THESE TERMS OF SERVICE CONTAIN MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION, CLASS ACTION WAIVE, LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY PROVISIONS. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.
ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING, LLC
TERMS OF SERVICE
Ethos Estate Planning, LLC (“Ethos Estate Planning”, “we”, “us”, “our” or “Company”) provides online estate planning tools and solutions. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) outline the rules and expectations that apply to you and Ethos Estate Planning and govern your access to and use of the websites, applications (including, our mobile application(s)) and other online products and services provided by Ethos Estate Planning (collectively, our “Services”). Our goal is to keep them simple and easy to understand. If there’s something you’re not sure about, please reach out to us at support@getethos.com. Please read these Terms carefully as they constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Ethos Estate Planning.
BY ACCESSING OR USING THE SERVICES IN ANY WAY, ACCEPTING THIS AGREEMENT BY CLICKING ON THE “I ACCEPT” OR “NEXT” BUTTON, COMPLETING THE APPLICATION PROCESS, OR BROWSING OR DOWNLOADING OUR MOBILE APPLICATION, YOU REPRESENT THAT (1) YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND, AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THESE TERMS; (2) YOU ARE OF LEGAL AGE AND HAVE LEGAL CAPACITY TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT WITH US; AND (3) YOU HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO THE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THE MANDATORY ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER, DO NOT ACCESS OR USE OUR SERVICES AS YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED TO DO SO.
THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SECTION CONTAINS PROVISIONS THAT GOVERN HOW TO RESOLVE DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND COMPANY. AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SECTION INCLUDES AN AGREEMENT TO ARBITRATE WHICH REQUIRES, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTIONS, THAT ALL DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND US SHALL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION. THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SECTION ALSO CONTAINS A CLASS ACTION AND JURY TRIAL WAIVER. PLEASE READ THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SECTION CAREFULLY.
UNLESS YOU OPT OUT OF THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT WITHIN THIRTY (30) DAYS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SECTION TITLED “30-DAY RIGHT TO OPT OUT”: (1) YOU WILL ONLY BE PERMITTED TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF AGAINST US ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS, NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION OR PROCEEDING, AND YOU WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION; AND (2) YOU ARE WAIVING YOUR RIGHT TO PURSUE DISPUTES OR CLAIMS AND SEEK RELIEF IN A COURT OF LAW AND TO HAVE A JURY TRIAL.
ANY DISPUTE, CLAIM OR REQUEST FOR RELIEF RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE GOVERNED AND INTERPRETED BY AND UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF TEXAS, CONSISTENT WITH THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY PRINCIPLES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANY OTHER JURISDICTION. THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS IS EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED FROM THIS AGREEMENT.
In addition to these Terms, we may ask you to accept additional terms that apply to specific features, products or services provided by Ethos Estate Planning. To the extent any additional terms conflict with these Terms, the additional terms govern with respect to your access to or use of the applicable feature, product or service.
You are permitted to use the Services to (a) create, prepare and execute estate planning documents including but not limited to wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives (collectively, “Estate Planning Documents”), (b) list assets in your trust schedule of assets, if you have opted to create a trust, and (c) consolidate and track your financial information in one place designed to allow you to make estate planning decisions.
ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING PROVIDES NO FINANCIAL, INVESTMENT, ESTATE PLANNING, LEGAL OR TAX ADVICE.
You acknowledge that Ethos Estate Planning is not a law firm or an attorney, and does not (i) perform services for you or on your behalf as would be performed by an attorney or (ii) provide you with legal advice or guidance. Our products and services are not a substitute for the advice or services of a licensed attorney, but provide access to “fill in the blank” materials. There exists no attorney-client relationship or privilege between you and us. Instead, by using the Services, you are representing yourself in any legal matter you undertake, including any legal matter relating in any manner to your use of the Services. Additionally, you acknowledge that Ethos Estate Planning is not a (i) financial planner; (ii) estate planner; (iii) investment advisor; (iv) legal advisor; (v) accounting firm, or (vi) tax advisor. Neither Ethos Estate Planning nor the Services provide any financial planning, investment, legal, accounting, or tax advice. Although Ethos Estate Planning does sell “fill in the blank” estate planning products as addressed below, these products are not substitutes for professional advice. You should consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors before making any final decisions.
In relation to the Services, you are solely responsible and liable for any and all financial, estate, tax, investment or legal decisions you make or related agreements to which you become a party. We will not provide any guidance or answer any questions about the potential legal, tax, or accounting issues, implications, or other consequences arising from the use of the “fill in the blank” estate planning documents and other products or materials made available through the Services. We also do not review these documents, products or materials for any purpose, substantive or otherwise, or provide any other customized services or guidance, tailored to your situation. We provide only generic documentation and general information based on statutes and case law, which are available to the public, which you understand and acknowledge is not specific to your situation. You waive all claims against us for all losses, damages, expenses and similar claims that you may incur because of your financial, estate, tax, investment, legal or other similar decisions, and you agree that we shall not be liable for any such losses, damages, expenses or similar claims.
Eligibility
You represent and warrant that you: (a) are at least 18 years old; (b) have not previously been suspended or removed from using our Services; (c) have full capacity, power and authority to enter into these Terms and in doing so will not violate any other agreement to which you are a party; (d) are a US citizen or lawful permanent resident and are not a citizen or resident of any country to which the United States has embargoed goods or services; (e) have not been identified as a “Specially Designated National” by the Office of Foreign Assets Control; (f) have not been placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Denied Persons List; (g) will not use our Services outside the United States and (h) do not and will not have more than one account for the Services.
If you are using the Services on behalf of an entity, (a) you represent and warrant that you are authorized to bind that entity to these Terms, (b) that entity agrees to be responsible for you and any other user that accesses the Services on its behalf, including for your and their compliance with these Terms, and (c) all references to “you” will refer to you and that entity, jointly.
Your Account
You may need to register for an account to access some or all of our Services. You agree to provide accurate account and other information and promptly update this information if it changes. You agree to maintain the security of your account credentials and promptly notify us if you discover or suspect that someone has accessed your account without your authorization. Your username and password are personal to you and may not be shared with any third parties. You are responsible for all activities that occur regarding your account credentials or otherwise under your account.
Fees
You shall pay all applicable fees or charges (“Fees”) for the Services in accordance with the fees, charges and billing terms in effect between you and us at the time a Fee is due and payable. By providing Ethos Estate Planning or its third party payment service provider with your payment information, you agree that Ethos Estate Planning, or its third party providers of such services, are authorized to immediately invoice your account or charge your designated payment method (including without limitation your credit or debit cards) for all Fees due and payable to Ethos Estate Planning hereunder and that no additional notice or consent is required. You shall immediately notify Ethos Estate Planning of any change in your payment information to maintain its completeness and accuracy. Ethos Estate Planning reserves the right at any time to change its prices and billing methods in its sole discretion. You agree to have sufficient funds or credit available upon purchase of any product or service to ensure that the purchase price is collectible by us, or our third party provider of such products or services. Your failure to provide accurate payment information to Ethos Estate Planning or our inability to collect payment constitutes your material breach of these Terms. Except as set forth in this Agreement, all Fees for the Services are non-refundable.
Your Use of Estate Planning Documents
If you prepare any Estate Planning Documents using the Services, the following terms and conditions apply:
User Enabled and/or Directed Communications and Sharing
The Services may permit you to enable and/or direct us to communicate and share with any person or entity you add to the Services or authorize to have access to and/or receive your Estate Planning Documents (each, a “Contact”). For example, if you designate a Contact as the trustee of your trust, the Services may automatically send that Contact a message notifying them of your designation and asking them whether they accept such designation. You may also share your Estate Planning Documents with your Contacts through the Services (e.g., you may share your will with your designated beneficiaries or your attorney). You are solely responsible for all communications and sharing that you make, direct and/or that you authorize us to make with your Contacts.
Third-Party Services and Products
Sometimes we may link to other companies or services, like an article, reference, referral, social media content, or promotion. We cannot guarantee these links as we don’t manage content which is not on our websites or mobile applications, and links can change after they’re posted. We aren’t responsible for the practices of the sites or services to whom we link, including any of the content they show you. And, those sites are not acting or governed by our policies. The information you may share with any third parties, like the sites and services we may link to, are controlled by them and their site policies and terms. You understand and agree that we don’t have control of those sites and we are not responsible if you give any third-party access to your data. You own any risk yourself for sharing information or viewing content on other sites. You are solely responsible for your purchasing decisions and if you choose to visit any third party websites, you may be subject to additional or different terms and conditions and privacy policies.
Also, if any of the Services provided to you contain an open-source license, there may be provisions in those licenses that expressly conflict with these Terms, in which case, the open source provisions will apply.
Third-Party-Stored Account Information
The Services may permit you to sync third-party accounts with the Services in a manner designed to permit us to retrieve your information that is maintained online by such third parties (“Third-Party-Stored Account Information”). By using the Services, you authorize us to access and obtain your Third-Party-Stored Account Information and you authorize such third parties to disclose your Third-Party-Stored Account Information to us. When you desire to provide or otherwise make available Third-Party-Stored Account Information through the Services, you will be directly connected to the website for the third party you have identified. We will submit your information including, without limitation, usernames and passwords that you provide to log into the Services. You hereby authorize and permit us to use your information to obtain and retrieve and to configure the Services so that they are compatible with the third party sites for which you submit your information. You understand and agree that any third party accounts and sites are not provided by us and we are not responsible for any Services-related issues arising from or in connection with such third party accounts or your Third-Party-Stored Account Information. You agree to keep your Third-Party-Stored Account Information up to date and accurate.
User Content
Prohibited Conduct and Content
Limited License; Copyright and Trademark
© 2024 Ethos Estate Planning, LLC. All rights reserved. Ethos Estate Planning and all of our logos and designs are trademarks and/or service marks of Ethos Estate Planning, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. You may not use our images or logos without first getting consent from us in writing.
Everyone who uses our Services should respect intellectual property laws and the rights of Ethos Estate Planning. If there appear to be any issues with our Services or if you have any concerns, you may send us questions. We will work quickly to look into your question and will remove material if we determine third party copyrighted material is displayed without Ethos Estate Planning holding a license to do so. Your notice must follow the requirements of U.S. Copyright Act 17 U.S.C. 512(c)(3) and all regulations promulgated, each as amended (Notice Requirements), and/or the specific requirements of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA), whichever applies. If you inappropriately report a violation, infringement, or ownership of a copyright, you may be liable for damages (including reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees).
Ethos Estate Planning’s name, logos, designs, business processes, and our Services (the “Ethos Estate Planning Content”) are protected by intellectual property rights including copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other laws of the United States. Our Terms don’t give you any license to use any of our intellectual property, other than as necessary to use our Services and to assist you in purchasing “fill in the blank” estate planning products and insurance products we make available to you.
Except with respect to User Content, you agree that Ethos Estate Planning and its suppliers or licensors own all rights, title and interest in the Services (including but not limited to, any computer code, themes, objects, characters, concepts, artwork, animations, sounds, audiovisual effects, methods of operation, moral rights, documentation, “fill in the blank” forms, and Ethos Estate Planning software). You shall not remove, alter or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying any of the Services. You agree to honor our ownership rights related to our Services and the rights of the other parties whose intellectual property is included in the Services. You will not misuse Services or any third party intellectual property used along with the Services. You may not copy or reproduce any of the Services in any form or by any means; you may not rent, sell, lease, grant, modify, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Services. You will not trespass, bypass, interfere with, disrupt any host or network systems, burden the network capacity, overload, flood, spam, mail-bomb, infect, or install or send a virus, spyware, or any other malware or Trojan horse of any kind, or in any other way disrupt the proper operation of the Services.
You are hereby granted a limited, nonexclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use our Services and Ethos Estate Planning Content for your own personal use; however, such license is subject to these Terms and your compliance with these Terms, and does not include any right to do any of the following, all of which are expressly prohibited (a) license, sell, resell, rent, lease, transfer, assign, or commercially use or otherwise exploit our Services or Ethos Estate Planning Content; (b) copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform or publicly display Ethos Estate Planning Content, except as expressly permitted by us or our licensors; (c) modify the Ethos Estate Planning Content, remove any proprietary rights notices or markings, or otherwise adapt, merge, reverse compile, reverse engineer, or make any derivative uses of our Services or Ethos Estate Planning Content; (d) frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose any trademark or logo located on the Services or any other portion of the Service (including images, text, page layout or form); (e) use any metatags or other “hidden text” using Ethos Estate Planning’s name or trademarks; (f) use any manual or automated software, devices or other processes (including but not limited to spiders, robots, scrapers, crawlers, avatars, data mining tools, or the like) to “scrape” or download data from any web pages contained in the Services (including any of our “fill in the blank” forms); (g) remove or destroy any copyright notices or other proprietary markings contained on or in the Services; ; (h) impersonate any person or entity, including any employee or representative of Ethos Estate Planning; or (i) use our Services or Ethos Estate Planning Content other than for their intended purposes as described in these Terms including but not limited to violating or attempting to violate any security features of the Services, introducing viruses, worms, or similar harmful code into the Services, or interfering or attempting to interfere with use of the Services by any other user, host, or network, including by means of overloading, “flooding,” “spamming,” “mail bombing,” or “crashing” the Services. Except as explicitly set forth herein, we are not granting you any right, title, license, or interest in the Services. Any use of our Services or Ethos Estate Planning Content other than as specifically authorized in these Terms, without our prior written permission, is strictly prohibited and will automatically terminate the license granted in these Terms.
Feedback
Any questions, comments, suggestions, testimonials, ideas, original or creative materials or other information you submit about Ethos Estate Planning, our website, or our products or Services (collectively, “Feedback”), is non-confidential and will become the sole property of Ethos Estate Planning. We will own exclusive rights, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights, in and to Feedback and will be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.
Electronic Communication
By using our Services, you (a) agree that all communications from us relating to products and Services may be provided or made available to you electronically by email, and/or on our mobile applications or websites and (b) consent to receive emails, and other electronic communications from us. These communications may include notices about your account (e.g., password changes and other transactional information), as well as communications provided as part of the Services or for marketing purposes, and are part of your relationship with us. You consent to being provided with any notices, disclosures, information, and other materials in electronic form (collectively “Electronic Records”), rather than in paper form in accordance with The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (“E-Sign”). Your consent to receive Electronic Records applies to all notices, disclosures, documents, records or other materials of any kind that we may be required to provide to you. You agree that any notices, agreements, disclosures or other communications that we send to you electronically will satisfy any legal communication requirements, including, but not limited to, that such communications be in writing. You further agree that checking or clicking a box, clicking “accept” or “agree” (or another similar word) on our website, or responding via telephone keypress constitutes your signature and will have the same binding effect as a physical wet signature.
You agree that you have the ability to access, view, store, download, and print communications, documents, and hyperlinks we deliver or make available to you electronically through your computer or on your mobile device. You can find apps that support printing and saving electronic communications using your mobile device’s app store. If your mobile device does not have this functionality, you must access the Services through alternate means that provide you with the capability to print and save communications.
You may withdraw your consent to electronic communications and to use an electronic signature at any time. If you do withdraw your consent, from that time forward you may be unable to use the Services, and your account may be closed. To withdraw your consent of doing business electronically, please send us a written notice by email (legal@getethos.com) or U.S. Mail (1606 Headway Circle, #9013, Austin, TX 78754 Attn: Legal Department).
Indemnification
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Ethos Estate Planning, each of our subsidiaries and affiliates, our licensors, and third party providers and partners, including insurance carriers, underwriters and reinsurers (collectively, “Partners”), and each of our and our Partners’ respective officers, directors, agents, partners and employees (individually and collectively, the “Ethos Estate Planning Parties”) from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, cause of action, suit, damages, fines and any related expenses or costs (“Claims”) arising out of or related to (a) your access to or use of our Site and Services, including the generation and use of Estate Planning Documents; (b) your User Content or Feedback; (c) your violation of these Terms; (d) your violation, misappropriation or infringement of any rights of another (including intellectual property rights or privacy rights); (e) your conduct in connection with our Services; or (f) any violation by you of any federal, state, or local laws, statutes, rules, or regulations. You agree to promptly notify the Ethos Estate Planning Parties of any third-party Claims, cooperate with the Ethos Estate Planning Parties in defending such Claims and pay all fees, costs and expenses associated with defending such Claims (including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses). You also agree that the Ethos Estate Planning Parties reserves the right to assume exclusive control of the defense or settlement of any third party Claims. This indemnity is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other indemnities set forth in a written agreement between you and Ethos Estate Planning or the other Ethos Estate Planning Parties.
Disclaimers
WE DO NOT PROVIDE ANY WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING THE GENERATION AND USE OF ESTATE PLANNING DOCUMENTS AND ANY AND ALL SOFTWARE INCLUDED THEREIN, WHICH IS PROVIDED “AS-IS”. YOU USE OUR SERVICES WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, AT YOUR OWN RISK. WE DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. In addition, we do not represent or warrant that our Services are accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. Specifically, we do not represent or warrant that any of the “fill in the blank” forms or other materials available through the Services will be free of typographical, technical, or other errors, or be current, accurate, complete, or comply with the laws of any applicable jurisdiction. We do not take on or assume any responsibility for any harm, loss, or corruption to you, your computer, or your data (or any third party data or computer) from your use of our Services. You assume the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Services. Additionally, you acknowledge that information you store or transfer through our Services may become irretrievably lost or corrupted or temporarily unavailable due to a variety of causes, including software failures, protocol changes by third party providers, internet outages, force majeure events or other disasters, scheduled or unscheduled maintenance, or other causes either within or outside our control. You are solely responsible for backing up and maintaining duplicate copies of any information you store or transfer through our Services.
No Liability for Conduct of Third Parties. YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING PARTNERS AND PROVIDERS, THROUGH THE SERVICES, AND INCLUDING ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICES TO WHICH WE MAY PROVIDE LINKS. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING IS NOT LIABLE, AND YOU AGREE NOT TO SEEK TO HOLD ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING LIABLE, FOR THE CONDUCT OF SUCH THIRD PARTIES, INCLUDING OPERATORS OF EXTERNAL SITES, AND THAT THE RISK OF INJURY FROM SUCH THIRD PARTIES RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU. ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE GOODS OR SERVICE PROVIDED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE AVAILABLE ON AN UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE BASIS.
Limitation of Liability
IN NO EVENT SHALL (I) WE BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, REVENUES OR SAVINGS, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES IN ADVANCE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR THE SERVICES AND (II) OUR LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL CLAIMS BROUGHT OR DAMAGES INCURRED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES SHALL NOT EXCEED, IN THE AGGREGATE, THE FEES PAID BY YOU TO US DURING THE LAST YEAR PRIOR TO THE DATE SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION ARISES.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT (I) THE LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY IN THIS SECTION ARE REASONABLE AND THAT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION ALLOCATE THE RISKS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND US (AND OUR AFFILIATES), AND (II) WE AND YOU HAVE RELIED UPON THE LIMITATIONS SET FORTH HEREIN IN DETERMINING WHETHER TO AUTHORIZE YOU TO USE THE SERVICES. THE REMEDIES PROVIDED TO YOU IN THE TERMS ARE EXCLUSIVE. Some states may not allow for these limitations of liability. If you live in one of these states, these limits don’t apply to you, and the maximum liability for any of these violations will be $100.00 in the aggregate for any and all claims or the minimum allowed by law, whichever is lower.
You agree that these are the Terms for your use of the Services, and you have not entered into any other agreement related to your use of the Services. We haven’t and don’t create any third party beneficiary rights by the Terms. If we waive or fail to enforce any of the Terms, it doesn’t waive our right to enforce the Terms against you or someone else in the future. You may not assign any rights granted by the Terms to any third party, and any attempt to do so will be null and void. We may assign the Terms to any affiliate, subsidiary, or any acquirer of substantially all of the assets or capital securities of Ethos Estate Planning. If a provision of the Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Terms will remain in full effect, and we will substitute a replacement enforceable term reflecting our intent as closely as possible.
Release
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release Ethos Estate Planning and the other Ethos Estate Planning Parties from responsibility, liability, claims, demands, and/or damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown (including, but not limited to, claims of negligence), arising out of or related to disputes between users and the acts or omissions of third parties. To the extent you are a California resident, you expressly waive any rights you may have under California Civil Code § 1542 as well as any other statute or common law principles that would otherwise limit the coverage of this release to include only those claims which you may know or suspect to exist in your favor at the time of agreeing to this release.
Governing Law
THE TERMS AND YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE GOVERNED BY TEXAS LAW, CONSISTENT WITH THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION ACT, WITHOUT GIVING EFFECT TO ANY PRINCIPLES THAT PROVIDE FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE LAW OF ANOTHER JURISDICTION
Arbitration Agreement.
Please read this section (the “Arbitration Agreement”) carefully. It is part of your contract with Ethos and affects your rights. It contains procedures for MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION AND A CLASS ACTION WAIVER.
Applicability of Arbitration Agreement. Subject to the terms of this Arbitration Agreement, you and Ethos agree that any dispute, claim, disagreements arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Services, any communications you receive, any products sold or distributed through the Services, our website, or this Agreement and prior versions of our website, including claims and disputes that arose between you and us before the effective date of this Agreement (each, a “Dispute”) will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that: (i) you and Ethos may assert claims or seek relief in small claims court if such claims qualify and remain in small claims court; and (ii) you or Ethos may seek equitable relief in court for infringement or other misuse of intellectual property rights (such as trademarks, trade dress, domain names, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents). For purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, “Dispute” will also include disputes that arose or involve facts occurring before the existence of this or any prior versions of these Terms as well as claims that may arise after the termination of these Terms.
Informal Dispute Resolution. There might be instances when a Dispute arises between you and Ethos. If that occurs, Ethos is committed to working with you to reach a reasonable resolution. You and Ethos agree that good faith informal efforts to resolve Disputes can result in a prompt, low‐cost and mutually beneficial outcome (“Informal Dispute Resolution”). You and Ethos therefore agree that before either party commences arbitration against the other (or initiates an action in small claims court if a party so elects), we will personally meet and confer telephonically or via videoconference, in a good faith effort to resolve informally any Dispute covered by this Arbitration Agreement (“Informal Dispute Resolution Conference”). If you are represented by counsel, your counsel may participate in the conference, but you will also participate in the conference.
The party initiating a Dispute must give notice to the other party in writing of its intent to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference (“Notice”), which shall occur within forty-five (45) days after the other party receives such Notice, unless an extension is mutually agreed upon by the parties. Notice to Ethos that you intend to initiate an Informal Dispute Resolution Conference should be sent by email to legal@getethos.com or regular mail to our offices located at 1606 Headway Cir, #9013, Attn: Legal Department, Austin, TX 78754. The Notice must include: (1) your name, telephone number, mailing address, e‐mail address associated with your Account (if you have one); (2) the name, telephone number, mailing address and e‐mail address of your counsel, if any; and (3) a description of your Dispute.
The Informal Dispute Resolution Conference shall be individualized such that a separate conference must be held each time either party initiates a Dispute, even if the same law firm or group of law firms represents multiple users in similar cases, unless all parties agree; multiple individuals initiating a Dispute cannot participate in the same Informal Dispute Resolution Conference unless all parties agree. In the time between a party receiving the Notice and the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference, nothing in this Arbitration Agreement shall prohibit the parties from engaging in informal communications to resolve the initiating party’s Dispute. Engaging in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference is a condition precedent and requirement that must be fulfilled before commencing arbitration. The statute of limitations and any filing fee deadlines shall be tolled while the parties engage in the Informal Dispute Resolution Conference process required by this section.
Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Ethos are instead electing that all Disputes shall be resolved by arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, except as specified in the Section titled “Applicability of Arbitration Agreement”. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.
Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief. YOU AND ETHOS ESTATE PLANNING AGREE THAT, EXCEPT AS SPECIFIED IN THE SECTION TITLED “BATCH ARBITRATION”, EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS, REPRESENTATIVE, OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO HAVE ANY DISPUTE BE BROUGHT, HEARD, ADMINISTERED, RESOLVED, OR ARBITRATED ON A CLASS, COLLECTIVE, REPRESENTATIVE, OR MASS ACTION BASIS. ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND DISPUTES OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. Subject to this Arbitration Agreement, the arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the party’s individual claim. Nothing in this paragraph is intended to, nor shall it, affect the terms and conditions under the Section titled “Batch Arbitration”. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Arbitration Agreement, if a court decides by means of a final decision, not subject to any further appeal or recourse, that the limitations of this section are invalid or unenforceable as to a particular claim or request for relief (such as a request for public injunctive relief), you and Ethos agree that that particular claim or request for relief (and only that particular claim or request for relief) shall be severed from the arbitration and may be litigated in the state or federal courts located in the State of Texas. All other Disputes shall be arbitrated or litigated in small claims court. This section does not prevent you or Ethos from participating in a class-wide settlement of claims.
Rules and Forum. These Terms evidence a transaction involving interstate commerce; and notwithstanding any other provision herein with respect to the applicable substantive law, the Federal Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. § 1 et seq., will govern the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement and any arbitration proceedings. If the Informal Dispute Resolution process described above does not resolve satisfactorily within sixty (60) days after receipt of your Notice, you and Ethos agree that either party shall have the right to finally resolve the Dispute through binding arbitration. The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by this section of this Arbitration Agreement. The AAA Rules are currently available at https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer%20Rules.pdf.
A party who wishes to initiate arbitration must provide the other party with a request for arbitration (the “Request”). The Request must include: (1) the name, telephone number, mailing address, e‐mail address of the party seeking arbitration and the account username (if applicable) as well as the email address associated with any applicable Account; (2) a statement of the legal claims being asserted and the factual bases of those claims; (3) a description of the remedy sought and an accurate, good‐faith calculation of the amount in controversy in United States dollars; (4) a statement certifying completion of the Informal Dispute Resolution process as described above; and (5) evidence that the requesting party has paid any necessary filing fees in connection with such arbitration.
If the party requesting arbitration is represented by counsel, the Request shall also include counsel’s name, telephone number, mailing address, and email address. Such counsel must also sign the Request. By signing the Request, counsel certifies to the best of counsel’s knowledge, information, and belief, formed after an inquiry reasonable under the circumstances, that: (1) the Request is not being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of dispute resolution; (2) the claims, defenses and other legal contentions are warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law or for establishing new law; and (3) the factual and damages contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery.
Unless you and Ethos otherwise agree, or the Batch Arbitration process discussed in the Section titled “Batch Arbitration” is triggered, the arbitration will be conducted in Travis County, Texas. Subject to the AAA Rules, the arbitrator may direct a limited and reasonable exchange of information between the parties, consistent with the expedited nature of the arbitration. If the AAA is not available to arbitrate, the parties will select an alternative arbitral forum. Your responsibility to pay any AAA fees and costs will be solely set forth in the applicable AAA Rules.
You and Ethos agree that all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings shall be kept confidential and shall not be shared with anyone except the parties’ attorneys, accountants, or business advisors, and shall be subject to the condition that they agree to keep all materials and documents exchanged during the arbitration proceedings confidential.
Arbitrator. The arbitrator will be either a retired judge or an attorney licensed to practice law in the state of Texas and will be selected by the parties from the AAA’s roster of consumer dispute arbitrators. If the parties are unable to agree upon an arbitrator within thirty-five (35) days of delivery of the Request, then the AAA will appoint the arbitrator in accordance with the AAA Rules, provided that if the Batch Arbitration process under Section titled “Batch Arbitration” is triggered, the AAA will appoint the arbitrator for each batch.
Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to resolve any Dispute, including, without limitation, disputes arising out of or related to the interpretation or application of the Arbitration Agreement, including the enforceability, revocability, scope, or validity of the Arbitration Agreement or any portion of the Arbitration Agreement, except for the following: (1) all Disputes arising out of or relating to Section titled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief”, including any claim that all or part of Section titled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” is unenforceable, illegal, void or voidable, or that such Section titled “Waiver of Class and Other Non-Individualized Relief” has been breached, shall be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (2) except as expressly contemplated in Section titled “Batch Arbitration”, all Disputes about the payment of arbitration fees shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; (3) all Disputes about whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator; and (4) all Disputes about which version of the Arbitration Agreement applies shall be decided only by a court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. The arbitration proceeding will not be consolidated with any other matters or joined with any other cases or parties, except as expressly provided in Section titled “Batch Arbitration”. The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any Dispute. The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.
Attorneys’ Fees and Costs. The parties shall bear their own attorneys’ fees and costs in arbitration unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of the Dispute or the relief sought in the Request was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)). If you or Ethos need to invoke the authority of a court of competent jurisdiction to compel arbitration, then the party that obtains an order compelling arbitration in such action shall have the right to collect from the other party its reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in securing an order compelling arbitration. The prevailing party in any court action relating to whether either party has satisfied any condition precedent to arbitration, including the Informal Dispute Resolution process, is entitled to recover their reasonable costs, necessary disbursements, and reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs.
Batch Arbitration. To increase the efficiency of administration and resolution of arbitrations, you and Ethos agree that in the event that there are one-hundred (100) or more individual Requests of a substantially similar nature filed against Ethos by or with the assistance of the same law firm, group of law firms, or organizations, within a thirty (30) day period (or as soon as possible thereafter), the AAA shall (1) administer the arbitration demands in batches of 100 Requests per batch (plus, to the extent there are less than 100 Requests left over after the batching described above, a final batch consisting of the remaining Requests); (2) appoint one arbitrator for each batch; and (3) provide for the resolution of each batch as a single consolidated arbitration with one set of filing and administrative fees due per side per batch, one procedural calendar, one hearing (if any) in a place to be determined by the arbitrator, and one final award (“Batch Arbitration”).
All parties agree that Requests are of a “substantially similar nature” if they arise out of or relate to the same event or factual scenario and raise the same or similar legal issues and seek the same or similar relief. To the extent the parties disagree on the application of the Batch Arbitration process, the disagreeing party shall advise the AAA, and the AAA shall appoint a sole standing arbitrator to determine the applicability of the Batch Arbitration process (“Administrative Arbitrator”). In an effort to expedite resolution of any such dispute by the Administrative Arbitrator, the parties agree the Administrative Arbitrator may set forth such procedures as are necessary to resolve any disputes promptly. The Administrative Arbitrator’s fees shall be paid by Ethos.
You and Ethos agree to cooperate in good faith with the AAA to implement the Batch Arbitration process including the payment of single filing and administrative fees for batches of Requests, as well as any steps to minimize the time and costs of arbitration, which may include: (1) the appointment of a discovery special master to assist the arbitrator in the resolution of discovery disputes; and (2) the adoption of an expedited calendar of the arbitration proceedings.
This Batch Arbitration provision shall in no way be interpreted as authorizing a class, collective and/or mass arbitration or action of any kind, or arbitration involving joint or consolidated claims under any circumstances, except as expressly set forth in this provision.
30-Day Right to Opt Out. You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to: 1606 Headway Cit, #9013, Attn: Legal Department, Austin, TX 78754, within thirty (30) days after first becoming subject to this Arbitration Agreement. Your notice must include your name and address, the email address associated with your Account (if you have one), and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this Arbitration Agreement. If you opt out of this Arbitration Agreement, all other parts of these Terms will continue to apply to you. Opting out of this Arbitration Agreement has no effect on any other arbitration agreements that you may currently have, or may enter in the future, with us.
Invalidity, Expiration. Except as provided in Section titled “Waiver of Class or Other Non-Individualized Relief”, if any part or parts of this Arbitration Agreement are found under the law to be invalid or unenforceable, then such specific part or parts shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. You further agree that any Dispute that you have with Ethos as detailed in this Arbitration Agreement must be initiated via arbitration within the applicable statute of limitation for that claim or controversy, or it will be forever time barred. Likewise, you agree that all applicable statutes of limitation will apply to such arbitration in the same manner as those statutes of limitation would apply in the applicable court of competent jurisdiction.
Modification. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, we agree that if Ethos makes any future material change to this Arbitration Agreement, we will notify you. Unless you reject the change within thirty (30) days of such change become effective by writing to Ethos at 1606 Headway Cir, #9013, Attn: Legal Department, Austin, TX 78754, your continued use of the Service, including the acceptance of products and services offered on the Service following the posting of changes to this Arbitration Agreement constitutes your acceptance of any such changes. Changes to this Arbitration Agreement do not provide you with a new opportunity to opt out of the Arbitration Agreement if you have previously agreed to a version of these Terms and did not validly opt out of arbitration. If you reject any change or update to this Arbitration Agreement, and you were bound by an existing agreement to arbitrate Disputes arising out of or relating in any way to your access to or use of the Service, any communications you receive, any products sold or distributed through the Service or these Terms, the provisions of this Arbitration Agreement as of the date you first accepted this Agreement (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms) remain in full force and effect. Ethos will continue to honor any valid opt outs of the Arbitration Agreement that you made to a prior version of these Terms.
Changes to These Terms
We may make changes to these Terms from time to time. If we make changes, we will provide you notice by posting the amended Terms to our Services and updating the “Effective Date” listed below. We may also attempt to notify you by sending an email notification to the address associated with your account or by providing notice through our Services. Unless we say otherwise in our notice of changes, the amended Terms will be effective immediately and your continued access to and use of our Services after we provide notice will confirm your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the amended Terms, you must stop accessing and using our Services.
Termination
We reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate your right to access or use our Services at any time. Without limiting the foregoing, we may, in our sole discretion and without liability to you, with or without prior notice and at any time, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any portion of our Services. We are not responsible for any loss or harm related to your inability to access or use our Services.
Export Compliance
The Services are only intended for use by persons located in the United States. If you choose to access the Services from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and you are responsible for compliance with all local laws. Additionally, all or part of our Services may be subject to U.S. export control and economic sanctions laws (“Export Controls”). You agree to abide by all Export Controls as they relate to your access and use of our Services.
Apple Requirements
If you downloaded the Services from the Apple App Store, the following terms also apply to you:
North Carolina Customers
The following provisions are applicable to North Carolina residents:
Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
We strive to monitor, detect, and prevent transactions that may involve fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, or other illegal activity and to report applicable situations as may be required by law. We reserve the right to deny Service to anyone where we have a reasonable suspicion of violations of any applicable law.
Miscellaneous
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and Ethos Estate Planning relating to your access to and use of our Services. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Except as otherwise provided herein, these Terms are intended solely for the benefit of the parties and are not intended to confer third party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity.
You agree that these are the Terms for your use of the Services, and you have not entered into any other agreement related to your use of the Services. If we waive or fail to enforce any of the Terms, it doesn’t waive our right to enforce the Terms against you or someone else in the future. You may not assign any rights granted by the Terms to any third party, and any attempt to do so will be null and void. Ethos Estate Planning may assign the Terms to any affiliate, subsidiary, or any acquirer of substantially all of the assets or capital securities of Ethos Estate Planning.
If any provision or part of a provision of these Terms is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Terms and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions, and the remaining provisions of the Terms will remain in full effect, and we will substitute a replacement enforceable term reflecting our intent as closely as possible.
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Effective Date: June 1, 2024