The Death Readiness Podcast: Not your dad’s estate planning podcast
You’re the one prepping for your child’s IEP meeting while trying to talk your aging dad out of getting a puppy. You’re booking medical appointments, managing the money, juggling work emails during school pickup and still expected to keep the fridge stocked and know who has practice, rehearsal, or a field trip tomorrow.
Your parents are struggling, but they still insist they’re fine. You see the mobility issues, the memory slips, the unopened mail, but every offer to help feels like an argument. You’re scared to push. You’re scared to wait. And there’s no clear roadmap for how to do any of this without losing your mind or your family.
Hosted by Jill Mastroianni, a former estate planning attorney turned trusted guide for women holding it all together, this podcast is your space to untangle the mess. With more than a decade of legal experience, Jill brings clarity to the hardest conversations most families avoid until it’s too late.
Each episode offers honest stories, practical tools, and bite-sized steps you can actually take, even if you’re overwhelmed, even if you’re grieving, even if you’re still waiting for your mom to give you the password to the computer. You don’t need a perfect plan. You just need a place to start.
Death readiness isn’t about control. It’s about love and the courage to face what’s next with open eyes and a steady hand.
- Update frequency
- every 8 days
- Average duration
- 39 minutes
- Episodes
- 31
- Years Active
- 2025
How to Start the Senior Care Conversation
In this real and relatable episode, Jill explores the often-avoided topic of senior living and long-term care. She’s joined by senior care consultant Mikelle Rappaport, who breaks down the various ty…
How to Choose the Right Special Needs Estate Planning Team
In this episode, host Jill Mastroianni continues her conversation with Kristen Lewis, a special needs estate planning attorney. They explore how to build the right team of professionals to support yo…
A Parents’ Guide to Special Needs Estate Planning
In this episode, Jill welcomes Kristen Lewis, a nationally recognized special needs estate planning attorney, to unpack the critical legal and financial steps families should take to secure the futur…
What it Takes to Raise a Child with Special Needs
Host Jill Mastroianni sits down with her father, Carmen Mastroianni, to discuss his journey raising her older brother, Dan, who was born with Down syndrome in 1977. Through personal stories and refle…
What to Know Before Choosing an Executor or Agreeing to Serve as One
What happens after someone passes away? Who handles the logistics, financial matters, and legal steps? In this episode, Jill speaks with Mollie Lacher, a leader in the after-loss services industry, a…
Why You Shouldn’t Worry About the Estate Tax
Taxes can be confusing, but they don’t have to be terrifying. In this solo episode, Jill Mastroianni breaks down estate, inheritance, and gift taxes, helping you separate fact from fiction. Will esta…
How to Talk to Your Parents about Death
In this episode of The Death Readiness Podcast, Jill is joined by Megan Malick, founder of A New Path, grief and after-loss educator, speaker, and author. Megan shares insights on navigating the comp…
What Probate Really Means and How to Avoid It
In this episode, Jill is joined by podcast expert Jon Gay, who shares a personal probate challenge his family faced. Together, they dive deep into the complexities of probate, what happens when estat…
How to Organize and Preserve Your Legacy
In this heartfelt episode, Jill welcomes Julie Ulrich, founder of Organized Legacy, to explore the importance of preserving family stories and legacies before they're lost. Together, they discuss the…
The Real Cost of Dying Without an Estate Plan
Welcome to the very first episode of The Death Readiness Podcast! In this debut, host Jill Mastroianni—an experienced attorney and death readiness advocate—dives into what it truly means to be prepar…
Trailer
Welcome to The Death Readiness Podcast, hosted by Jill Mastroianni, an attorney with more than a decade of experience specializing in trusts and estates. In this podcast, Jill makes death readiness a…