Terms & Conditions
Below are the Terms and Conditions of our Online Will product. Please read carefully and if necessary consult independent legal advice prior to the use.
Terms & Conditions of SmartWills Online Will Writing Service
The Online Will Writing Service (“Service”) is provided by My Smartwills Limited [3246913] (“MSL”). These are the terms and conditions governing the access, provision and use of the Service (“Terms and Conditions”, or “T&C”).
You shall indicate your understanding of the Product Disclosure Sheet of the Service (“Product Disclosure Sheet”, or “PDS”) and agreement to the Terms and Conditions and accept responsibility for your use of the Service by clicking on the “Accept” button appearing at the end of the Terms and Conditions. You should read the Product Disclosure Sheet and the Terms and Conditions carefully before you click the “Accept” button and accept them. If you click the “Cancel” button, there will be no subscription for the Service.
Please note that the use of this service must comply with all relevant laws, regulations, and the aforementioned terms and conditions of Hong Kong. Unauthorized access and use are strictly prohibited.
1. Definitions
For the purpose of the Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meanings as defined below. All other terms not defined herein shall have the meaning as may generally be accepted within the industry based on the context used herein.
“Will” – Means the Will for a Non-Muslim person made available by MSL following subscription to the Service.
“Website” – Means www.smartwills.com.hk
“Fee and Charges” – Refers to the current fees payable for each subscription package of this service, as updated and indicated on the website. The specified fees do not include any government taxes, as Hong Kong currently does not implement Goods and Services Tax (GST) or similar Value-Added Tax (VAT). If any new taxes are imposed by the government in the future and are applicable to our services, they will be charged separately.
2.General Terms
2.1 You must first have a valid username and password and subscribe for the Service.
2.2 The Service is for your exclusive use only. You are prohibited from using the Service on behalf of another person EXCEPT our authorized resellers (herewith known as “SmartWriters”) who are permitted to use the Service on behalf of their clients.
2.3 You acknowledge and agree to accept the Service via the secured Website in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.
2.4 MSL reserves the right to reject your subscription for the Service at its sole and absolute discretion without providing any reasons whatsoever.
2.5 MSL will make available the electronic copy of the Will (in PDF format) as an email attachment to your email address as provided by you within 24 hours, or delivery of printed copy as per our add-on premium service to your postal address within five (5) working days, from you having provided complete and accurate information and received the payment confirmation notification of the Fees to our payment gateway.
2.6 You may at any time cancel or unsubscribe for the Service provided that such cancellation or unsubscription is done prior to the payment of the Fees.
2.7 MSL reserves the copyright of the Will and you undertake to not copy or re-use the content of the Will and/or share or distribute the content of the Will to any other party or for any commercial use.
2.8 You are advised to contact MSL should you require additional information or clarification in respect of the Service or should you have any special instructions for the writing of a Will.
2.9 MSL reserves the right at its sole and absolute discretion to vary, supplement, delete, amend or modify any of the Terms and Conditions from time to time by giving a minimum of fourteen (14) days prior written notice thereof. The notice setting out the variation, supplemental, deletion, amendments or modification, as the case may be to the Terms and Conditions and the duly varied, amended, supplemented and modified Terms and conditions shall be posted on the Website.
2.10 By clicking the on the “Accept” button appearing at the end of the Terms and Conditions, you fully understand your right to consult a legal practitioner for advice in regards to the Will before signing the Will and MSL shall not be held responsible for your failure to do so and shall not be held liable for any loss and damage suffered by you for your failure to do so.
2.11 By clicking on the payment button, you fully understand your responsibility and risk of accepting the service.
3.Your Eligibility
3.1 For writing a Will using our Service, you must be:
- A Non-Muslim;
- Of Sound mind;
- Hong Kong citizen/non-Hong Kong citizen;
- At least 18 years old;
- Understand the nature and purpose of making a Will.
4.Your Duties
4.1 Upon receipt of the original Will from MSL, you shall:
a) Read the Will to confirm that all information therein is correct and reflects your wishes regarding the beneficiaries, distribution of estate, and appointment of executors.
b) Notify MSL of any errors within three (3) working days to enable MSL to provide a new Will.
c) If it is in order, sign the Will in the presence of two (2) witnesses who are both 18 years old and above.
d) Ensure that the witnesses simultaneously sign as witnesses to your signature.
e) Ensure that the witnesses are not named as beneficiaries under the Will.
f) Keep the duly signed and witnessed original Will in a safe and secure place.
4.2 Your failure to comply with clause 4.1 may render the Will invalid and/or not enforceable and MSL shall not be held liable for any loss and damage that you suffer.
5. Fee and Charges
5.1 MSL will only accept e-payment of the Fees if paid through the payment gateway on our Website, either paid directly by you or via our authorized resellers (“SmartWriters”).
5.2 Subject to Clause 5.3 herein, Fees paid by you are not refundable.
5.3 MSL may consider making a refund of the Fees at its absolute discretion.
5.4 MSL reserves the right to revise the Fees from time to time and publish the revised Fees on the Website.
5.5 The specified fees do not include any government taxes. Since Hong Kong currently does not implement any Sales and Services Tax (GST) or similar Value-Added Tax (VAT), these fees will not include or be charged separately for such taxe
6.Consent for Sharing of Information
6.1 MSL requires the information as requested for the provision of the Service (“Information”).
6.2 MSL will keep the Information confidential and will only disclose the Information where it is necessary to auditors, legal counsel and other professional advisors, to any regulators and in accordance with the law.
6.3 You have the right, at any time, to (a) withdraw your consent, if consent was granted or grant your consent, if consent was not granted, (b) check the Information and (c) have any inaccuracies in the Information corrected by writing to MSL at the address provided in the Product Disclosure Sheet.
7. Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (PDPO)
7.1 In accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, we require your explicit consent to collect and process your sensitive personal data. We collect your sensitive personal data for the purpose of assessing your application and managing the products and services you have registered for.
7.2 Declaration: By clicking on the “Accept” button appearing at the end of the Terms and Conditions, you are declaring that you have read, understood, and agreed to be subject to MSL’s Privacy Notice and are expressly consenting to and authorizing MSL:
a) To request and obtain all the personal information and data in this form for the purpose of processing this application and for all other purposes which are required in relation to the Service;
b) To collect and process your sensitive personal data for the purpose of this application (where applicable).
By clicking on the “Accept” button appearing at the end of the Terms and Conditions, you further confirm that all personal data that you have provided are true, up-to-date, and accurate. Should there be any changes to any of your personal data, you shall notify MSL immediately.
8. Limitations of Service
8.1 MSL shall not be appointed as executor in your Will.
8.2 MSL does not provide nor purport to advise you in connection with your: (a) Will; (b) Personal circumstances; (c) Distribution of property (“distribution”); (d) Tax consequences arising from such distribution; (e) Effectiveness of such distribution; and (f) Legal consequences of such distribution.
9. Limitations of Liability
9.1 MSL:
a) Shall not be responsible for the administration of your estate.
b) Is not responsible for:
(i) Verifying your identity, age, or testamentary capacity.
(ii) Verifying any information that you have provided.
(iii) Any delays or failure in its performance under these terms and conditions resulting from circumstances beyond the control of either MSL which includes flood, drought, fire, casualty, explosion, sabotage, accident, embargo, breakdown in equipment, communication line failure, power failure, lockout, strike, unavoidable accident, act of God, terrorism or threat of terrorism, riot, war, or any enactment, issuance or operation of any adverse governmental law, ruling, regulation, order or decree, or any other emergency that prevents MSL from operating normally;
(iv) Any fraud or dishonest conduct of any third party including but not limited to hacking and phishing; and
(v) Any tampering or misplacing of the Will while in your custody.
9.2 MSL, its representatives or agents make no representation or warranty that you will have continuous or uninterrupted access to the Service, or that any of the functions of the Service will be error-free or that no damage will occur to your computer system. The Service is provided to you “as is” and “as available” and the access to the Service is strictly at your own risk. MSL and its service providers make no representation or warranty relating to the Service, including, without limitation, its performance, availability, content, or functions.
9.3 In addition to any other disclaimers and exclusions as may be stipulated in the Terms and Conditions, and to the extent as may be permitted under law, MSL disclaims all warranties, conditions, guarantees, representations, express or implied with respect to the Service. You shall use this Service at your own risk.
9.4 In no event will MSL or their officers, directors, employees, shareholders, affiliates, agents, licensors, or third party service providers be liable in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise for any loss or damage (including but not limited to consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages) sustained by you or any other party arising directly or indirectly from your access or use of the Service including but not limited to loss or damage rising from:
a. any defect, delays, interruptions or failures in the provision of the Service;
b. any inaccuracies, or errors in any data or information in the Will or otherwise provided or made available via the Service;
c. the corruption, loss of or error in any data or information provided by the Customer for incorporation in the Will for any reason;
d. any unauthorized use of the Service and/or intrusion, interference or attack on Website or the Service by any person, virus, Trojan Horse, worm, macro or other harmful components or deleterious programs or files;
e. your failure, neglect or omission to act in accordance with the Terms and Conditions and any other laws, rules, regulations, policies and guidelines currently in force;
f. an event which is beyond the reasonable control of MSL;
g. MSL performing and exercising its rights, obligations and discretion pursuant to these Terms and Conditions; and/or
h. the act or omission of any party other than MSL.
9.5 Your sole remedy for any failure or non-performance of the Service shall be for MSL to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform an adjustment or repair of the Service by providing a fresh Will and if you remain dissatisfied with the Service, to discontinue your access and use of the same.
9.6 The foregoing clauses shall apply to the fullest extent as permitted in law.
10. Indemnity
10.1 You shall keep MSL fully indemnified on a full indemnity basis against any and all losses, damages, fees, costs, charges, duties, expenses, legal costs etc arising directly or indirectly that MSL may howsoever sustain or incur including but not limited to those arising from:
a. Your use or purported use or misuse of this Website or the Service provided herein; or
b. Your breach of the Terms and Conditions howsoever occasioned; or
c. Any intellectual property right or proprietary right infringement claim made by a third party against MSL in connection with your use of the Service.
11. Security and Computer Systems
11.1 Information you provide in connection with the Service will be stored on the Website’s secure servers and protected by certain encryption techniques. However, the security of the Service depends upon your efforts to protect your access to the Website. You must take all necessary precautions to safeguard your access to the Website, which allows you to access the Service.
11.2 You shall be responsible for all access and use of the Service whether authorized by you or otherwise and shall indemnify MSL in relation to any liability, losses or damages suffered or incurred by MSL arising from the access and use of the Service.
12. Intellectual Property Rights
12.1 Other than your personal information, all content available on the Service is the property of MSL and is protected by copyrights, trademarks, or other intellectual and proprietary rights. Your usage of the Service does not grant you a license or right to use any MSL trademark without the express written approval of MSL. In addition, your usage of the Service does not grant you a license or right to use any third party trademark without the express written approval of the third party possessing rights to such trademark.
13. Termination
13.1 MSL reserves the right to terminate and/or suspend your access to the Website and/or the Service or your use of the Website and/or the Service at any time, for any reason. In particular, and without limitation, MSL may terminate and/or suspend your access should you violate any of the Terms and Conditions, or violate the rights of MSL, of any other user, or of any third party.
14. Law and Jurisdiction
14.1 The Terms and Conditions are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Hong Kong. By accessing this website and/or using the services provided herein by MSL, you hereby agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Hong Kong in all disputes arising out of or relating to the use of this website. MSL does not guarantee that the materials, information, functions, and/or services provided on the website are suitable or available for use in jurisdictions outside of Hong Kong.
14.2 If any part of the Terms and Conditions is determined to be invalid or unenforceable pursuant to applicable laws including, but not limited to, the warranty disclaimers and limitations set forth above, then the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the Terms and Conditions will continue in effect.
15. Queries and Complaints
15.1 In the event that you have any queries, complaints and/or disputes arising from your access to and use of the Service, you shall refer the matter to MSL as per the relevant contact details as stipulated in the Product Disclosure Sheet.
15.2 MSL shall use its reasonable endeavours to respond to the queries and resolve any problems or issues as may be raised by you.
15.3 You shall specify the nature of your query, complaint and/or dispute and such other details or information as may be required by MSL and such complaint and/or dispute shall be handled and/or resolved in accordance with MSL’s internal complaints and dispute resolution procedure.
