Not legal advice.
The Heir Council publishes educational research journalism on estate planning and elder law for US households. Nothing on this site, in our YouTube videos, in our newsletter, or in any downloadable artifact is legal advice. We are not attorneys. Reading our work creates no attorney-client relationship.
State-specific by definition.
Every claim in this body of work has state-specific variations — probate thresholds, homestead protections, community-property rules, Medicaid eligibility, tenancy forms, spousal elective share, and dozens of other levers. We surface the questions a licensed attorney in the state of residence can answer efficiently. We do not translate those questions into the reader's jurisdiction.
Sourcing standard.
Every factual claim in our case files is grounded in a court record, statute, regulation, or published research. Citations appear on-screen in the videos and in the description below each upload. We do not paraphrase a source as authority for a claim it did not make.
Editorial independence.
Some links in our descriptions and downloadable artifacts are affiliate links. When a viewer purchases through one, we may earn commission. Affiliate relationships do not influence which cases we examine, which patterns we surface, or how we describe outcomes. The Council's Disclosure appears on every video that contains an affiliate mention.
Faceless by design.
The Council operates as a research collective. There is no on-camera host, no personal byline, no "Meet the team" page. Authority derives from cases and citations, not credentials. Email correspondence is signed — The Council.
Before you act.
Consult a licensed estate-planning or elder-law attorney in the state where the relevant person resides. Many families find the Pre-Autopsy Checklist useful as the agenda for that consultation. Bring it. The gaps are the agenda.