Frequently Asked Questions

What can I submit?

Anything that is open. The file can be a description of the matter, a single sentence, a name, a date, a question you stopped asking. There is no required format. The file is whatever you say the file is. We have received files that are one word. We have received files that are forty pages. Both were closed. The determination was the same.

How is this different from letting go?

"Letting go" is a metaphor. We do not deal in metaphors. We deal in files. Letting go implies a change in your relationship to the matter. Closure is a change in the file's status. These are different things. You may let go. You may not. The file is closed either way.

Do I need the other party's involvement?

No. The other party is not notified. The other party does not sign anything. The other party may not know the file exists. This does not affect the determination. A file can be closed unilaterally. Many of our most significant cases were.

What if the matter is still ongoing?

You may still submit. A file can be closed while the underlying matter continues. The closure applies to your open file, not to the situation. The situation may persist. The file is closed. This distinction is, we find, more useful than it first appears.

What if the person the file concerns is deceased?

We receive these files. They are among the most common. The determination is the same. The file is closed. The matter was open; the matter is now formally closed. We have found that the passage of time and the unavailability of the other party do not make a file less open. Sometimes they make it more open. We close it anyway.

Can I close a file that I opened with someone else?

Yes. You submit the file from your side. We close it from our side. The other person's file remains their own matter. We do not coordinate with other parties. We close the file you submitted. Their file — if they have one — is theirs to manage.

What does the determination actually say?

Every determination includes: your case number, the date of closure, and the phrase "The matter is formally closed." Some determinations include an additional line specific to the file. Most do not. The phrase is sufficient. We have found it to be sufficient. We have issued it over a thousand times. The phrase has not failed yet.

Can I reopen a closed file?

Yes. We do not recommend it. You submit a Request for Reopening with the original case number. The form requires you to acknowledge that you are reopening a file that was formally closed. We have found that acknowledgment causes most people to reconsider. For those who proceed: the file is reopened, reviewed, and closed again. The second determination reads identically to the first. This is not an error.

Is this therapy?

No. We are a filing service. If you need therapy, we recommend therapy. We are not a substitute for therapy. We are a complement to it, or an alternative to doing nothing, or a way of marking a moment. We close files. The file being closed may or may not help. We make no claim about whether it helps. We close it.

What if I'm not sure the file should be closed?

Submit it anyway. We close it. If you later decide it should have remained open, you may request a reopening. But we have found that most people who submit a file know, at the moment of submission, that they are ready. The uncertainty is part of being ready. We have not yet received a file that was submitted too soon.