Terms of service

Acceptance

By using the Better Off website and service you acknowledge that:

You are at least 18 years of age and able to enter into a legal contract
You’ve read, accept, and agree to be bound by these terms of service
You agree to resolve any disputes you might have with Better Off in binding arbitration as described below

If you don’t accept these terms and do not want to be bound by them, do not use this website or the Better Off service.

Definitions

You’ll find these words used throughout these terms of service, and they are used with the following intended definitions:

Terms - These terms of service
Privacy Policy - Better Off’s privacy policy
You - The individual reading the Terms
Better Off - Better Off LLC and its agents, including its officers, employees, consultants, and representatives
Services - All services, information, and documents provided by Better Off
Site - Any website presented to a public audience by Better Off
User - Each visitor to the Site for any purpose
Member - Each User that has created an account for use of the Services with an associated email address
Documents - The self-help template documents filled in by a User’s use of the Services

Modifications

From time to time the Terms are likely to be modified as Better Off and the Services evolve. If they are modified in a material way, and if you have created an account and shared your email address with Better Off, Better Off will notify you of the changes and update the date at the bottom of the Terms to clarify when the most recent modifications were made.

If you continue to use the Site and Services following notice of modifications to the Terms, you agree to accept the modified Terms in full. If you do not accept the modified Terms, discontinue using the Site and Services.

Disclaimer

Better Off is not liable for improper use of the Site or Services by its Users, and disclaims any and all liability for improper use.

All information provided by you is your responsibility. Better Off takes no responsibility for any of it, and assumes no liability that might be associated with it.

Better Off is a planning service that produces legal documents. It is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. It offers an automated service that allows users to build their own plan for themselves, without consultation and advice, and fill in self-help forms that can be used by them as legally enforceable instruments. The Services are not intended to replace the direct consultation and services of an attorney.

Because of this, use of the Services does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Better Off. Your communications with Better Off are not protected by attorney-client privilege, but are covered by the Privacy Policy.

If your needs are too complex to be met by the Services, you should work directly with an attorney. If you undertake any legal matter in connection with the Services or the form of the Documents emerging from your use of the Services, you will be representing yourself and Better Off has no responsibilities in the matter.

Better Off’s Services will continue to evolve as legal requirements and needs of its users evolve, and all reasonable efforts will be made to keep the Services and the Documents up to date and legally effective. But the laws governing Better Off’s Services are state-specific and always changing, and different courts may interpret them differently. Better Off makes no guarantee that its Services or the Documents will always be up to date or legally enforceable. The information you enter into the Documents is not reviewed by Better Off and, other than automatically adding or removing sections based on the selections you make on the Site, the Documents may not be customized to your unique needs.

You agree to review your version of the Documents and acknowledge that you are solely responsible for their final form.

Your responsibility

Better Off’s Services are intended for use only by the Users named in the plans associated with their account. Any other use is improper and Better Off disclaims any and all liability related to such improper use. Do not delegate the responsibility of using the Services to any third party acting in your place.

You are responsible for the information you submit to the Site in use of the Services. You retain ownership of this information, and may request deletion of it at any time as described in the privacy policy. By using the Site and Services, you are affirming the following:

The information you submit is your own, and Better Off takes no responsibility and has no liability for any of it
The information you submit is accurate and applicable to you and your plan, to the best of your knowledge
Better Off’s acceptance of your information and incorporation of it into your versions of the Documents will not infringe any of your rights or the rights of any third party

You retain all rights to information you submit to the Service.

Rights to the services

Better Off retains all other rights in the Site, Services, and all related materials, and all related intellectual property rights. Nothing in these Terms shall be understood to grant you a license to any of these rights, and you agree not to adapt, create derivative versions, or use any of the Site, Services, and related materials for any purpose other than as intended to prepare your own estate plan. Use of any of these materials for any other purpose is strictly prohibited.

Better Off will from time to time invite users to share their reactions to, and ideas for improving, the Site and Services, and any information you provide is provided freely and without restriction. Better Off is free to use such information without additional compensation to you.

License for use

Better Off grants you a limited license for use of the Site and its Services. This license can be terminated by Better Off at any time for any or no reason. Your license allows you to view, download, and print elements of the Services solely for your own personal, non-commercial use.

You agree not to copy, distribute, or disclose any part of the Services in any medium.

If you make any modification to materials received from Better Off or otherwise breach any of these Terms, your license to use the Site and its Services will be immediately terminated.

Changes of services

Better Off will continue to evolve its offerings to Users, and retains the right to change or stop providing Services or features. Your ability to access the Services may be paused or permanently terminated for any reason, including violation of these Terms, or no reason.

Upon termination of your ability to access the Services you continue to be bound by these Terms.

Better Off can delete or move your account data from its servers at any time and for any reason at its sole discretion, with or without notice.

Fees and payment

If you make use of paid aspects of the Services, you agree to pay Better Off in accordance with the terms defined for you in the payment process. You authorize Better Off to charge your credit card for the fees and charges associated with the Services you have selected.

You may cancel your account at any time, but all sales are final and no refunds will be issued to you when you cancel your account.

When you upgrade your account to the comprehensive plan, the payment method you provide to Better Off will be charged for a one-time upfront fee that covers creation of your initial plan and your first year of membership. Each year after that, on the anniversary of your plan upgrade, your payment method will be automatically charged for a renewal of your annual membership for continued access to your plan, storage of the information you’ve submitted, unlimited updates to your plan, and unlimited downloads of updated documents.

You agree that Better Off may store the information about your payment method required to make such charges and to automatically charge you for renewal payments according to these terms. If any attempt made to charge your payment method is unsuccessful, Better Off may suspend or terminate your account. You must keep your payment information up to date, and you may update this information at any time through the Site.

If you want to cancel your subscription and payment of the automated annual renewal fee, you must do so by canceling your account through the Site. If you have issues doing so, contact support@getbetteroff.com.

Before charging you the annual renewal fee, Better Off may provide notice to you for the upcoming charge. No failure on Better Off’s part to do so creates any right on your part to demand a refund or to rescind payment.

Consent and security

You consent to have the information you submit to Better Off collected, used, transferred, and processed in accordance with the Privacy Policy, and consent to receive emails for promotional purposes directly from Better Off. Your interactions with the Site and Services will be collected with those of other Users and reported and reviewed in a non-personalized fashion for purposes of reviewing Site performance and informing the continued evolution of Better Off’s Site and Services. Your individual keystrokes and actions might be recorded and replayed using session replay technology for the same purposes.

To protect your privacy, Better Off uses commercially reasonable practices to ensure data security but no technical solution is perfect and Better Off cannot guarantee that no unauthorized third party will ever gain access to the information you submit or use it for improper purposes. You acknowledge this risk and accept it as a term for using the Better Off Site and Services.

You also play a key role in protecting your own privacy. You are responsible for any activity that occurs on your account, and share your password or documents with third parties at your own risk. You must keep your password secure and may only use another User’s password if you have express permission to do so. Better Off is not liable for any damage that occurs due to use of your account by a third party, and you may be held liable for losses incurred by Better Off due to someone else’s use of your account.

DMCA notice

Better Off will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the DMCA). If you are the owner of copyrighted work that you believe is being infringed on the Better Off Site, submit the following information in writing to DMCA Claims, Better Off LLC, 2 Beaufain Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401:

An electronic or physical signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner
Identification of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed
Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing and where it is located on the Services
Information reasonably sufficient to permit Better Off to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, and, e-mail address
A statement that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or law
A statement, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or are authorized to act on behalf of the owner

If you knowingly misrepresent infringement of copyright by online material, you may be subject under federal law to criminal prosecution for perjury and civil penalties, including monetary damages, court costs, and attorney’s fees.

Indemnity

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Better Off and its agents, licensors, managers, and other affiliated companies, and their employees, contractors, agents, officers and directors, from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from: (i) your use of and access to the Site and Services, including any data or information transmitted or received by you; (ii) your violation of these Terms, including without limitation your breach of any of the representations and warranties above; (iii) your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation any right of privacy, publicity rights or intellectual property rights; (iv) your violation of any law, rule or regulation of the United States or any other country; (v) any claim or damages that arise as a result of any information uploaded by you or any that is submitted via your account; or (vi) any other party's access and use of the Site and Services with your unique username, password or other appropriate security code.

No warranty

The Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Use of the Services is at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable, law, the Services are provided without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. No advice or information, whether oral or written, obtained by you from Better Off or through the Services will create any warranty not expressly stated herein. Without limiting the foregoing, Better Off and its licensors do not warrant that the content of the Services is accurate, reliable, or correct; that the Services will meet your requirements; that the Services will be available at any particular time or location, uninterrupted or secure; that any defects or errors will be corrected; or that the services are free of viruses or other harmful components. Any content downloaded or otherwise obtained through the use of the Services is downloaded at your own risk and you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from such download or your use of the Services.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Better Off, its affiliates, agents, directors, employees, suppliers or licensors be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including without limitation damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses, that result from the use of, or inability to use, the Services.

Under no circumstances will Better Off be responsible for any damage, loss, or injury resulting from hacking, tampering, or other unauthorized access or use of the Services or your account or the information contained therein. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Better Off assumes no liability or responsibility for any of the following:

Errors, mistakes, omissions, or inaccuracies of content
Personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to or use of our Services
Unauthorized access to or use of our secure servers and/or any and all personal information stored therein
Interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Services
Bugs, viruses, Trojan horses, or the like that may be transmitted to or through our Services by any third party
Loss or damage incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, emailed, transmitted, or otherwise made available through the Services
Content submitted or uploaded or the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of any third party

Better Off explicitly disclaims any and all liability and/or responsibility for any disclosure of information that may be deemed confidential by you or any third party. In no event shall Better Off, its affiliates, agents, directors, employees, suppliers, or licensors be liable to you for any claims, proceedings, liabilities, obligations, damages, losses or costs in an amount exceeding the amount you paid to Better Off. This limitation of liability section applies whether the alleged liability is based on contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or any other basis, even if Better Off has been advised of the possibility of such damage. The foregoing limitation of liability will apply to the fullest extent permitted by law in the applicable jurisdiction.

Region of use

Better Off is only intended for use in the United States and the Site and its Services are directed solely at residents located in the United States. The Site and its Services are inappropriate for use in other jurisdictions, and Better Off makes no representation of their suitability outside the United States. Users who make use of the Site and its Services from other jurisdictions do so at their own volition and risk. You may not use the Site and its Services if you are a resident outside the United States of a country embargoed by the United States, or are a foreign person or entity blocked or denied by the United States government.

Assignment

These Terms, and any rights and licenses granted by them, are not assignable by you to any other party. They may be transferred by Better Off without restriction.

Controlling law and jurisdiction

You agree that the Services shall be deemed solely based in South Carolina, and the Services shall be deemed passive that do not give rise to personal jurisdiction over Better Off, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than South Carolina.

You expressly agree that your rights and obligations, these Terms and any disputes shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the state of South Carolina. Any claim or dispute between you and Better Off not submitted to arbitration in accordance with the Dispute Resolution section of these Terms that arises in whole or in part from the Services shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in South Carolina. You also acknowledge and agree that you are waiving the right to participate as a plaintiff or class in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Better Off otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding.

Dispute resolution

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of these Terms or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof, or to the use of the Site or Services (collectively, "Disputes") will be settled by binding arbitration. Each party retains the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights.

You acknowledge and agree that you and Better Off are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action or representative proceeding. Further, unless both you and Better Off otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If this specific paragraph is held unenforceable, then the entirety of this "Dispute resolution" section will be deemed void. Except as provided in the preceding sentence, this "Dispute resolution" section will survive any termination of these Terms.

Arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") in accordance with the Commercial Arbitration Rules and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (the "AAA Rules") then in effect, except as modified by this "Dispute Resolution" section. (The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org/rules or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.) The Federal Arbitration Act will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this section.

Unless you and Better Off otherwise agree, the arbitration will be conducted in the county where you reside. If your claim does not exceed $10,000, then the arbitration will be conducted solely on the basis of documents you and Better Off submit to the arbitrator, unless you request a hearing or the arbitrator determines that a hearing is necessary. If your claim exceeds $10,000, your right to a hearing will be determined by the AAA Rules. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator will have the discretion to direct a reasonable exchange of information by the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration.

The arbitrator will render an award within the time frame specified in the AAA Rules. The arbitrator's decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitrator's award damages must be consistent with the terms of the "Limitation of liability" section above as to the types and the amounts of damages for which a party may be held liable. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the claimant and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant's individual claim. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys' fees and expenses, to the extent provided under applicable law. Better Off will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law to recover, attorneys' fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.

Your responsibility to pay any AAA filing, administrative and arbitrator fees will be solely as set forth in the AAA Rules. However, if your claim for damages does not exceed $75,000, Better Off will pay all such fees unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in your Demand for Arbitration was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)).

Notwithstanding the provisions of the "Modifications" section above, if Better Off makes material changes to this "Dispute resolution" section after the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending written notice (including by email) to Better Off within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the "Last Updated Date" above or in the date of Better Off's email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and Better Off in accordance with the provisions of this "Dispute Resolution" section as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).

Tax and financial advice

Better Off does not intend to provide any advice on tax or financial matters and should not be misrecognized as doing so. Any information related to these matters is provided for general knowledge and is not directed to your particular circumstances, and therefore should not be relied upon as guidance. Better Off makes no guarantee regarding the accuracy of any information related to tax and financial matters included in its Site and Services.

Regardless of the fact that nothing communicated by Better Off should be construed as tax advice, the following disclaimer ensures compliance with IRS requirements:

Better Off informs you that any U.S. federal tax advice contained in any communication from Better Off is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, for purposes of (a) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code or (b) promoting, marketing, or recommending to another person any matters addressed therein.

Deceased member account

If you have been granted the authority to act on behalf of a deceased person and want access to their Better Off account, contact support@getbetteroff.com.

Notification procedures

When needed, Better Off will provide notice to you via email, written, or hard copies, or by posting notices on the Site in conspicuous locations. Any automatic filtering by your email provider is your own responsibility, and not Better Off’s. Other than when required by law, Better Off has sole discretion to decide when notification is required and what form is most appropriate.

Severability

These Terms represent the entire agreement between Better Off and you. The agreement, together with any amendments and any additional agreements you may enter into with Better Off in connection with the Services, shall constitute the entire agreement between you and Better Off concerning the Services. If any provision of this agreement is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect.

No waiver of any term of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and Better Off's failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

Last updated

November 21, 2024