LumenUs launches AI platform to handle estate paperwork for grieving families
LumenUs enters early access in October 2026 to streamline an estate process averaging roughly 570 hours. Founded by bereavement advocate Sara Tashakorinia, the platform organizes tasks such as tax forms, insurance claims, and bank closures by urgency.
A new AI platform called LumenUs is launching in early access in October 2026 to help bereaved families manage the administrative burden that follows a loved one’s death — a process that takes an average of roughly 570 hours to complete.
LumenUs was founded by Sara Tashakorinia, whose husband died in a car accident eight years ago, leaving her to navigate hundreds of hours of paperwork while grieving. “The day your loved one passes away, you also get this honorary badge of a project manager for a project you had no idea about, trying to navigate something and learn something when you literally have zero information,” she told TechCrunch.
After years of volunteering to help others through the same process, Tashakorinia concluded that AI could handle the least human parts of settling an estate — tasks like locating the correct tax forms, filing insurance claims, and closing bank accounts. She founded LumenUs last year with co-founders Sajad Mirzaei, a former engineer at Google and Box, and Larry Keeley, an innovation scientist, professor, and entrepreneur. The team is also consulting with clinicians and social workers during product testing.
When users join the platform, they complete an onboarding process that collects details about their legal and financial situation and state of mind. The platform then organizes outstanding tasks by urgency. It may also surface unclaimed financial entitlements — billions of dollars in life insurance benefits go unclaimed each year because beneficiaries are unaware they exist, according to the company.
Tashakorinia, who has a background in cybersecurity, said the platform uses AI to automate as much of the process as possible. While she hopes LumenUs will eventually support people throughout long-term grief, the initial focus is on the immediate aftermath of a death.
LumenUs is a participant in TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield 200, the publication’s annual showcase of early-stage startups.