Write an obituary
Answer a few short questions and get a plain first draft that you can edit, copy or print.
Tone
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Last checked .
Choose a traditional, warm or brief tone, and a shorter version for a newspaper. The draft is built in your browser from sentences our editors wrote, so nothing you write is sent anywhere. We ask for an email only if you print.
Quick facts
- The IRS advises families to avoid putting too much information in an obituary that identity thieves could use (IRS identity theft guide, as of 2026).
- The FTC Funeral Rule counts obituary notices among cash advance items, which a funeral home pays an outside party for on your behalf (16 CFR § 453.1, as of 2026).
- A funeral home must give you a written statement that lists every good and service you select and its price (FTC, as of 2026).
Your next step
Questions people ask
- Is this obituary writer free?
- Yes. There is no account and no watermark. We ask for an email only before you print.
- Does a chatbot write the draft?
- No. It places your answers into fixed sentences that our editors wrote and checked for grammar. The same answers always give the same draft, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
- Why does it ask for he, she or they?
- So the sentences after the name read correctly. It never guesses from the name. Pick the words the person used.
More questions
- How do I get the obituary into the newspaper?
- Most funeral homes place obituaries for families, in the newspaper and on their own website. You can also submit one through the newspaper's website. Ask for the price first.
- Is my draft saved?
- Your answers and your edits are saved in this browser only, so you can come back to them. When you print, we receive your email and which tool you used, never the text.
How to write an obituary
What goes in an obituary?
An obituary tells people that someone died and how to say goodbye. Most have these parts, in this order:
- The full name, age, where the person lived, and the date of death.
- Where and when they were born.
- Their work, military service, faith and what they loved.
- The family who survive them, then those who died before them.
- The time and place of the service, or a note that it is private.
- Where to send memorial donations, if the family wants them.
How do you list family in an obituary?
Survivors usually come first: a spouse or partner, then children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, then parents and siblings. A child's spouse often goes in parentheses, as in Tom (Lisa). Large groups can be a number, such as five grandchildren.
Family members who died earlier follow, after the words "preceded in death by". The writer puts each group in that order for you.
How long should an obituary be?
As long as the family wants online. A funeral home's website or a memorial page usually has no limit.
Printed newspapers often charge by the line or by the word, so a paid notice is usually short. The newspaper version keeps the name, dates, close family and the service, and turns longer lists into numbers.
What should you leave out of an obituary?
The IRS advises families to avoid putting too much information in an obituary that identity thieves could use. Leave out the home address. You can give only the year of birth instead of the full date, and leave out a mother's maiden name if it is used as a security answer.