Terms of Service

1. Introduction

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Equity Steward platform, accessible at equitysteward.org (the "Platform"), operated by Equity Steward ("we", "us", "our").

By creating an account or using the Platform in any way, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the Platform.

These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

2. What Equity Steward Is — and Is Not

Equity Steward is an educational, organisational, and record-keeping platform designed to help individuals and families understand, document, and maintain information relevant to private trusts.

The Platform provides structured workflows, document templates, audit trails, governance tools, and archiving features. It is a self-directed recording and learning system.

Equity Steward does not provide legal advice, tax advice, financial advice, or investment advice. Nothing on this Platform constitutes a solicitor-client relationship or any form of regulated professional service. We are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or any other regulatory body in respect of advice or services.

You should always consult a qualified solicitor, accountant, or independent financial adviser before making decisions relating to your trust or estate.

3. Accounts and Access

To use the Platform, you must register for an account. You must provide accurate, complete, and current information during registration and keep it up to date.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorised use.

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Platform. By creating an account, you confirm that you meet this requirement.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, abuse the Platform, or cause harm to other users or the service.

4. Subscriptions and Billing

Access to the full Platform requires a paid subscription. We offer the following plans: Basic (£15/month), Steward (£49/month), and Enterprise (from £149/month). Annual billing is available at a 17% discount. Prices are displayed inclusive of any applicable taxes.

Payments are processed by Stripe, a PCI Level 1 compliant payment processor. We do not store your full card details. By subscribing, you agree to Stripe's terms of service.

Subscriptions renew automatically at the end of each billing period unless you cancel before the renewal date. You can cancel at any time from your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period — you retain access until then.

We do not offer refunds for partial billing periods. If you believe a charge was made in error, please contact us within 14 days at [email protected].

We reserve the right to change our pricing with at least 30 days' notice. Continued use of the Platform after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.

5. Referral Partner Programme

We operate an optional referral partner programme. Partners earn commission on referred subscriptions for a period of 12 months from the referred user's first payment.

Commission rates are set out in the partner dashboard and may be updated with 30 days' notice. Commission is only payable on qualifying paid subscriptions and is not paid on trial periods, refunded payments, or cancelled subscriptions.

We reserve the right to terminate partner agreements where there is evidence of fraud, abuse, misleading marketing, or breach of these Terms.

6. Intellectual Property

All content on the Platform — including software, design, text, templates, and materials — is owned by Equity Steward or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms transfers any intellectual property rights to you.

You retain ownership of all data and content you upload to the Platform ('Your Data'). By uploading, you grant us a limited licence to store, process, and display Your Data solely to provide the service to you.

You must not copy, reproduce, distribute, modify, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform without our prior written consent.

7. Acceptable Use

You agree to use the Platform only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with these Terms. You must not:

— Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform or its underlying systems

— Upload or transmit malicious code, viruses, or any harmful material

— Use automated tools, scrapers, or bots to access the Platform without our prior written consent

— Use the Platform to harass, defraud, or harm others

— Attempt to reverse-engineer, decompile, or disassemble any part of the Platform

— Misrepresent your identity or affiliation

We operate a multi-layer security architecture. Any attempts to probe, test, or circumvent our security measures may be logged, blocked, and reported to appropriate authorities.

8. Your Data and Privacy

We take data privacy seriously. Our full Privacy Policy explains what data we collect, how we use it, how long we retain it, and your rights under UK GDPR.

You are responsible for ensuring that any data you enter about third parties (such as trustees or beneficiaries) is accurate and that you have appropriate authority to do so.

We provide a self-custody export feature that allows you to download a complete copy of your workspace data at any time. If you close your account, you should export your data before doing so.

9. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Platform is provided 'as is' and 'as available'. To the extent permitted by law, we make no warranties — express or implied — regarding the Platform, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free from viruses or other harmful components.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence or fraud.

10. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability to you shall not exceed the total fees paid by you to us in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

We shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, or incidental loss, including loss of profit, loss of data, or loss of business.

The limitations above do not apply to liability for fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

11. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us or using the account settings. Termination does not entitle you to a refund of any prepaid subscription fees.

We may suspend or terminate your access immediately and without notice if you breach these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, or pose a risk to the Platform or other users.

On termination, your right to use the Platform ceases immediately. Clauses that by their nature should survive termination will continue to apply.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. Where a change is material, we will notify you by email or by a prominent notice on the Platform at least 14 days before the change takes effect.

Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

13. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us at [email protected].