Content Review
& Update Process
Every guide on ProbateLawCenter.org is reviewed on a 90-day cycle by our editorial team against its primary legal sources. This page documents exactly what that review covers, what triggers an update outside the cycle, and how corrections are handled.
Every Guide Is Reviewed Every 90 Days
The 90-day cycle is the baseline commitment. No guide on ProbateLawCenter.org goes longer than 90 days without being reviewed against its primary sources, regardless of whether we expect anything to have changed.
Probate law does not change constantly — but it does change. State legislatures adjust small estate thresholds, modify executor compensation calculations, create new simplified procedures, and amend creditor notice requirements. Court filing fees change on budget cycles. Federal tax thresholds adjust annually for inflation. A guide that was accurate 90 days ago may not be accurate today.
The 90-day cycle exists so that no user relies on content that hasn't been checked recently. When a review is complete — whether the guide needed updating or not — the "last reviewed" date on that guide is updated to reflect it.
Baseline Review Cycle
Every guide is reviewed on a rolling 90-day schedule. The clock resets on each completed review.
All 50 State Guides
State-specific guides for all 50 jurisdictions are included in the review cycle — each checked against that state's current enacted statute.
What Every Review Covers
Each review runs five specific checks against the guide's primary sources. All five must pass before the review closes.
Five Checks. Every Review. No Exceptions.
A review is not a general read-through. It is a documentation-based check of five specific things, each tied to a primary source. A guide passes review only when all five checks are complete.
Each cited statute and official publication is accessed directly from the official source — state legislature database, court judiciary site, or government agency — to confirm it is still active and accessible.
The current version of each cited statute is compared to the version used in the guide. If the legislature has passed any amendments since the last review, the scope and effect of the change is assessed before the review closes.
Any specific figures in the guide — small estate thresholds, filing fees, executor compensation rates, tax exemption amounts — are verified against the current official source. These change more frequently than the underlying statutes.
Court rules, required forms, and procedural requirements are checked against the current state judiciary publication. Courts occasionally revise local rules and update required forms outside of the legislative cycle.
Before a review closes, any open corrections submitted by readers for that guide are checked and either resolved or confirmed as outside the scope of the guide. No guide completes a review cycle with an open verified correction.
Three Things Trigger an Update Outside the Cycle
The 90-day cycle is the scheduled baseline. But three specific situations trigger an immediate review and update without waiting for the next scheduled cycle.
When our editorial team identifies a relevant statutory change while researching or writing other content — a threshold adjustment, a new simplified procedure, an amended creditor notice requirement — the affected guide is pulled for immediate review and update rather than waiting for its scheduled cycle.
When a reader identifies and submits a correction that is verified against a primary source, the affected guide is updated immediately — not queued for the next scheduled review. The guide's last-reviewed date is updated to reflect the correction date.
When updating one guide reveals that a related guide may be affected — for example, a change to a state's small estate threshold that affects both the small estate guide and the cost estimator guide — the related guide is also reviewed and updated in the same cycle.
What the Review Process Looks Like
Reviews follow a consistent process. Each step produces a specific output — the review is complete only when every step is done.
Pull the guide and its source citations
The guide and every primary source citation it contains are pulled together. Each citation points to a specific statute, court rule, or government publication. The review begins with that citation list — not a general impression of what the guide says.
Access each source directly from the official database
Every cited source is accessed from its official origin — the state legislature's official statutory database, the state judiciary's procedural publications, or the IRS publication page. Cached copies and third-party reproductions are not used. The review goes to the source.
Compare current source against guide content
The current version of each source is compared against the claims in the guide that it supports. Any discrepancy — a changed threshold, a modified deadline, a new procedure — is flagged for update. If no discrepancies are found, that source is marked as confirmed current.
Update the guide or confirm accuracy
If discrepancies are found, the guide is updated before the review closes — not flagged for a future update. If no discrepancies are found across all five checks, the guide is confirmed accurate as written. Either way, the review closes with a definitive result.
Update the published review date
The guide's "last reviewed" date is updated to reflect the completed review. This date is displayed on the published guide so readers can see when the content was last verified. A recent review date means the content was checked against current primary sources on that date.
How to Submit a Correction
We take accuracy seriously. If you identify content that appears inaccurate, outdated, or inconsistent with a primary source, we want to know.
What to include in a correction submission
Send corrections to editorial@probatelawcenter.org with the following:
1. The URL of the guide containing the claim you believe is inaccurate.
2. The specific claim — quote it directly so we can locate it in the guide.
3. The primary source you believe contradicts it — ideally a direct link to the official statute, court publication, or government document.
Every submission is reviewed by our editorial team against the cited source. If the correction is verified, the guide is updated and the correction is acknowledged. If we determine the original content is accurate, we'll explain why.
We do not require corrections to be submitted in any particular format — but the more specific the submission, the faster we can verify and act on it.
Questions About Our Review Process
Read the Guides This Process Produces
Every guide on ProbateLawCenter.org is the output of the research and review process documented here — primary-source research, 90-day review cycles, and immediate updates when the law changes.