Legacy Planning and After Loss Consulting
Helping the living deal with dying.
Life is messy. But death? That can be even messier.
Whether you’re moving through the grief of losing a loved one, or you’re looking ahead at life’s transitions and want to ensure you leave your family well prepared, dealing with death can be incredibly difficult.
You likely…
Are overwhelmed by the sheer amount of things to do.
Don’t know where to start.
Feel like you don’t have time to process your emotions.
Aren’t sure who to contact.
… and at the end of the day, you just wish that someone could tell you exactly what to do throughout this process. That’s where we come in.
We handle the business of death so you don’t have to. By coordinating with attorneys, financial advisors, accountants, etc., we offload the administrative tasks that come with legacy planning and after loss, so you can focus less on the logistics and more on creating space to live worry-free and grieve peacefully.
Here's how we can help
Legacy Planning
For those who want to preserve your story, protect your family, and capture the critical details people often forget to pass on.
After Loss Consulting
For those who have recently lost a loved one and aren’t sure where to begin managing all the tasks that come after a loss.
We’ve helped families just like yours:
I highly recommend Black Dress Consultants for compassionate, sensitive, knowledgeable and efficient after loss services. Rachel is amazing!
Rachel was extremely helpful during my family's time of need after losing a couple of members to COVID. She's very professional and prompt, and provided several resources to help us get things straightened out with after death family and financial matters. She pointed out a lot of items that need to be handled that we didn't even think about. I would definitely recommend her business and services to anyone that needs that extra support during difficult times. I can't express my appreciation for her help enough.
Rachel Donnelly provides a remarkable service - practically essential but often overlooked - for recent widows at a loss as to how to manage the barrage of responsibilities suddenly thrust on them, whether unfamiliar and confusing financial dealings or organizing memorial services - and much more - all while dealing with their own grief.
Rachel did an amazing job helping me close down the estate of a family member who passed earlier last year. She has a great deal of empathy, patience, and persistence. She successfully helped me navigate numerous matters that seemed intractable initially. I simply could not have survived this past year without her assistance. I recommend her to anyone who is dealing with end of life and after loss tasks. I only wish I had discovered her earlier!
I love working with Rachel and would entrust her with my own clients!
Rachel is knowledgeable, sensitive, supportive, and maintains accountability in an environment where it can often be difficult to make the next step. I engaged her for my own end of life planning, and coincidentally, my father passed days after my last session with her. While not at all the ideal, I was able to better navigate everything that needed to be handled as a function of my discussions with her on my own planning, and I'm extremely grateful for that. I wholeheartedly and without any reservation recommend her planning services; she is truly an unusual find.
I run a probate law firm, and Black Dress Consultants is my go-to for client needs. So often my clients have needs that are either outside of my firm's scope or that they really do not need to pay and attorney to do, and Black Dress Consultants is the perfect partner.
Black Dress Consultants, and Rachel in particular, has partnered with my firm on everything from cleaning out homes to helping clients to unwind their loved ones complex financial and corporate documents. Black Dress Consultants does all of this with the utmost professionalism and a great (dare I say fun?) attitude. I never NEVER hesitate to make this referral, and would recommend Black Dress Consultants to anyone.
When my wife died rather suddenly, it felt like there were mountains of paperwork that needed immediate attention. I found Black Dress Consultants Rachel Donnelly to be invaluable in assisting me with that and more. In our initial conversation, she listened extremely well and was able to match her services with my needs in a manner that was most reassuring. We came up with an Estate Checklist and decided in followup meetings what could be best handled by me or by her. Having a plan, a partner, and the sense that details weren't falling through the cracks made all the difference in turning the chaos of settling my wife's affairs into a process that made me feel like everything was being taken care of. I can't imagine how I would have done this without her.
I can not say enough good things about Rachael and Black Dress Consultants. When my mother passed away, I was facing a completely new experience without any planning or prior knowledge of what was coming. On top of my grief, I had to accept that I was woefully unprepared for what seemed like the hardest responsibility and role of my life. Hiring Rachel was the best decision I have ever made. She was there with me immediately with an organized list of things to take care of, an offer of help to take many things off my plate, and connections to all the right people . I joked often that she was my coolest and most capable new best friend. What a comforting feeling to have someone like Rachel in your corner. We handled the estate in record time and I have been singing her praises ever since.
I have and will recommend hiring Black Dress Consultants to anyone facing executorship. Best money I’ve ever spent.
“You are providing a much needed service. I would not have been able to do this on my own."
Aren't sure where to start?
We totally get it. This process can be super overwhelming! We offer free consultations where you can ask questions, get information, and talk things through with someone who’s been there.