Editorial Standards

Real Property Planning publishes free, Washington-specific guides for families, executors, and adult family home buyers, owners, and sellers. These are the rules every guide is held to. Last reviewed September 27, 2026.

What we publish, and what we do not

We publish education: how Washington processes work, what the rules say, what things cost, and which questions to ask. We do not publish legal, tax, financial, medical, or licensing advice for anyone's particular situation, and nothing on the site creates a professional relationship. Real Property Planning does not provide professional services. When a guide describes work such as pricing a home, appraising it, or handling a probate filing, that work is done by an independently engaged licensed professional, never by the site.

Primary sources first

Statements about Washington law, rules, rates, and programs are checked against the primary source: the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), the Washington Administrative Code (WAC) and the Washington State Register, the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), the Health Care Authority (HCA), county courts and assessors, and the published text of agreements such as the adult family home collective bargaining agreement. When a rule has recently changed, we read the section's history line and the filing that changed it, and cite the filing. A news article, a search result, or another website is never treated as proof that a rule says something. Guides link to their sources so readers can check them. Where a figure is an estimate rather than a published number, the page says so.

Separating requirements from advice

Where it matters, guides label a statement as a Washington requirement (it rests on law, rule, or agency guidance) or as a best practice (a practical recommendation that is not required). Readers should never have to guess which is which.

How guides are written and reviewed

Guides are written and reviewed by David Stein, a Washington State licensed real estate broker (eXp Realty, license #133972) and a Washington State certified residential appraiser (Stein Appraisal, license #1702080). AI writing assistants are used to help draft, organize, and check pages; every factual statement is verified against its source before publication, and the author is responsible for what is published. No outside reviewer currently reviews the site's content. When a qualified reviewer, such as an attorney for legal-process guides, reviews a page, the page will name the reviewer and the date, and the reviewer page will list their qualifications. A reviewer's involvement does not mean they or Real Property Planning are giving you advice.

Dates and updates

Guides show when they were last reviewed. A review means the page was read against its current sources, not merely re-dated. When a rule, rate, or program changes, affected pages are updated and the change is described on the page where it matters. Some figures change on a fixed schedule, such as DSHS adult family home rates each July. Those pages say which period their figures cover.

Independence

No one pays to be written about, and no one can buy a place in a guide, a directory, or a ranking. Professionals mentioned in guides are independent businesses. See the Professional Inclusion Standards and the Advertising and Compensation Disclosure for the details.

Mistakes

If you find an error, email info@realpropertyplanning.com or use the contact form and choose "I have a website question or correction." The Corrections Policy explains what happens next.