How This Site Is Written
Research and Sources: Where This Site's
Information Comes From
This page explains where the information on this site comes from and how it is written, so readers and search engines can trust what they read. The site never invents statistics, percentages, dollar figures, or unsourced numbers. Every factual claim points back to a verifiable basis, and where a number cannot be verified, the site says so plainly.
Probate is a high-stakes, paperwork-heavy process, and the people reading these pages are often making decisions in the middle of grief. That is why every article, checklist, and guide here is written to a standard I would want for my own family: honest, current, and sourced. The sections below lay out exactly how that standard works.
Section 1
Who Writes This Site
Every informational page on this site is written and reviewed by Marc Cormier, a licensed Realtor and Seniors Real Estate Specialist serving the DC metro, Maryland, and Virginia. Marc has spent 27 years in real estate and has sold close to 1,000 homes, much of that work in probate, court-approved, and estate sales.
That means the advice on these pages comes from someone who has personally sat across the table from Personal Representatives, heirs, and the attorneys who guide them, not from a content writer working from a script. The articles reflect what actually happens in probate sales in this region: the court filings, the timelines, the title work, and the decisions that move an estate toward closing.
Marc is a real estate professional, not an attorney or a tax advisor. Nothing on this site is legal or tax advice, and every page says so. What this site offers is honest, experienced perspective on the real estate side of probate, written by someone who does this work every day.
Section 2
How Topics Are Chosen
Topics on this site come from the real questions executors, administrators, and families ask when they are handling a probate or estate property in the DC metro area. When a question shows up once, it is worth answering. When it shows up again and again in consultations, it becomes a page.
That is why the site covers the Maryland probate process and timeline, court approval for sales, the duties of a Personal Representative, and the practical side of selling an inherited house: these are the subjects families and attorneys actually call about, in roughly this order. The site does not chase search trends for their own sake; it answers the questions the people in this process genuinely need answered.
What Families Ask
Can we sell while the estate is open? Who signs the contract? How long will this take?
What Attorneys Ask
Can this sale close on a court deadline? What is a defensible value for the estate?
What the Process Shows
The pages follow the actual sequence of an estate sale, from first filing to final closing.
Section 3
Where Information Comes From
Everything on this site rests on three foundations, and a claim is only published when it can be traced to at least one of them.
Professional Experience
Marc's own work in probate, court-approved, and estate sales across Maryland, DC, and Virginia. This is the ground truth behind the pages: what the clerk requires, how a sale goes to court, and what actually moves an estate to closing.
Conversations With Professionals and Families
Estate attorneys, title companies, Register of Wills offices, and the executors and heirs who live through each sale. These conversations surface the real-world details that a statute alone never captures.
Verifiable Public Sources
Maryland law, Register of Wills procedures, local court practice, and official county resources. When a page depends on a specific statute, procedure, or document, that basis is named on the page itself or in the related-claims note beneath it, rather than left as a vague reference.
Section 4
The No-Invented-Numbers Rule
Numbers matter in an estate sale: what a property is worth, how long probate takes, what the estate will net, and what a repair costs. This site has a simple and absolute rule on all of it. It never publishes made-up statistics, percentages, dollar figures, or unsourced numbers.
When a precise figure is not available or verified, the site says so plainly instead of guessing. You will see that honesty in practice: pages that describe cost, time ranges, and market behavior speak in honest general terms, and any specific figure is either verified in a public source or labeled as an example, not a fact.
The Rule in One Line
"If I cannot point to a verifiable basis, I do not publish the number, and I say that I don't."
Section 5
How Claims Are Kept Current
Probate law and court procedure change, and market conditions move with them. Every page on this site carries a "Last updated" date, and pages are reviewed as law, procedures, and market conditions change rather than left to go stale.
When Maryland law or a Register of Wills procedure is updated, the affected pages are revised and re-dated. When real estate conditions shift, the practical guidance is refreshed to match. If you ever see a date on a page that looks older than it should be, the reporting section below exists for exactly that reason.
This page was last reviewed and updated on September 10, 2026.
Section 6
Related Pages on This Site
Three pages on this site complement this one, and each plays a different role in showing the work behind the site.
The Tools
Probate Resources
Downloadable checklists and worksheets that put the process on paper for Personal Representatives.
Visit page
For the Professionals
Professional Resources
Client-ready articles and guides attorneys and estate professionals can share with families.
Visit page
The Numbers
Track Record
Real probate closings shown transparently, with the actual outcomes and their context.
Visit page
Section 7
Reporting a Concern
If you read something on this site that appears inaccurate or out of date, please mention it on the contact page. Every note is read by a real person, and corrections are made and documented. The entire point of this page is that readers can trust what they find here, and that trust is only as good as the corrections the site is willing to make.
What Happens After
The report goes to Marc directly. If he confirms the concern, the page is corrected, re-dated, and the fact-check is noted. If he cannot confirm it, the reason is given. No concern is waved away.
Talk to a Specialist
Have Questions About a
Probate or Estate Property?
If a family, an executor, or an attorney wants to talk through a specific property, we are glad to help. With close to 1,000 homes sold and 27 years in the market, the consultation offers real answers, not a general summary, and there is no obligation.
Written and reviewed by Marc Cormier,
Realtor and Seniors Real Estate Specialist
Last updated
September 10, 2026
Legal Disclaimer
The information in this guide is provided for educational purposes only and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Marc Cormier is a licensed real estate professional, not an attorney, CPA, or financial advisor. Probate laws vary, and every estate is different. We strongly encourage you to work with qualified professionals, including a probate attorney and CPA, before making any decisions related to an estate. Sources are cited where available; figures and procedures named on this site reflect verifiable public records and professional practice at the time each page was last updated.
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For Personal Representatives
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