Terms of Service
Last updated: September 14, 2026
1. Acceptance of these terms (please read carefully)
Begin (“the Service”) is a free personal project available at begin.estate. By accessing or using the Service — including filling out the questionnaire, saving your answers, or generating documents — you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. Because the Service has no accounts or sign-in, your continued use of the site is your agreement (“browsewrap”); a notice of these terms is linked on every page.
2. What Begin is
Begin is a free self-help tool. You answer a questionnaire, and the Service generates signature-ready Texas estate-planning document templates populated with your answers: a last will and testament, statutory durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, directive to physicians, HIPAA authorization, declarations of guardian, and a key-people summary. The Service is provided free of charge as a personal project. It is not a law firm, and no part of it is a substitute for individualized legal advice.
3. Not legal advice; no attorney–client relationship
Nothing on this site is legal advice. The documents, explanations, signing instructions, and any other content are general legal information for Texas, not advice about your situation. Using the Service does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and anyone involved in the Service, and no fiduciary or confidential relationship is formed. The law changes, and general information may not reflect current law or fit your circumstances — including blended families, non-Texas property, business interests, beneficiary designations, or tax considerations the questionnaire does not cover.
You are strongly encouraged to have every generated document reviewed by a licensed Texas attorney before you sign it. Whether a document is valid and effective depends on facts only you and your own attorney can evaluate.
4. Your responsibilities
You are solely responsible for: (a) the accuracy and completeness of every answer you provide; (b) reviewing each generated document in full before signing; (c) executing each document correctly — the signing guidance in the Service (general information about witnesses, notaries, and self-proving affidavits) must be followed carefully, and improper execution can make a document ineffective; (d) storing, safeguarding, and delivering your signed originals; and (e) keeping your documents current as your life, family, assets, and the law change. The Service does not monitor any of this for you.
5. License to use the Service
Subject to these terms, you are granted a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the Service and the documents it generates for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not resell the Service, hold it out as your own, or use it to provide legal services to others. The Service and its templates are protected by applicable intellectual-property laws.
6. How your answers are handled
Your answers are encrypted in your browser (AES-256-GCM) before anything is sent to our servers; the server stores only ciphertext it cannot read. Your decryption key exists only in your resume magic link’s web address and in any backup file you download — never on our servers. Saved answers are automatically and permanently deleted 30 days after your last save. If you lose both your magic link and your backup file, your answers are unrecoverable, and we cannot retrieve them for you. No security measure is perfect; you use the Service’s storage features at your own risk.
7. Disclaimer of warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DOCUMENTS GENERATED WILL BE VALID, EFFECTIVE, OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PURPOSES, OR THAT THE SITE IS FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS.
8. Limitation of liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICE’S OPERATOR SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROPERTY, INHERITANCE, BENEFITS, OR OPPORTUNITY, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE — INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY CLAIM THAT A GENERATED DOCUMENT WAS INVALID, INEFFECTIVE, INCOMPLETE, OR IMPROPERLY EXECUTED, OR THAT ANSWERS WERE LOST, DELETED, OR DISCLOSED. BECAUSE THE SERVICE IS FREE, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM SHALL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO USE THE SERVICE, WHICH IS ZERO. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you; in that case liability is limited to the greatest extent permitted by law.
9. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Service’s operator from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these terms, or your execution, use, or reliance on any generated document.
10. Changes to the Service and these terms
The Service may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice, and saved answers are not guaranteed beyond the stated 30-day retention. These terms may be updated by posting a revised version with a new “last updated” date; your continued use after posting constitutes acceptance.
11. Governing law and venue
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising under these terms shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to their jurisdiction.
12. General
If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full effect. These terms are the entire agreement between you and the Service regarding its use. Questions about these terms may be sent through the contact information published on the site, if any.