The Library
Editorial Standard
How the Library is written, sourced, reviewed, and corrected. We would rather tell you plainly how the words in front of you came to be than ask you to trust them on faith. This is the public /editorial-policy page.
On this page
Who writes the Library
The Library is written and maintained by the LumenUs editorial team, working from primary sources and in consultation with subject-matter specialists in law, tax and benefits, and clinical grief support. We write in plain language, for a reader who may be exhausted, distracted, or in shock, and who needs one clear thing at a time.
We do not publish anonymous opinion, and we do not invent authors or credentials to make a page look more authoritative than it is. Where a named expert has reviewed a page, that person and the date of their review are shown on the page itself. Where no named expert has yet reviewed a page, we say nothing, rather than imply a review that did not happen.
How we source
Every practical claim traces back to a primary source: the agency, statute, court, or institution that actually governs the thing we are describing. Each discipline in the Library carries a shelf of those sources, and individual lessons link to the specific documents behind them. When the primary source and something you read elsewhere disagree, we tell you to trust the primary source over us.
Rules vary by state and change over time. We date our pages so you can judge their freshness, and we record when each page was last checked against its sources, not merely when it was written.
How review works
A page can carry one of four kinds of review: legal, tax and benefits, clinical, or editorial. A review seal appears on a page only when a named, credentialed reviewer has signed that exact page, together with the date they signed it. Until that happens, the page carries a neutral freshness line and this editorial standard, and it claims no professional review.
This is a rule we hold for legal reasons as much as editorial ones. We never display a claim of review without a real person behind it.
How we correct
We get things wrong, and when we do, we fix them in the open. Every page invites you to tell us what we got wrong. When a reader is right, we correct the page, record what changed and when, and credit the person who caught it. Corrections live with the page, so you can see the history rather than a silently edited present.
What the Library is not
The Library is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or medical advice, and reading it does not create any professional relationship. It cannot account for the specifics of your situation. Please confirm anything that affects you with a qualified professional. For how our AI support feature works and its limits, see our AI Disclosure. If you are in crisis, please read our Crisis Support Protocol, and contact 988 or 911.
Contact
For questions about how the Library is written or reviewed, or to suggest a correction, contact hello@lumenus.life. This inbox is not monitored for emergencies. If you are in danger, use 988 or 911.