Terms and Conditions

Welcome to Footprint

Hello! Welcome to Footprint’s online Will service. You’re reading the terms that set out the scope and use of the Will service (“Services”) provided by us, Footprint. By using these Services, you are agreeing to our Terms of Service.

Footprint Will Package Terms & Conditions

By signing up to Footprint’s Will Package subscription, Footprint New Zealand Limited (“Footprint”) has agreed to provide you the following services (“the Services”). The Services are provided subject to the terms and conditions set out below. These terms apply from when first full payment of the Footprint Will Package subscription is received (“the Commencement Date”).

Footprint Services (“the Services”)

Your Footprint subscription entitles you to:

  1. Completion of a Footprint online Will or the ability to upload your existing Will into your vault or completing a Will with a consultant from our sister company Perpetual Guardian[1] with a $50 discount.
  2. An annual update of your online Will, this service lets you make any changes that are within the ambit of what the Footprint platform allows. If the changes you wish to make cannot be supported by the Footprint platform such as where the said change(s) requires legal advice and/or is likely to make your estate “complex”[2], we will recommend an appointment with a Perpetual Guardian adviser. You will receive a $50.00 discount off the additional charges that apply if this is required. If you have elected to upload a Will drafted from a provider other than Footprint or Perpetual Guardian, Footprint is in no way responsible for the quality or accuracy of the contents or structure of this Will. Footprint annual updates are available to the subscriber however, only in the instance where the Footprint platform allows and your circumstances do not require third party advice. The $50.00 consult discount only applies to Perpetual Guardian Wills and not any other providers.
  3. Access to a secure digital storage service ("the Vault"), allowing you to electronically store and update your Will, documents and other material.
  4. Physical storage of your Will.
  5. Access to an exclusive estate administration package with Perpetual Guardian, valued at $10,000.
Estate Administration Services

Footprint partner with Perpetual Guardian to provide estate administration services, the Footprint estate administration package includes the following services:

  1. Locate and liaise with your family or next of kin following notification of your passing away;
  2. Obtain a grant of administration or probate, if applicable, from the High Court (a legal authority to act in your estate);
  3. Provide your beneficiaries with an estate management plan and regular updates that will detail the administration of the estate and progress;
  4. Compile a list of assets and liabilities of the estate;
  5. Deal with the assets of your estate once a grant of administration or probate has been obtained; for example, closing bank accounts, redeeming investments, co-ordinating the sale of property and collecting proceeds of insurance policies;
  6. Pay debts out of your estate’s assets; for example, funeral costs and credit card balances;
  7. Record any transmission of property by survivorship relating to any jointly owned New Zealand assets;
  8. Finalise your taxation matters including filling personal tax returns to date of death and dealing with any required estate tax returns from date of death and final distribution; and
  9. Prepare financial statements for the estate and provide copies to the beneficiaries of the estate.
Fees and Payment
  1. Footprint charges an annual subscription fee (“Footprint Fee”) for the Services. The first year of your subscription is payable in advance. There is the option on the second year to change your payments to monthly.
  2. The Footprint Fee must be paid by credit card. We will notify you when your subscription is due for renewal.
  3. The Footprint Fee will continue to be charged until your estate is settled. As the final subscription fee may occur after your passing the final fee will be, prorated to the nearest month and will be applied against your estate.
  4. Footprint fees are subject to change as deemed appropriate to keep in alignment with economic and business variations. Any fee changes will be communicated a minimum of one month prior to taking affect and will not be applied until the end of the subscription term already in place.
  5. If you pass away in the first 5 years of your subscription, and following your death, your estate uses Footprint’s estate administration services (including Executor support as per Clause 3) your estate will be charged a one-off fee of $5,000.
Executor Support
  1. Where Perpetual Guardian is not named as executor in your Will, Perpetual Guardian are able to assist your executor by preparing documents and providing guidance and advice. Perpetual Guardian’s assistance will exclude completing any transmission(s), transfers or sale of property as Perpetual Guardian is prohibited from undertaking certain tasks with respect to an estate where Perpetual Guardian has not be appointed as executor.
  2. If your executor does not request Perpetual Guardian’s executor support, your estate will not be issued any refund of any subscription fees paid to Footprint and your estate may be liable for fees, costs and disbursements incurred by your executor.
Footprint Service Exclusions
  1. Footprint reserves the right to decline your subscription.
  2. Where the estate is “complex” Perpetual Guardian as the Executor will charge fees on its usual time and cost basis, for services provided specifically to deal with those aspects of your estate which make it “complex”. In such circumstances, Perpetual Guardian will levy its fees against your estate directly. A complex estate is defined as administering (“Complex”):
    • Assets or outside of New Zealand;
    • Assets given to beneficiaries that live outside of New Zealand;
    • An intestate estate;
    • An estate appointing co-executors;
    • A charitable trust, inheritance trust or a testamentary trust;
    • A life interest or right of occupancy in any properties of the estate; or
    • An estate which is challenged by your beneficiaries or potential beneficiaries, including dispute management.
  3. Costs and disbursements incurred by Perpetual Guardian in undertaking estate administration including but not limited to court fees, bank charges and third party professional advisers fees (including but not limited to legal, tax, accounting whether these are provided by third parties or by Perpetual Guardian);
  4. If you are bringing your existing Will to Footprint you acknowledge that the above exclusions apply to the administration of your estate. If your Will includes any of the above exclusions these will be charged from your estate on a time and cost basis.
  5. The estate administration package can only be redeemed if a valid and signed Will is in place at the time of death. The onus is on the subscriber to ensure their Will is valid, signed and kept updated to account for their current circumstances.
Variation

Footprint’s Standard Terms and Conditions are subject to change from time to time. We will notify you of such changes in writing. It is the responsibility of the subscription holder to keep Footprint updated with current contact details.

Cancellation
  1. You may cancel your subscription to the Footprint Service at any time by providing us written notice. You will need to email us at info@myfootprint.co.nz to cancel. Upon cancellation, you will not be issued a refund for any remaining months of your annual subscription. You will however retain access to all your Footprint services and benefits until the expiry of your subscription.
  2. If you choose to cancel your subscription part the way through year one or mid-month on year two no refunds are provided. You do however still have full access to all products and services included in your subscription fee until the end of the year (for year one) or the month (year two).
  3. If your subscription payment falls in arrears, Footprint will contact you by email to obtain payment within 28 days. If payment is received during this period, you will continue to enjoy use of all Footprint services. In the event that the full payment is not received during this period, you will no longer be eligible for any Footprint services and Footprint is under no obligation to renew your subscription.
  4. Footprint may terminate its services in its entirety. If Footprint exercises this right, it will continue to offer you services until the end of your current subscription term.
  5. If your subscription is cancelled or is not current or in arrears at the date of your death, Perpetual Guardian or any other provider will not be under any obligation to arrange the provision of estate administration services. Footprint will not be responsible for the costs of any estate administration. In such circumstances, your estate will be charged for any estate administration services conducted by Perpetual Guardian in accordance with their standard terms which can be found on their website, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
  6. Once we receive notification of cancellation or non payment of your subscription fees you will have one month to remove all your personal files and content before your access is removed.
Other Important Terms
  1. Footprint is not a statutory Trustee Company and will not be providing estate administration or executorship services. Footprint uses Perpetual Guardian, a statutory trustee company regulated by the Trustee Companies Act 1967 as the provider of executorship and estate administration services to Footprint’s customers.
  2. Footprint is not an insurance product and is not a pre-payment product. Should you terminate your subscription with Footprint, you will not be entitled to a refund of any kind.
  3. By becoming a Footprint subscriber, you agree not to misuse the Vault or help anyone else to do so. For example, you must not do any of the following in connection with the Vault:
    • Probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any system or network;
    • Breach or otherwise circumvent any security or authentication measures;
    • Access, tamper with or use non-public areas or parts of the Vault, or shared areas of the Vault you haven't been invited to;
    • Interfere with or disrupt any user, host or network, for example by sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming or mail-bombing any part of the Vault;
    • Abuse referrals or promotions to get more storage space than allocated;
    • Circumvent storage space limits;
    • Sell the Vault unless specifically authorised to do so;
    • Publish or share materials that are unlawfully pornographic or indecent, or that contain extreme acts of violence;
    • Advocate bigotry or hatred against any person or group of people based on their race, religion, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual preference, disability or impairment;
    • Harass or abuse Footprint personnel or representatives or agents performing services on behalf of Footprint;
    • Violate the law in any way, including storing, publishing or sharing material that is fraudulent, defamatory or misleading;
    • Violate the privacy or infringe the rights of others; or
    • Any other acts or omissions in breach of any New Zealand law.

Footprint Single Will Terms & Conditions

Our Content

By purchasing a Footprint Single Will we want to make sure you’re aware that the Services are the exclusive property of Footprint and our licensors. This includes any original content, features and functionality used as part of our Services.

Our Services are protected by copyright, trade mark and other laws of both New Zealand and overseas countries. This means our trademarks and copyright material can’t be used in connection with any product or service without a written consent from us.

Creating a Footprint Account

At the time you create an account with us, you will need to provide us with accurate, complete, and current information. Your account will automatically be created when you provide your email address and a password on the “Your Details” page.

At any point, if you realise the information you have provided to us is incorrect, please get in touch with us as soon as possible. We recommend you keep your information up-to-date so that it’s always accurate.

When you provide any information to us, whether in relation to you or a third party, you need to have the appropriate authorisation to disclose that information for the purposes we will use it for. In providing such information, you are agreeing with the Privacy Act 1993 and any duties owed to any third party.

If you choose, or you are provided with, a user identification code, password or any other information as part of our security processes, you need to treat this information as confidential, making sure not to disclose it to any third party.

Your username can't be:

  1. The name of another person or entity that is not lawfully available for use;
  2. A name or trade mark that is subject to any rights of another person or entity, other than you, without appropriate authorisation; or
  3. A name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar or obscene.

We want to make sure your information is always safe. If you become aware of any third party using, or becoming aware of, your confidential information (for example, your user identification code or password), please make sure to get in contact with us straight away. You’ll need to immediately take all necessary steps in changing any/all passwords associated with any account that has been compromised.

Providing Us with Correct Data

Information such as personal data (including family information, assets and your Will instructions) will need to be shared with us. Your data will be used in drafting your Will and delivering our Services. We need to emphasise, it is your sole responsibility to ensure your data is accurate, complete and error free. Footprint isn’t under any obligation to confirm or validate the information that you’ve given us in its provision of the Services.

We will meet our obligations under the Privacy Act 1993, including the collecting, using and storing of your data.

Purchasing the Footprint Services

We may change our fees at any time, but rest assured we will give you advance notice of any changes via a message to the email address linked to your account.

If you make a purchase using the Services, you will be asked to supply certain information relevant to your purchase including (without limitation) your credit card number, the expiration date of your credit card, your billing address, and your email address.

By purchasing from us, you confirm that you have the legal right to use any credit card(s) to purchase Services and that the information you supply to Footprint is true, correct and complete.

By submitting your payment information to us, you will be giving us the right to provide this information to third parties in order to facilitate the completion of purchases.

We do reserve the right to refuse or cancel your order at any time for reasons including, but not limited to, the availability of our Services. Within 14 calendar days of receiving the first draft of your Will, you are entitled to make two alterations to your Will, without additional charges.

Our Refund Policy

You are free to stop using our Services at any time. If you’re not completely satisfied with your purchase, you have rights as a consumer under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and other applicable New Zealand laws and regulations. In addition, you may also be eligible to obtain a refund under Footprint’s Refund Policy (described below).

If you have a problem with the Will we provided you, you’ll have up to 14 calendar days from the time you receive your Will to initiate a return. Please visit our online “Contact Us” page to email us for help. One of our team members will get in touch to discuss the problem you’ve encountered. Our office hours are Monday - Friday 8.30am to 5.00pm on business days.

As Footprint is a service based directly on the information you’ve provided us, we won’t be able to provide a refund for information that was not accurately provided, or if you changed your mind. However if we find out any errors are genuine and can be fixed immediately we may, at our sole discretion, issue an updated copy of the Will. This could result in additional charges, which will be discussed with you prior to any changes being made. We can’t exchange the Will for alternative services, or issue a credit note. We will decide the appropriate payment method used for any refunds.

Service “As Is”

Footprint and its associates, suppliers and distributors, to the fullest extent permitted by law, do not make any guarantees or warranties, either expressed or implied, about the Service. The Service is provided "as is" and isn’t necessarily fit for any particular purpose.

Our Legal Responsibilities

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

  1. In no event will Footprint, its affiliates, suppliers or distributors be liable for any indirect, special, incidental, punitive, exemplary or consequential damages or any damage to, or loss of, any original documents or copies of original documents held by Footprint, or any loss of profits or loss of use, or theft, of personal information or business data, regardless of whether or not Footprint has been warned of the possibility of such damages; and
  2. The maximum aggregate liability of Footprint, its affiliates, suppliers and distributors for all claims relating to the Service in any 12-month period will be limited to the amounts paid by you for use of the Services during that 12-month period.
Indemnification

It’s important you know, as a condition of your use of our Services, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Footprint, its directors, employees, shareholders, agents, lawyers, affiliates, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any and all liability, loss, claim, demand, suit, proceeding, damage, cost, and expense, including reasonable lawyer’s fees and costs, as a result of:

  1. Any violation of you by these Terms;
  2. The content of any information you (or anyone using your account) submit, post, or transmit through the Footprint ewills site;
  3. Your (or anyone using your account’s) use of Footprint; or
  4. Any negligent acts, errors, or omissions of you, or your agents.
Changes to these Terms

We may make changes to these Terms from time to time. We will always post the most current Terms on our Footprint website. If any change meaningfully reduces your rights, we will let you know immediately. By continuing to use or access our Service after any changes come into effect, you are agreeing to the revised Terms.

New Zealand Law

These Terms and the provision of our Service are governed by New Zealand law and you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Zealand in respect of these Terms and the Service.

Our Agreement with You

These Terms establish the entire agreement between you and Footprint, regarding the subject matter of these Terms. They will supersede and replace any other prior or co-existing agreements, or terms and conditions applicable to the subject matter of these Terms. If you otherwise use our online client portal service, you will still be subject to our terms of use in respect of such usage (which are available on the portal). These Terms create no third party beneficiary rights.

Waiver, Severability & Assignment

Our failure to enforce a provision of these terms is not a waiver of our right to do so later. If a provision is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions of the Terms will remain in full effect. You may not assign any of your rights under these Terms. Footprint may assign its rights to any successor.

Cookies

The Footprint website uses cookies. By using the Services and agreeing to these Terms, you agree to Footprint's use of cookies in accordance with the terms of our Privacy Policy.

Third Party Software

In order to provide the Services or support links to other websites, there might be some necessary computer equipment or certain pieces of software that need to be downloaded or installed. If you can’t access all or part of the Services because we do not automatically include access to any necessary software or equipment, this won’t constitute a breach of our Terms. To the fullest extent permissible by law, we won’t be liable for any loss, damage or expense which may result from an inability to access or use the Services.



[1] If you complete a Will with Perpetual Guardian you are able to claim a $50.00 discount off this Will. The same discount applies for completing your annual update.

[2] Refer to Footprint Service Exclusion, paragraph “b” for details.