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Episode Notes
In this riveting debut episode of the Buried in Work podcast, host Adam Zuckerman sits down with the world’s only “Coffin Confessor,” Bill Edgar. Known for his unique and unconventional profession, Bill takes us on a journey into the fascinating world of funeral crashing. From revealing the hidden truths and final wishes of the deceased to placing sentimental items in coffins, Bill shares how he fulfills the last requests of those who have passed.
Bill, who has lived a life as colorful as the stories he now tells at funerals, opens up about his past, including his rough childhood as the son of a notorious gangster, his time spent homeless, and his stint in maximum security prison. These experiences, coupled with his determination to ensure that people’s voices are heard even after death, have uniquely prepared him for his role as a Coffin Confessor.
Listeners will be intrigued by Bill’s tales, which range from the humorous to the heartbreaking. If you’re curious about what goes on behind the scenes of this macabre yet meaningful profession, or if you simply enjoy a good story about life, death, and everything in between, this episode is a must-listen.
Key Takeaways:
- The origin and evolution of the Coffin Confessor profession.
- The types of secrets Bill reveals at funerals and the ethical considerations involved.
- Bill’s personal story and how his past shaped his current path.
- The importance of preparing for death and ensuring your final wishes are respected.
About Bill Edgar
Bill Edgar is the one they call ‘The Coffin Confessor’ - he’s a successful businessman, counsellor, author and one of Australia’s leading private detectives, who’s known for doing what most lawyers, accountants and professionals won’t, can’t or fear to do.
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Imagine you are dying with a secret. Something you’ve never had the courage to tell your friends and family. Or a last wish – a task you need carried out before you can rest in peace. Now imagine there’s a man who can take care of all that, who has no respect for the living, who will do anything for the dead.
Bill Edgar is the Coffin Confessor – a one-of-a-kind professional, a man on a mission to make good on these last requests on behalf of his soon-to-be-deceased clients. And this is the extraordinary story of how he became that man.
Bill has been many things in this life: son of one of Australia’s most notorious gangsters, homeless street-kid, maximum-security prisoner, hard man, family man, car thief, professional punching bag, philosopher, inventor, private investigator, victim of horrific childhood sexual abuse and an activist fighting to bring down the institutions that let it happen. A survivor.
Confronting and confounding, heartwarming and heartbreaking, The Coffin Confessor is a compelling story of survival and redemption, of a life lived on the fringes of society, on both sides of the law – and what that can teach you about living your best life . . . and death.
— Penguin Random House
Transcript
Adam Zuckerman (00:02.002)
Welcome to the Buried in Work podcast where we feature tips and stories from industry professionals who specialize in making estate planning end of life tasks and estate transitions more manageable. I'm your host Adam Zuckerman and today we have a very special guest. That's Bill Edgar. He's also known as the coffin confessor. He may actually be the only coffin confessor in the world. Now Bill's got a neat story. He's an author, a unique professional from Australia who takes the request of dying.
ensuring that their secrets are revealed and their final wishes are fulfilled at their funerals. Now he's been many things in life. He's the son of one of Australia's most notorious gangsters. He was a homeless street kid. He's even a maximum security prisoner, which I'm really curious about. But he's also a family man and someone who wants to make sure that people in their final moments on earth around other people are heard and have their stories told. With that, let's get into it. We may have a little bit of cursing if that's not.
something that you're into, please listen to another episode. But with that, Bill, how are
Bill (01:04.002)
Hey, I'm great. How are you doing? Thanks for having
Adam Zuckerman (01:06.706)
Yeah, it's great to be here. Let's just hop in. What the heck is a coughing
Bill (01:12.077)
A Coughlin Confessor is someone that's hired by the deceased prior before they die to crash their funeral and tell those that were loved how much they were loved and those my clients love to hate the fuck off.
Adam Zuckerman (01:24.222)
How? Why? What's the background story?
Bill (01:28.748)
I'm a private investigator and I was investigating some financial claims for a gentleman that was on his deathbed and we started speaking about life, death and everything in between and you know, I suggested he do a eulogy for himself, but he said he'd been to a number of funerals where the eulogy isn't played because you know people get to view it before the funeral and they go, no, we're not going to play that at the funeral. It's too harsh, you know, it's just disrespectful for those left behind. So, and it's a joke and it was only a joke.
I said, I could always crash your funeral for you. And he took me up on the offer and that rolled and it just went from one funeral to another and then doors just kept opening.
Adam Zuckerman (02:09.374)
That's fantastic. Now, what year was
Bill (02:13.132)
2018 and then it progressed through 2009, early 20 and then COVID came and no one had a funeral. No one was allowed to go to funerals. So I ended up doing virtual funeral crashes, which was pretty cool. So I did a couple of those.
Adam Zuckerman (02:21.576)
Mm -hmm.
Adam Zuckerman (02:29.502)
So when somebody wants to find you, is the conversation pretty serious? it, hey, I know I'm at a terminal point in my life, or is it long in advance? I just have some messages and I'd like you to do this as a gag. What's the general dialogue?
Bill (02:46.079)
Yeah, at start it was those close to death knocking on death's door. But then as it evolved, was people that, and I think COVID helped a lot because people started thinking about their own mortality and what was going on around them and what they really wanted, you know, when they leave. And it was one of those things that I ended up with thousands of requests from around the world and people just saying, look, you know, I'm not even close to death.
but I'd like to put something in place. Can you help me or what can we do? And so that became something that I was bombarded with and I thought, wow, this is niche and it's unique and it's something that I didn't realize that people actually wanted and needed.
Adam Zuckerman (03:31.422)
Wait, thousands of people from around the world are reaching out. you literally, from the beginning of day, 8 AM, let's say you wake up, to the time you go to sleep, you could be doing this nonstop if you wanted.
Bill (03:44.585)
It's not a daily job, it's a daily job replying to everybody and doing things like that. But funerals, mean, so let's say since 2018, there's been say 50 to 60 funeral crashes, but then there's will readings, there's going to the viewings and pinpricking the body in case, and that's a request that somebody wanted. They wanted their body pinpricked because they were petrified of being cremated alive.
Adam Zuckerman (03:49.618)
Ha ha!
Bill (04:12.849)
I place mobile phones in coffins or antiques or photos, whatever anybody wants. Then I do home suites where I go to people's homes and I clear out items that they don't want their family and friends to find because they're a bit, you know, uneasy about them people finding it, you know, and seeing what they're up to. And now I'm delivering gifts from the afterlife, which is really cool. I enjoy that too.
Adam Zuckerman (04:29.874)
Mm -hmm.
Adam Zuckerman (04:36.53)
That's neat. All right, so if somebody wants to engage you for the digital sweep or the home sweep, you have an agreement in place. You find out that they passed, which I'm curious to learn how you actually find out that they did pass, because all this is obviously somewhat time sensitive. Do you have the key to their house and you just walk
Bill (04:55.494)
Yeah, so it's always when it's prior to them passing that I do the home sweeps. So I had no idea and it's quite common. didn't, you know, for the life of me, I didn't realize that so many people, elderly people can have a fall at home, get taken to hospital and get told they'll never go back home. And I thought, wow, you know, and it was quite common. you know, it's those people that asked me to go to their home.
They give me the keys or they let me know a way to get in. I have a video with them and a contract with them, so I can't be litigated. I go to their home and I remove those sensitive items and I either return them back to my client or they're incinerated on my property.
Adam Zuckerman (05:36.55)
instructions. Now that resonates. So a long time ago I had my tonsils taken out and unfortunately when they cauterized my throat it didn't cauterize all the way. So I was squirting blood out of my throat several feet and I had to go back to the hospital a few different times and finally they said we need to re -cauterize we have to put you back under. And my sister was going to fly in for the procedure to take care of me for a day or two after. But my apartment was an absolute disaster. This is back when I was in grad school.
Bill (05:47.631)
Mm.
Bill (06:04.04)
Yeah.
Adam Zuckerman (06:04.07)
So I asked if I could go home because I knew that it didn't, it wasn't a constant stream of blood. It was, it would start and then stop. And they said, absolutely not. And I noticed that people are taking cigarette breaks. So I asked for a cigarette break, even though they knew that I didn't smoke. And I went home over the cigarette break to clean up the house, to run back, to then have the procedure. So you would have been the perfect
Bill (06:25.38)
Well yeah, mean yeah exactly. So you you ran home to get rid of whatever it was or to clean up for your sister or you know these people are the same. They have certain items. Lately it's been sexual items that they don't want their family and friends to find. They want them incinerated. So you know that's job I do.
Adam Zuckerman (06:43.58)
All right, I think that's fantastic. We can talk about franchises in a bit. When you go to a funeral, do you typically know what you're going to say beforehand? Are you rehearsing like an actor and you put on different voices or come in a costume? What do
Bill (07:01.821)
No, so I attend the funeral as one of the mourners. I sit amongst family of friends. Specific time set up between me and my client. I'll stand up and I'll excuse myself and I'll say, excuse me, my name's Bill Edgar. I am the coffin confessor. Sit down, shut up or fuck off. The person in the coffin's got something to say and this is what it is. Now I'll open an envelope and I'll read exactly what they wrote in their message.
It's not me. I'm not talking about me or my life. It's their life and it's what they've written. It's their words. I am purely the messenger. That's all I
Adam Zuckerman (07:37.69)
And the letter is the first time. it's always a letter, I'm assuming then. It has to be verbatim.
Bill (07:43.97)
Yeah, it does. It has to be that way so that way there's not only clarity of what I've got to do. Sometimes I may open the letter prior to the funeral and read it so I get the gist of what's going on. Other times I like the experience of not knowing as well. So it's a bit of a surprise to me too.
Adam Zuckerman (08:03.464)
What is the tenor of the messages? Is it generally, thank you, loved ones, I'm glad that you're here? Or is it, John, you're an ass and I don't like you, I wish you weren't here and you came even though you shouldn't
Bill (08:17.827)
Yeah, it's a range of good, bad, funny and sad. I mean, there's a lot of times where I've stood up and I've actually asked members of the congregation to stand up and fuck off because my client hadn't seen them in 30 years. And it could be a brother, a sister, a mother, it could be anybody. And why are they there paying their respects now when they could have seen my client in the 30 years? So there's a lot of vultures in families. I didn't realize
you know, in the early days, I thought, yeah, this is a vulture or two hanging around, but there are a lot. And I've got this thing where there's a will, there's a relative.
Adam Zuckerman (08:53.394)
Yeah, most people imagine the will reading of a dark, rich mahogany room with leather and then Tori walks in. We'll have the reading of the will, but that's when everybody comes out to hear and it just doesn't really happen that way. No. All right, so you're there. You stand up. Do you walk to the dais? Do you grab a microphone or you're just speaking and projecting from where you
Bill (08:58.912)
Ehh
Bill (09:06.582)
Nah, doesn't. Nah.
Bill (09:20.29)
It depends. It depends on the crowd, how big the crowd is. Sometimes I might have to grab the microphone or stand up at the desk or a lot of times I'll stand in front of the coffin or beside the coffin and I'll speak exactly what my clients want. Sometimes there's interjections. However, everybody that's there, they want to hear what their loved one left unsaid. They thrive on it. They need to know.
You know, so those people that may ask me to sit down or go away myself, you know, I'll tell them, say, look, this is your loved one laying there. It's their message. It's their funeral, not your funeral. Fuck off. How about we listen to what they've got to say? And the crowds on my side. So
Adam Zuckerman (10:06.27)
So you've got the crowd behind you. For people that are just listening on the podcast, you can't see the video as well. You can come and find us online. But Bill, you're a pretty hefty guy. You look like you're in shape and you work out. Not fat, but like you look like you got broad shoulders, do you? Anybody ever tried to take a swing?
Bill (10:22.94)
Not a swing, but there's been a couple of incidents where I did a bike -ies funeral and they said that if they didn't like what they heard then I was going in the grave with him. So you get your idle threat. But again, the people that truly know these people that have died and really love them, they already know. They know the secrets or they know what's going on. And for instance, the first funeral I ever did for Graham was his name.
Adam Zuckerman (10:34.642)
Ha ha!
Bill (10:50.461)
His best mate was trying to screw his wife. And for me to get up and say, hey, listen, sit down, shut up, or fuck off, you've been trying to screw this man's wife. How about you fuck off? You're not a best mate. And it was quite good because I have evidence. Every time someone reaches out to me and they've got a claim or something that they need me to crash or do, as a private investigator, I like to investigate those claims. So I'm not gonna destroy anybody out of turn. It's done properly.
Adam Zuckerman (11:18.214)
All right, so it's the proper retribution and truth in statement. Is there an opportunity for people to rebut? Now we're going to like a court of law of, have not done this. And people get embarrassed and there's a back and forth. Like, well, actually Mark here says that he knew you would say this and I am reading his response to you because he knows that you're going to say
Bill (11:40.787)
Yeah, the problem is, but not with me because I'm there for my client only and once I do what I've done, I walk out. So I don't know if the funeral even continues. I've done what I've done. I've dropped the bomb and I leave. I have no care or concern for those left behind. It's not about them. It's about my client.
Adam Zuckerman (11:58.628)
All right, I respect that. Now, how many total, and I know you mentioned earlier, but to give listeners a review, how many total have you done so
Bill (12:07.006)
In funeral crashes around 58 so in in total jobs probably Well in excess of just under 200. I'd
Adam Zuckerman (12:16.542)
So you've done nearly 60 funeral crashes. You have your book. You're starting to get a little bit more well -known, I think, possibly more so in voice than in facial recognition. Have you been recognized yet? Yeah, absolutely. And it was the question, have you been recognized yet? Are you going to have to start putting on disguises where you've got the sunglasses and the hat and you do the mass unveiling?
Bill (12:29.265)
That's a good thing.
Bill (12:42.83)
No, I'll never hide my identity but I do like the way that I can turn up to a funeral nowadays and those people that shouldn't be, they leave because they know they're going to be targeted or they feel they may be targeted. So they leave and it makes my job a lot easier. You know, so I'm happy to do that. But like I say, it's a range of good, bad, and sad. I love doing the loving ones as well. They're quite cool. So, you know, there's a range.
Adam Zuckerman (13:06.75)
Do you think that you're uniquely positioned to do this? You've had some really interesting experiences from your childhood and your family growing
Bill (13:20.986)
Yeah, it's a job not for the faint of heart, that's for sure. And I believe that I was set up to do the job from my childhood, which I never had. mean, that was stolen from me from the age of seven. So I never really had a childhood and everything that happened in my life is built up to around me to be able to do what I do. mean, it's not, crashing a funeral, I never thought in my life would have been something that I do.
However, once you meet the vultures in families, once you meet the disgruntled and then sit with the people that are actually passing over, and they're beautiful, you know, and I thought, yeah, this needs to be done, I'm doing
Adam Zuckerman (14:03.1)
Yeah, yeah. You have this way of narration. You clearly have a purpose in what you're doing and you believe in what you're doing. Why is it so important for you to help people tell their stories even after they've passed? Most people, you know, they don't want to get involved, but it seems like this is almost a calling for you. Why?
Bill (14:29.164)
No one listened to me. No one ever listened to me when I was younger. I'd yell, shout, kick, scream, do everything I could to bring out what was happening to me. I was always silenced or I wasn't listened to or I was incarcerated or I was called a liar for years. it
It's an abomination of what happened to me as a child. like I fought the church, the Anglican church, I fought for 35 years. And in September, 2023, the Anglican church finally came forward and said, you know what? We're sorry. It happened. You know, we don't, we don't apologize for the people that did it because, you know, we're not them.
But we do recognize it happened and we're going to offer you a settlement. Now I didn't want the settlement. It wasn't the settlement. I wanted justice. And in Queensland, in Australia, you are forced to take the settlement. You aren't forced to get justice unless you go through the court system. Now if you go through the court system in Australia, the chances are winning are very slim. And even if you do win, the church will keep it going and going so you don't get anything anyway and the perpetrators
being free. at the end of the day, you're forced to take a settlement. I took the settlement, but I wouldn't put a gag. I wouldn't agree to a gag order or anything like that. So at the end of the day, I believe, yes, I was set up for this job. Yes, I believe that I stand for those that were silenced or haven't got a voice, and I like to stand up for those for sure.
Adam Zuckerman (16:16.734)
What ethical considerations come into play? You clearly have taken a challenging and challenging is probably just the tip of the iceberg there in the life that you've lived up into this point where you find yourself. How have you taken all of your life experiences and turn it into an ethical consideration when you're revealing secrets? Is there anything that you have to think about that people might not?
Bill (16:27.948)
Mm.
Adam Zuckerman (16:45.81)
might not think of because they aren't the coffin confessor.
Bill (16:51.819)
I guess in some ways there are. you know, at the end of the day, my integrity is everything. It really is. I hold their secrets, their desires, their wishes, their fantasies, you know, very, very dearly and I hold them until the day that they depart, you know. And I have to think about, you know, what these people are saying in the letter that I've got to read out and I'll sit with them and we'll go through the letter. And let's say for instance,
Joe Bloggs says, look, know, I slept with my neighbor and she got pregnant and aborted the child. Right, now I'm not gonna get up on stage and say, hey listen, you know, he screwed his neighbor, got pregnant and the neighbor's married with kids anyway. You know, that would ruin her life. So I'll say to him, let's do it in a different way. I know you want revenge or you want to go out of the world with a bit of a bang, but let's just say you slept with a neighbor. You live in apartment blocks. It could be man or woman, could be any neighbor.
Adam Zuckerman (17:48.574)
Mm -hmm.
Bill (17:48.586)
Let's just say they did get pregnant. Okay, no problem. And let's leave it at that. Because at the end of the day, you don't want to leave destroying somebody's life. And so I'll try to convince them to, you know, obviously let the skeletons out of the closet, but let them out in a way that it's not going to be detrimental to the other people left behind, unless there's actual evidence and proof that I can see that that person was absolutely chaotic or abusive or something like
Adam Zuckerman (18:18.718)
That in a way puts you in a role of arbiter, of juror, of judge. That's a lot of weight in a weird way that also makes you a therapist of trying to help them work things beforehand. How do you approach
Bill (18:24.308)
Mmm.
Bill (18:35.571)
Yeah, I've sort of become a concierge for the dead. It's really, it's unique. And I guess I handle it in a way that I look at my own mortality, my own life and how I've gone about doing what I've done. And I've written two books and I did that purposely because Penguin Random House Australia came to me and they said, look, this is a fascinating story. You've got to write a book. And I thought, okay, I could write a book about crashing funerals. Not a problem. Then they came to me and they said, you know
you might need to put everything on the table because someone's gonna come forward and say, hey, you've got secrets yourself. And I thought, okay, well, if I do that, they're pretty dark, deep -seated secrets and they're gonna hurt a lot of people in the way that they're gonna read them and it might trigger them, you know? And like Penguin said, that's collateral damage. That's what's gonna happen with anybody that reads another person's story, there's triggers. So I decided then and
I was going to put everything on the table and no one could ever come forward and say I've done something that I hadn't because I'd already written about it.
Adam Zuckerman (19:40.424)
And let's give you the plug there. If people want to find either of the books, where can they go? And what are they titled?
Bill (19:46.003)
The first book is called The Coffin Confessor. can buy both books anywhere, Amazon, all over the world at the moment. And the second book is titled The Afterlife Confessional, which came out a couple of weeks ago and it's just going nuts at the moment, which I'm really happy about. yeah, both books are great.
Adam Zuckerman (20:04.638)
We'll definitely put the links to them in the show notes as well. Advice for the dying. So you've had a unique experience where most people in their lives don't have the chance to speak to people when they know that things are about to end. It's the death doulas, the healthcare workers, but generally not everyday people in their lives. It's something that we oftentimes even protect ourselves from. What advice do you have for those individuals that are nearing the end of their life?
Bill (20:27.089)
Yeah!
Adam Zuckerman (20:32.562)
They have unresolved matters or secrets that they want to address because not everybody has a you.
Bill (20:37.412)
No, exactly. it's mind boggling to think that these people that are so close to death, they don't get the visitors that you think that they would. You know, there's only a handful of people that come and see them. And then all of a sudden, there's a lot of people that'll go, did they die? I'm sad to hear that. But you didn't reach out, but you knew them. saw their, you might've saw a friend's post on Facebook or social media and all of a sudden we live by social media.
You know, there's friends out there that you haven't seen in 12 months, but you know they're fine. You know they're doing well because you see them on social media. But how good are they? How happy are they? Have you ever reached out to them in that 12 months? Not really, because you see them every day or you might see them every week on social media. Same sort of thing with somebody dying, although it's more prevalent, I guess, because when that person died, you sit there and you go, fuck, I should have reached out. What a dick.
Why didn't I go and see that person, you know? And these people that are laying on their deathbed, they're going, wow, no one cares. Well, they do, but it's just a different care. It's just a, it's a way, it's a harsh road, knocking on death's door. It's a terrible road to travel. And we're all going though. That's the thing. Every one of us are gonna go. And it's not until you realize that, you know, doesn't matter what you do, what you say, death will come.
It's coming and it's coming for all of us.
Adam Zuckerman (22:09.896)
Death and taxes and you can't take your things with you per se.
Bill (22:13.754)
Well you can't, although I did have one gentleman that did. Funny enough. Yeah, so last year a gentleman came to me and says I've got some very toxic family members and they want everything I own. I've tried to get rid of lot of those things, charities and this and that, but I've got a couple of valuable items that I want to take with me, but I want you to bury them somewhere that no one will ever find them. And I thought, well, when am ever going to bury them where no one will ever find them? And it came to me at another funeral one
Adam Zuckerman (22:17.842)
What do you mean?
Bill (22:43.827)
And I thought, I know where to bury him. So I jumped in his grave, dug a hole, put the box in there, waited for the funeral. His casket got lowered on that hole and then it all got buried in. So he took him with
Adam Zuckerman (22:57.032)
you effectively made a tomb. Amazing.
Bill (22:59.211)
I did, a tomb within a tomb, yeah. Yeah, it's cool.
Adam Zuckerman (23:02.526)
What are your plans for the future? Are you gonna keep up coffin
Bill (23:09.975)
I believe so at this stage. I've got, there's probably a hundred people out there that want me to franchise and turn it into a business and do all these things around the world. And I've got to say, from my experience, it is so easy to manipulate and rip off the dead. It really is because I get paid in a trust prior to them dying, that money's released upon their funeral.
Now I can't see a way that people wouldn't steal from the dead. I mean it's probably the worst thing you could do, but it could be done and quite easily. You could take money off somebody and just not turn up, not do the job. Who's gonna know it? And it's something that
Adam Zuckerman (23:53.47)
Yeah. How are you notified? How are you notified when somebody passes?
Bill (23:59.842)
Yeah, so there's always somebody that knows that I'm engaged. They don't know what I'm going to do. They have no idea what I'm going to do, say, or anything like that. But they know I'm engaged. it could be, most recently it's been a palliative care nurse that will call me up and they say, know, Joe Bloggs has died. And I'll say, you know, that's unfortunate and sad to hear. And they'll let me know all the details, everything. You know, it's not hard to find out when a funeral
here in Australia. It's posted in the papers as well as well as social media and other persons died and they're a funeral at so and so and where, you know. So it's always somebody that knows. I mean, it's, you know, if a husband's hired me, most recently, this guy's hired me and his wife has been notified that I'm going to be there and she's like, well, what's he going to say? And the husband will say, well, that's a secret. That's for you to find out later on, you know, and she'll go, you know, I'm going to make sure he's not there when,
when you die and nothing will stop me. You know, I'm engaged by the deceased so I can't be stopped. Only they can stop
Adam Zuckerman (25:06.568)
And the funerals have been canceled when they hear that you're involved. It's a mouse and cat and mouse game.
Bill (25:10.123)
Well then it's a yeah but then it's a face -to -face so I'll do a face -to -face I'll knock on someone's door and I'll say excuse me my name's Bill O'Dowd I am the coughing professor this is a message from Derek who died last week his message is you're an absolute prick or I loved you so much you know whatever it is
Adam Zuckerman (25:31.208)
How much does it cost?
Bill (25:33.61)
I charge between $2 $10 ,000 a gig but they don't need the money where they're going and I never get a complaint.
Adam Zuckerman (25:41.746)
Why the range? Is it travel? Is it message
Bill (25:45.802)
Yeah, it's travel and if it's just placing items in coffins or going to viewings or, you know, wheel reading, something like that, yeah, there's a range. know, the 10 ,000 is to crash a funeral and it's within Australia. If I go overseas, it's obviously, yeah, it's a bit more for the travel accommodation than back, you know. I do this on a global scale now, but, you know, it's one of those things that it's just evolved in a way that I had no idea it would.
And I had no idea, another thing that's just come recently is the number of maximum security prisoners around the planet that are reaching out and saying, listen, if I confess to a crime, what happens? And I'll say to them, if you confess to a crime, I've got to report it if I know about it. However, if you write it down, post it to me, and I don't open it till your funeral, I don't know what the crime is either until that day, and then it'll be reported.
Adam Zuckerman (26:42.45)
And it's a federal crime for someone to open that mail up unless they have a knowledge of that. Yeah. Though there are some some instances where prisons can open mail for screening purposes. that's OK. Wow. All right. Now, Bill, you've gone on a tour. You've been a TEDx speaker, a TED speaker, two books, numerous radio shows, podcasts, newspapers, you name
Bill (26:44.873)
Exactly.
Cordora.
Bill (26:55.738)
Exactly, yeah.
Adam Zuckerman (27:11.292)
People ask you things all the time. What are a few of the questions that you wish people actually asked you that you don't get enough? What do people need to
Bill (27:20.424)
I guess one of the questions is that no one's really asked is what's the meaning of life? You know, no one's ever said, hey Bill, what's your meaning of life? And I've got to be honest with you, my meaning of life is to avoid death as long as you can. You know, keep running, keep moving. And that's something I tell a lot of people, especially elderly people.
Because a lot of them already know once you stop you're dead. You've got to keep moving. Even if you retire and you think, that's great. Sit back and do nothing. No, you've got to keep moving. Always moving, you know. And the other thing is preparation. People will say, you know, what has it done for you, the coffin confessor? And I'll let them know, yeah, I've lived a great life. It's transformed my life and I get to see people with their best and worst, you know,
I don't get asked like, what have you got in store? I mean, obviously for my funeral, they'll ask me that, but what have I got in store for the life from now on? And I'll say to them to prepare. I prepare for my death and the death of a loved one. Not meaning that I'm not going to mourn and be upset about it, but I'm prepared now more so than ever. Cause I used to always think about death in a way that I'd be devastated if I lost my wife and I don't know what I do. Whereas now it's going to happen.
It's going to happen anyway. You know, so I guess I've become, it's reality for me that it's going to happen and I'm going to prepare myself now before it happens so that way when it does happen, I'm at a better standing and understanding.
Adam Zuckerman (29:02.654)
Do you have a confessor for
Bill (29:05.7)
I've been working on something for the last year and a half now and it will be, yeah, I'm doing holograms. I'm looking into that at the moment. So that's pretty cool. Yeah.
Adam Zuckerman (29:17.288)
Well, was actually the last time I was in Australia, I got engaged at Three Sisters. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I in the States, got engaged at Three Sisters and I haven't been back since. But if you need someone that no one will recognize because I don't go to often, you give me a call. I'm your guy.
Bill (29:23.139)
yeah.
Bill (29:32.816)
Hahaha.
Not a problem at all. I haven't got any secrets left but I mean it would be cool. I mean I do need someone to put some fireworks in my coffin before it goes into the furnace. Sweet!
Adam Zuckerman (29:45.852)
I'm your guy, man. I'm your guy. Bill says that he has nothing to say to anybody and you're all quite disappointed right now. Yeah, exactly. I'm in. I'm in. All right, Bill. Thank you so much for your time. This has been a great conversation and wraps up another Bared in Work podcast episode where we feature tips and stories from industry professionals like Bill, who is the coffin
Bill (29:56.005)
And you can all get fucked. See ya! Beautiful.
Adam Zuckerman (30:14.462)
and those who specialize in making estate planning end of life tasks and estate transitions more manageable. If you enjoyed the podcast, leave a review, follow us on social media, visit us at buriedinwork .com. You can find Bill at the coffin confessor .com. And don't forget, if you're a listener, save 10 % off our products online, come check them out. Code's BIW podcast. Bill, thanks again. It has been an absolute pleasure.
Bill (30:36.65)
Hey, thanks for having me and hi to all your listeners. Take care,
Adam Zuckerman (30:40.114)
Take care.
