Legal

Terms of Service

Effective Date: [DATE]  ·  Last updated: [DATE]
Not Legal Advice. EstateMate is an organizational and informational tool. Nothing in these Terms or anywhere on EstateMate constitutes legal advice. Please consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for legal guidance specific to your situation.
Section 1

Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of EstateMate ("the Service"), a website and application available at [DOMAIN], provided by [BUSINESS NAME] ("we," "us," or "our").

By accessing or using EstateMate, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use the Service.

Section 2

Definitions

  • "Service" means EstateMate, including its website, application, and all related features.
  • "User" means any person who accesses or uses the Service.
  • "Account" means your registered user account on EstateMate.
  • "Free Plan" means the no-cost version of the Service with limited features, including the state-specific checklist.
  • "Paid Plan" means the subscription or pilot version of the Service with full features, including the Document Vault, Family Coordination, and Task Tracking.
  • "Content" means any information, data, documents, or materials uploaded or submitted through the Service.
Section 3

Description of Services

EstateMate helps families organize and manage an estate when there is no will (intestate succession). The Service provides:

  • A state-specific probate checklist (Free Plan)
  • A full guided estate workspace with document vault, family coordination, and task tracking (Paid Plan)
  • State-aware guidance and progress tracking
  • Organizational tools for estate-related documents and communications

EstateMate does not provide legal advice, court representation, attorney-client relationships, or guaranteed legal outcomes. We are not a law firm.

The Service is intended for informational and organizational purposes only. Always consult a licensed attorney for advice about your specific legal situation.

Section 4

User Eligibility & Account Creation

  • You must be at least 18 years old (or the age of majority in your jurisdiction) to use EstateMate.
  • You may create an Account by providing required information, including your name and email address.
  • You are responsible for keeping your Account information accurate and your login credentials secure.
  • You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your Account.
  • You may not share your Account with others except as allowed by Paid Plan family features.
  • We reserve the right to suspend or terminate Accounts that violate these Terms.
Section 5

User Responsibilities & Prohibited Uses

You agree to:

  • Use the Service only for lawful purposes
  • Provide accurate information when creating your Account or using the Service
  • Keep your login credentials confidential
  • Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your Account

You may NOT:

  • Use EstateMate to provide legal advice to others
  • Interfere with or disrupt the Service or its servers or networks
  • Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of the Service or related systems
  • Reverse engineer, decompile, or extract the Service's underlying code or data
  • Use automated systems (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Service without our written permission
  • Upload or transmit spam, malware, harmful code, or illegal content
  • Upload content that infringes on the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party
  • Use the Service to harass, abuse, or harm any person
  • Violate any applicable local, state, national, or international laws or regulations

We reserve the right to investigate and take appropriate action — including account suspension or termination — for any violation of these responsibilities.

Section 6

Intellectual Property

EstateMate, including its content, features, design, branding, and underlying code, is owned by [BUSINESS NAME] and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable laws.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, reproduce, sell, or create derivative works from any part of EstateMate without our prior written permission.

Your Content

Content you upload to the Service — including estate documents, files, and personal information — remains your property. By uploading Content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display that Content solely as necessary to operate and provide the Service to you.

We do not claim ownership of your Content and will not sell or share it with third parties except as described in our Privacy Policy or as required by law.

Section 7

Payment Terms

The Free Plan is available at no cost with limited features. The Paid Plan requires payment as described on our website or within the application.

  • By selecting a Paid Plan, you agree to pay all applicable fees at the rates described at the time of purchase.
  • All payments are processed through our third-party payment provider. We do not store your full payment card details.
  • We may update Paid Plan pricing at any time. Price changes will be communicated in advance and will not affect your current billing period.
  • Refunds are handled on a case-by-case basis. To request a refund, contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL]. We do not guarantee refunds except where required by law.
  • You are responsible for any taxes applicable to your purchase.
Section 8

Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

No Warranties

EstateMate is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, either express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components. We do not guarantee that any information provided through the Service is accurate, complete, or up to date.

Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, [BUSINESS NAME] and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages arising from your use of, or inability to use, the Service — including but not limited to damages for loss of data, loss of profits, loss of goodwill, or other intangible losses.

In no event shall our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising out of or relating to the Service exceed the greater of: (a) the amount you paid us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100).

No Legal Outcomes Guaranteed

EstateMate provides organizational and informational tools only. We make no representations that use of the Service will result in any particular legal outcome, approval, or resolution of any estate matter. Legal results depend on many factors outside our control.

Section 9

Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. Our Privacy Policy, available at [LINK], explains how we collect, use, store, and protect your personal information when you use the Service.

By using EstateMate, you agree to the collection and use of your information as described in our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with the Privacy Policy, please do not use the Service.

We take reasonable administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your data. However, no method of transmission or storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

Section 10

Termination

You may stop using the Service at any time by closing your Account or discontinuing use.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, if we determine that you have violated these Terms or if we discontinue the Service.

Upon termination:

  • Your right to use the Service immediately ceases.
  • We may delete your Account and associated data after a reasonable period, in accordance with our data retention policies.
  • Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination — including intellectual property rights, disclaimers, and limitations of liability — will survive.
Section 11

Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of [STATE], without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall first be subject to good-faith negotiation between the parties. If negotiation fails, disputes shall be resolved by binding arbitration in [CITY, STATE], except that either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual property infringement or unauthorized use of the Service.

You agree that any claims must be brought in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative action.

Section 12

Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Effective Date" at the top of this page.

For material changes, we will notify you by email (if you have an Account) or by displaying a prominent notice on the Service before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Service.

Section 13

Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

  • Email: [CONTACT EMAIL]
  • Mailing address: [BUSINESS ADDRESS]
  • Website: [DOMAIN]

We will do our best to respond to all inquiries within 5 business days.