of Dying Report, 2024

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✦   The Solution

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║                                                                       ║
║        🧓  OWNER                              👤  FAMILY              ║
║        Plans ahead                            Closes accounts         ║
║                                                                       ║
║   Add accounts + notes          Unlock trigger: name + date + state   ║
║   Choose invitees + roles     → Trusted guardian receives OTP code    ║
║   Name a trusted guardian     → Estate unlocks + invites fire         ║
║   Update vault anytime        → AI letters + playbooks + tracking     ║
║                                 ↓                                     ║
║                          Evidence bundle for probate                  ║
║                                                                       ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Afterword is a two-sided platform. A living person can set up their estate in 20 minutes — adding accounts, writing executor notes, and designating a trusted guardian who controls the unlock key. When they pass, their family unlocks the estate through a two-factor verification system, then follows AI-generated playbooks to close every account.

No prior setup required. If the deceased never used Afterword, the family can still use every feature — manual account entry, AI letter generation, real-time Kanban tracking, and the evidence bundle — without any pre-registration.

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🔑   The Trusted Guardian Unlock

The most security-critical feature. Two factors are required to unlock an estate — neither alone is sufficient.

Step	Factor	What It Is	What It Prevents
1	Knowledge	Deceased's full legal name + date of passing + state	Requires genuine knowledge of the deceased
2	Possession	6-digit OTP emailed to the trusted guardian	Blocks anyone who read an obituary

Anyone →  /unlock  →  Enter name + date + state
                              ↓
                    [Match found in estate DB]
                              ↓
                    OTP → Guardian's email inbox
                              ↓
              Guardian verifies request is legitimate
                              ↓
                    Guardian shares 6-digit code
                              ↓
                    Estate unlocks. Invitations fire.

Why not just the death date? Obituaries are public. Anyone can know a name, death date, and state. The trusted guardian is the human firewall that no algorithm can replace.

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🤖   AI Legal Letters — Powered by Saul-Instruct-v1

Model: Equall/Saul-Instruct-v1 Training: 30 billion tokens of legal text License: MIT Cost: Free via HuggingFace Serverless Inference

Afterword generates a unique legal closure letter for every account, tailored by urgency tier: 🔴 CHARGING — Immediate cancellation + refund demand 🟠 IDENTITY — Closure + data deletion + CCPA/GDPR reference 💙 SENTIMENTAL — Data export request before closure ⚪ ADMIN — Standard administrative closure

Letters are RUFADAA-aware — the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act is referenced automatically for the 46 states that have adopted it. Every letter is editable inline before sending.

---

🏗️   Architecture

afterword/
├── apps/
│   └── web/
│       ├── app/                        # Next.js 15 App Router
│       │   ├── page.tsx               # Landing — dual-path hero
│       │   ├── unlock/                # Estate unlock trigger
│       │   ├── verify/[token]/        # Invitee verification gate
│       │   ├── dashboard/             # Owner vault
│       │   │   ├── new/               # Account creation
│       │   │   └── preview/           # Dry-run mode
│       │   ├── setup/                 # Owner setup flow
│       │   │   ├── about-you/
│       │   │   ├── accounts/
│       │   │   ├── invitees/
│       │   │   └── guardian/          # Trusted guardian config
│       │   ├── estate/[id]/           # Executor estate board
│       │   │   ├── account/[id]/      # Account detail + playbook
│       │   │   │   └── letter/        # AI letter preview + edit
│       │   │   └── export/            # Evidence bundle download
│       │   └── api/auth/callback/     # Gmail OAuth callback (only API route)
│       ├── components/
│       │   ├── estate/                # Board, cards, kanban
│       │   ├── letter/                # Letter preview, editor
│       │   ├── onboarding/            # Owner setup steps
│       │   └── ui/                    # Design system components
│       └── lib/
│           ├── crypto.ts              # AES-256-GCM client encryption
│           └── session.ts             # Session token management
│
├── convex/                            # ALL backend logic lives here
│   ├── schema.ts                      # Single source of truth — 10 tables
│   ├── accounts.ts                    # Account queries + mutations
│   ├── estates.ts                     # Estate lifecycle
│   ├── owners.ts                      # Owner vault management
│   ├── unlock.ts                      # Unlock trigger + OTP system
│   ├── invites.ts                     # Invitation token system
│   ├── crons.ts                       # 90-day auto-delete scheduler
│   ├── ai/
│   │   ├── generateLetter.ts          # Saul-Instruct letter generation
│   │   └── classifyService.ts         # Account tier classification
│   └── export/
│       └── evidenceBundle.ts          # pdf-lib evidence bundle
│
└── packages/
    └── platforms-db/                  # Community-maintained platform data
        └── data/
            ├── streaming.ts           # Netflix, Spotify, Disney+...
            ├── financial.ts           # Chase, PayPal, Robinhood...
            ├── social.ts              # Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok...
            ├── health.ts              # Insurance, pharmacy, fitness...
            └── government.ts          # SSA, IRS, Medicare, USPS...

---

⚡   Tech Stack

Layer	Technology	Version	Why
Frontend	Next.js	16.1.6	App Router, React 19, Turbopack
Language	TypeScript	5.x	End-to-end type safety with Convex
Styling	Tailwind CSS	4.x	CSS-first, design tokens in globals.css
Database + Backend	Convex	1.32.0	Replaces Express + Prisma + Postgres entirely
AI	Saul-Instruct-v1	2024-03	Legal-domain LLM, MIT license, free tier
Email	Resend	latest	Invitation + OTP + alert emails
PDF	pdf-lib	1.17.1	Evidence bundle + individual letter PDFs
Monorepo	Turborepo	2.x	Shared types across Next.js + Convex
Deployment	Vercel + Convex Cloud	—	Both free tier, git-push deploy

Total monthly infrastructure cost: $0
Convex Starter (50GB free) + HuggingFace Serverless (free) + Vercel Hobby (free) + Resend (free tier) = zero spend.

---

🔐   Privacy Architecture

This is not a policy promise. It is a technical guarantee.

AES-256-GCM encryption — in the browser Every piece of PII (names, emails, account notes, guardian contact) is encrypted before it leaves your browser. Convex stores only ciphertext. A full database breach reveals nothing readable. No email body access — ever The Gmail integration uses gmail.metadata scope only — the most restricted scope available. It physically cannot access email bodies, attachments, drafts, or sent mail. This is enforced by the OAuth scope, not by policy. Token revoked immediately post-scan The Gmail OAuth token is stored encrypted for a maximum of 2 hours and is programmatically revoked via Google's token revocation endpoint the moment scanning completes. 90-day auto-delete Every estate auto-erases 90 days after final closure. Implemented as a Convex scheduled cron function — not a checkbox in a settings menu.

Client Browser ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ AES-256-GCM encrypt │ │ all PII fields │ │ before any fetch() │ └────────────┬────────────┘ │ ciphertext only ▼ Convex Database ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ Stores encrypted blobs │ │ Session token SHA-256 │ │ hash only — no raw │ │ tokens ever stored │ └─────────────────────────┘ Gmail API ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ scope: gmail.metadata │ │ reads: sender, subject │ │ CANNOT: read bodies │ │ Token: revoked in 2hr │ └─────────────────────────┘

---

🖥️   Screens Overview

22 screens across three user paths.

Path A — Owner (8 screens) — The living person planning ahead

Screen	Route	Description
Landing Page	/	Dual-path hero. Two equal CTAs. Stats bar. Guardian explainer.
Create Account	/dashboard/new	4-word passphrase setup. Recovery warning.
Personal Details	/setup/about-you	Full legal name. Verification key preview.
Add Accounts	/setup/accounts	Manual entry with notes. 200+ platform autocomplete.
Choose Invitees	/setup/invitees	4 role types. Personal message.
Name Guardian	/setup/guardian	Trusted guardian email. OTP email preview.
Vault Dashboard	/dashboard	Completeness score. Account list. Invitee panel.
Dry Run Preview	/dashboard/preview	Owner previews the full invitee experience.

Path B — Unlock Event (4 screens) — The moment everything activates

Screen	Route	Description
Unlock Entry	/unlock	Name + date + state form. Accessible to anyone.
OTP Waiting	/unlock (state)	6-box OTP input. 10-minute countdown. Guardian note.
No Match	/unlock (state)	Non-revealing message. Offers standalone executor path.
Unlock Confirmed	/unlock (state)	Checkmark animation. Invitations firing confirmation.

Path C — Executor / Invitee (8 screens) — Closing every account

Screen	Route	Description
Verification Gate	/verify/[token]	3-field identity check. 5 attempts. Warm tone.
Estate Board	/estate/[id]	4-column Kanban. Urgency tiers. Real-time sync.
Account Detail	/estate/[id]/account/[id]	Owner notes first. Playbook steps. Confirmation field.
Letter Preview	/estate/[id]/account/[id]/letter	AI letter. Inline editing. PDF download.
Evidence Bundle	/estate/[id]/export	Bundle download. Confetti on first download.

System Screens (2)

Screen	Route	Description
Demo Mode	/?demo=true	Pre-seeded "Estate of Maria Santos". Amber banner.
Account Locked	/unlock or /verify	Rate limit lockout. Countdown. Support link.

---

🚀   Getting Started

Prerequisites

node >= 20.0.0
npm >= 10.0.0

1. Clone and install

git clone https://github.com/your-team/afterword.git
cd afterword
npm install

2. Configure environment

# apps/web/.env.local
NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL=https://your-project.convex.cloud
GOOGLE_CLIENT_ID=your_google_client_id
GOOGLE_CLIENT_SECRET=your_google_client_secret
NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL=http://localhost:3000

# Set Convex environment variables (in Convex dashboard or CLI)
npx convex env set HF_TOKEN hf_your_token
npx convex env set RESEND_API_KEY re_your_key
npx convex env set ENCRYPTION_SECRET your_32_byte_secret

3. Start development

# Starts Next.js (Turbopack) + Convex dev server simultaneously
npm run dev

4. Seed the platforms database

npx convex run scripts/seedPlatforms

5. Load demo estate

npx convex run scripts/resetDemo
# Then visit: http://localhost:3000?demo=true

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🌍   Contributing

The platforms database (packages/platforms-db/) is the highest-value community asset in this project. Platform closure processes change. New services launch. Old ones close.

Every PR that adds or updates a platform playbook is meaningful.

// packages/platforms-db/data/streaming.ts — example entry
{
  name:         "Netflix",
  domain:       "netflix.com",
  category:     "STREAMING",
  closureUrl:   "https://www.netflix.com/cancelplan",
  docsRequired: ["Death Certificate"],
  playbook: [
    { step: 1, text: "Sign in to the account at netflix.com" },
    { step: 2, text: "Go to Account → Membership & Billing → Cancel Membership" },
    { step: 3, text: "If access is unavailable, call 1-866-579-7172 and reference bereavement policy" },
    { step: 4, text: "Request written confirmation and refund of any charges after date of death" },
  ],
  avgCloseDays: 3,
  lastVerified: "2026-01",
}

How to add a platform

1. Fork the repository
2. Add your platform entry to the appropriate file in packages/platforms-db/data/
3. Verify the closure URL is current and the playbook steps are tested
4. Submit a pull request with the platform name in the title

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full guide.

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⚖️   Legal Context

Afterword generates letters that reference RUFADAA — the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, adopted in 46 US states. This law grants executors and personal representatives the legal right to access and manage a deceased person's digital assets.

Afterword is not a substitute for legal advice. The evidence bundle it produces may be submitted to probate court but should be reviewed by an estate attorney.

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🗺️   Roadmap

v1.0  ✅  Owner vault + Trusted guardian unlock + AI letters + Evidence bundle
v1.1  🔲  Outlook / Microsoft inbox scan
v1.2  🔲  Spanish + French letter generation
v1.3  🔲  International platforms — UK, Canada, Australia
v2.0  🔲  Direct closure APIs for top 10 platforms
v2.1  🔲  Upgrade to SaulLM-54B when available on HF free tier
v2.2  🔲  Crypto wallet notification workflows
v3.0  🔲  EU GDPR letter templates + international jurisdiction support

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Afterword  ·  MIT License  ·  sudo make world 2026

Built with 🕯️ for the people left behind.