Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and Legacy Guardian (Pty) Ltd ("Legacy Guardian", "we", "us", or "our") governing your access to and use of the Legacy Guardian website at legacyguardian.co.za and all related services (collectively, the "Service").

By creating an account or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Service.

We may modify these Terms at any time. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

2. Description of Service

Legacy Guardian provides an online platform for estate planning that enables users to:

• Create, edit, and store digital wills
• Manage estate-related documents securely
• Appoint and manage guardians who can access information when needed
• Store emergency medical information and generate Emergency QR codes (Premium plans)
• Organise important life documents (Premium plans)

3. Account Registration and Security

3.1 Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into contracts under South African law to use our Service. By registering, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements.

3.2 Account Information

You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete. Providing false or misleading information may result in account termination.

3.3 Account Security

You are responsible for:

• Maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials
• All activities that occur under your account
• Notifying us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account
• Ensuring that you log out of your account at the end of each session

We recommend enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for enhanced security. We are not liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account credentials.

4. Subscription Plans and Payment

4.1 Subscription Plans

We offer various subscription plans with different features and pricing. Details of current plans are available on our Pricing page. We reserve the right to modify plans and pricing at any time.

4.2 Payment Processing

All payments are processed securely through PayFast, a PCI DSS-compliant payment gateway. By subscribing to a paid plan, you:

• Authorise us to charge your chosen payment method for the subscription fees
• Agree to PayFast's terms and conditions for payment processing
• Acknowledge that all prices are in South African Rand (ZAR) unless otherwise stated

4.3 Billing Cycle

Subscription fees are billed on a recurring basis (monthly or annually, depending on your chosen plan). Your subscription will automatically renew at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date.

4.4 Refunds

Due to the nature of digital services, subscription fees are generally non-refundable. However, we may provide refunds at our discretion in exceptional circumstances. Requests for refunds must be submitted to our support team within 14 days of payment.

4.5 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Upon cancellation:

• You will retain access to paid features until the end of your current billing period
• Your data will be retained for 90 days, during which you can reactivate your subscription
• After 90 days, your data may be permanently deleted

5. User Content and Data Ownership

5.1 Your Content

You retain full ownership of all content, data, and information you submit to the Service ("User Content"), including but not limited to:

• Will documents and related information
• Personal and medical information
• Uploaded documents and files
• Guardian and beneficiary information

5.2 License to Legacy Guardian

By submitting User Content, you grant Legacy Guardian a limited, non-exclusive license to store, process, and display your content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you. We do not claim ownership of your content and will not use it for any purpose other than delivering the Service.

5.3 Accuracy of Information

You are solely responsible for the accuracy and completeness of your User Content. We do not verify the information you provide and are not liable for any consequences arising from inaccurate or incomplete information.

6. Guardian Features

6.1 Appointing Guardians

You may invite individuals to serve as guardians who can access your information. By appointing a guardian, you:

• Acknowledge that you are sharing sensitive personal information with that guardian
• Understand that guardians will be able to view information based on the access level you grant
• Accept responsibility for selecting trustworthy individuals as guardians
• Agree that we are not liable for actions taken by your guardians

6.2 Guardian Responsibilities

If you accept an invitation to become a guardian, you agree to:

• Use the access granted to you responsibly and only for its intended purpose
• Maintain the confidentiality of information you access
• Not share access credentials or grant access to unauthorised parties
• Comply with these Terms when using guardian features

7. Emergency QR Code Feature

7.1 Public Access

The Emergency QR Code feature is designed to provide critical medical information in emergency situations. By using this feature, you understand and agree that:

• Anyone who scans your QR code can access the emergency information without authentication
• This may include personal and medical information you have chosen to share
• You are responsible for deciding what information to include
• The feature is optional and can be disabled at any time

7.2 Guardian Notifications

The emergency notification feature allows anyone with access to your QR code to notify your guardians. We are not liable for:

• False or mistaken notifications sent through this feature
• Delayed or failed delivery of notifications
• Actions taken by guardians in response to notifications

8. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable laws or regulations
• Infringe upon the rights of others
• Upload malicious software, viruses, or harmful code
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to our systems or other users' accounts
• Engage in any activity that could damage, disable, or impair the Service
• Use the Service for fraudulent purposes
• Create accounts for anyone other than yourself without their consent
• Share your account credentials with others
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated means to access the Service without permission

Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate termination of your account without refund.

9. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its original content, features, and functionality (excluding User Content), is owned by Legacy Guardian and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

You may not:

• Copy, modify, or distribute our content without permission
• Use our trademarks or branding without written consent
• Reverse engineer or attempt to extract source code from our Service
• Remove any copyright or proprietary notices

10. Disclaimers

10.1 Not Legal Advice

10.2 "As Is" Service

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free
• Any defects will be corrected
• The Service will meet your specific requirements
• Documents created using the Service will be legally valid or enforceable

11. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY SOUTH AFRICAN LAW:

• Legacy Guardian shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including without limitation, loss of profits, data, use, goodwill, or other intangible losses
• Our total liability to you for any claims arising from or relating to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in subscription fees during the twelve (12) months preceding the claim
• We are not liable for any actions taken by your guardians or any third parties
• We are not liable for the legal validity or enforceability of any documents created using our Service

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liability, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Legacy Guardian, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of the Service
• Your User Content
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any rights of another party
• Any dispute between you and your guardians

13. Termination

13.1 Termination by You

You may terminate your account at any time by contacting us or using the account deletion feature in your settings. Upon termination, you will lose access to your account and data according to our data retention policy.

13.2 Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if:

• You violate these Terms
• You engage in conduct that we believe is harmful to other users or the Service
• We are required to do so by law
• We discontinue the Service

13.3 Effect of Termination

Upon termination:

• Your right to use the Service will immediately cease
• You will no longer be able to access your account or data
• Provisions that by their nature should survive termination (including ownership, disclaimers, indemnification, and limitations of liability) will survive

14. Dispute Resolution

14.1 Informal Resolution

Before initiating formal dispute resolution, you agree to contact us first to attempt to resolve any dispute informally. Most disputes can be resolved quickly and amicably through direct communication.

14.2 Mediation

If we cannot resolve a dispute informally, either party may request mediation administered by a mutually agreed upon mediator. Each party will bear its own costs for mediation.

14.3 Jurisdiction

Any legal proceedings arising from these Terms shall be conducted in the courts of the Republic of South Africa, and you consent to the jurisdiction of such courts.

15. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

16. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

17. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and Legacy Guardian regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

18. Contact Us

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