Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

Welcome to SimplyProbate's AI chatbot landing page ("Site") located at chat.simplyprobate.co.nz. These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and SimplyProbate ("we," "us," "our").

By accessing or using our AI chatbot assistant, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with any part of these Terms, you must not use our AI chatbot.

2. AI Chatbot Service Description

What the Chatbot Does:

Our AI chatbot assistant is designed to:

• Provide general information about probate and letters of administration in New Zealand
• Assess whether your estate situation may qualify for our services (estate value $40,000+ threshold)
• Determine the appropriate service type (probate application vs letters of administration)
• Route you to relevant next steps (application portal, consultation booking, or information resources)
• Answer common questions about our services and pricing

Powered by OpenAI:

The chatbot is powered by OpenAI's ChatKit platform, an advanced artificial intelligence service. Your conversations are processed by OpenAI's systems in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

3. AI Chatbot Is NOT Legal Advice

Important Limitations:

• No Attorney-Client Relationship: Use of the AI chatbot does NOT create a lawyer-client relationship between you and SimplyProbate or any of its lawyers
• Not Confidential: Information you share with the chatbot is NOT protected by lawyer-client privilege
• General Information Only: The chatbot provides general information about probate processes, not advice tailored to your specific legal situation
• AI May Make Errors: The chatbot is an artificial intelligence system that may provide inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information
• Not a Substitute for Lawyer: The chatbot cannot replace professional legal judgment, analysis, or representation
• No Reliance: You should not make legal decisions based solely on chatbot responses without consulting a qualified lawyer

When Legal Advice Begins:

A formal lawyer-client relationship is established ONLY when:

1. You complete our client engagement agreement
2. We conduct a conflicts check and accept your engagement
3. You pay the required retainer or service fee
4. We confirm the engagement in writing

Until then, all chatbot interactions are preliminary inquiries only.

4. User Eligibility and Requirements

Age Requirement:

You must be at least 18 years of age to use this AI chatbot. By using the chatbot, you represent and warrant that you are 18 or older.

Capacity to Contract:

You represent that you have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms and to be bound by them.

Accurate Information:

You agree to provide truthful, accurate, and complete information when using the chatbot. Providing false or misleading information may result in incorrect qualification assessments and could affect our ability to assist you.

5. Acceptable Use Policy

You agree NOT to use the AI chatbot to:

• Obtain legal advice for immediate court deadlines or urgent legal matters (contact a lawyer directly)
• Share highly sensitive, confidential, or privileged information (no privilege protection applies)
• Test, probe, or attempt to breach the chatbot's security measures
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the chatbot's source code or algorithms
• Use the chatbot for illegal purposes or to further any unlawful activity
• Impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity or affiliation
• Transmit viruses, malware, or other harmful code
• Spam, harass, or abuse the chatbot system or our staff
• Scrape, data mine, or extract data from the chatbot for commercial purposes
• Use automated scripts or bots to interact with the chatbot (except as intended)
• Circumvent any access restrictions or authentication measures

Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate termination of your access to the chatbot and potential legal action.

6. Automated Lead Qualification

How It Works:

Our AI chatbot uses automated decision-making to assess whether your situation qualifies for our probate services. The chatbot evaluates factors including:

• Estate value (must be $40,000+ for probate to be required in NZ)
• Existence of a valid Will (determines probate vs letters of administration)
• New Zealand residency or asset ownership
• Service fit with SimplyProbate's offerings

Automated Routing:

Based on your responses, the chatbot will automatically route you to:

• Qualified Leads: Gavel.io application portal (primary) or Calendly consultation booking (secondary)
• Non-Qualified Inquiries: SimplyProbate main website for general information or alternative resources

Your Rights:

You have the right to:

• Request human review of any automated qualification decision
• Receive an explanation of the criteria used by the chatbot
• Challenge or appeal the automated assessment
• Bypass the chatbot entirely and book a consultation directly at calendly.com/rionnorris/15min

7. Intellectual Property Rights

Our Content:

All content on this Site, including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, images, chatbot responses, and software, is the property of SimplyProbate or its licensors and is protected by New Zealand and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

OpenAI Technology:

The underlying AI technology is provided by OpenAI and is subject to OpenAI's intellectual property rights and terms of use.

Limited License:

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the AI chatbot for your personal, non-commercial use in accordance with these Terms.

Your Conversation Data:

You retain ownership of the information you provide to the chatbot. By using the chatbot, you grant us a license to use your conversation data for the purposes described in our Privacy Policy, including:

• Qualifying you for our services
• Improving the chatbot's performance
• Quality assurance and training purposes
• Compliance with legal obligations

8. Third-Party Services and Links

Services We Use:

Our AI chatbot integrates with or links to the following third-party services:

• OpenAI ChatKit: AI chatbot platform (terms: openai.com/policies/terms-of-use)
• Gavel.io: Client intake and application portal
• Calendly: Appointment scheduling system
• Google Tag Manager: Analytics and tracking

Third-Party Terms Apply:

When you interact with these third-party services, their respective terms of service and privacy policies apply in addition to ours. We are not responsible for the practices or content of third-party services.

External Links:

The chatbot may provide links to external websites for your convenience. We do not endorse or control these sites and are not responsible for their content, privacy practices, or terms.

9. Disclaimers and Warranties

AI Limitations:

We expressly disclaim any warranty that:

• The AI chatbot will provide accurate, complete, or current information
• Chatbot responses are tailored to your specific legal situation
• The chatbot will correctly assess your qualification for services
• The chatbot is a substitute for professional legal advice
• The chatbot will be available at all times or function without errors

No Guarantee of Results:

We do not guarantee any particular outcome or result from using the chatbot, including but not limited to qualification for services, approval of probate applications, or favorable court decisions.

Use at Your Own Risk:

You use the AI chatbot entirely at your own risk. We recommend verifying all information with a qualified lawyer before making legal decisions.

10. Limitation of Liability

Maximum Liability Cap:

In no event shall SimplyProbate's total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action arising from your use of the AI chatbot exceed NZD $100.

Consumer Guarantees Act Exception:

Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts, or modifies any consumer rights or guarantees under the New Zealand Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 or other legislation that cannot lawfully be excluded.

11. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless SimplyProbate, its lawyers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:

• Your use or misuse of the AI chatbot
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property or privacy rights
• Information you provide to the chatbot that is false, misleading, or unlawful
• Your reliance on chatbot responses without obtaining professional legal advice

12. Service Availability and Modifications

No Guaranteed Uptime:

We do not guarantee that the AI chatbot will be available at all times. The chatbot may be unavailable due to:

• Scheduled or emergency maintenance
• Technical issues with our systems or OpenAI's infrastructure
• Internet connectivity problems
• Force majeure events beyond our control

Right to Modify or Discontinue:

We reserve the right at any time to:

• Modify, suspend, or discontinue the AI chatbot (or any part thereof)
• Change the chatbot's features, functionality, or qualification criteria
• Update the chatbot's AI model or underlying technology
• Restrict access to the chatbot for security or compliance reasons

We are not liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuance of the chatbot.

13. Termination

Termination by You:

You may stop using the AI chatbot at any time. If you wish to have your conversation data deleted, contact our Privacy Officer as described in the Privacy Policy.

Termination by Us:

We may immediately suspend or terminate your access to the AI chatbot, without notice, if:

• You violate these Terms or our Acceptable Use Policy
• You engage in fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity
• We suspect unauthorized or suspicious use of the chatbot
• Required by law or court order
• We discontinue the chatbot service entirely

Effect of Termination:

Upon termination, your right to use the AI chatbot ceases immediately. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including disclaimers, limitation of liability, and indemnification) shall survive.

14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

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

Any disputes arising from these Terms or your use of the AI chatbot shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

15. Dispute Resolution

Informal Resolution First:

Before commencing any legal action, you agree to first attempt to resolve any dispute informally by contacting us at rion@rionnorris.com. We will make good faith efforts to resolve the dispute amicably.

Arbitration (Optional):

If informal resolution fails, either party may propose binding arbitration under the Arbitration Act 1996 (New Zealand). However, nothing in these Terms prevents either party from seeking relief in the courts.

Small Claims:

You may pursue claims in small claims court if your claims qualify and remain in such court.

16. Changes to These Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "Last Updated" date at the top of these Terms
• Display a prominent notice on the chatbot page
• Notify you via email if we have your contact information

Your continued use of the AI chatbot after such changes constitutes your acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must stop using the chatbot.

We recommend reviewing these Terms periodically to stay informed of any updates.

17. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and SimplyProbate regarding your use of the AI chatbot and supersede all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals.

No waiver of any term of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term.

18. Contact Information

If you have questions, concerns, or disputes regarding these Terms of Service, please contact: