The contract between you and GuardianStep, LLC for use of the platform
Please read these Terms of Service ("Terms") carefully before using GuardianStep (the "Service," "Platform," or "Application"), operated by GuardianStep, LLC ("GuardianStep," "we," "our," or "us"). By creating an account or using any part of the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
GuardianStep is a cloud-based software platform designed to help legal guardians, power-of-attorney holders, family caregivers, and care teams organize, document, and coordinate the care of individuals under their responsibility ("protected persons" or "wards"). Features include, but are not limited to: care documentation, medication and physician tracking, financial record-keeping, legal document storage, visit logging, team communication, health record connectivity, and reporting tools.
GuardianStep is a software tool only. It is not a law firm, medical practice, financial advisory firm, or care agency. Nothing on the Platform constitutes legal, medical, or financial advice. See Section 10 (No Legal, Medical, or Financial Advice) for more information.
You must be at least 18 years of age to use GuardianStep. By registering an account you represent and warrant that (a) you are at least 18 years old, (b) you have the legal authority to enter into these Terms, and (c) all information you provide during registration is accurate and current.
GuardianStep is intended for use by individuals who have a lawful guardianship, power of attorney, or other legally recognized authority to manage the affairs of another person, as well as authorized members of their care team. You are solely responsible for ensuring you have appropriate legal authority before entering or acting on information within the Platform.
You must create an account to access the Service. You agree to keep your login credentials confidential and are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account. You must notify us immediately at customerservice@guardianstep.com if you suspect unauthorized access to your account.
Each account is personal to the individual registered. You may invite team members to collaborate within your account up to the limit permitted by your subscription plan. You are responsible for the actions of all users you add to your account.
GuardianStep offers the following subscription tiers (pricing subject to change with advance notice):
Subscriptions are billed monthly or annually, in advance, to the payment method you provide. All fees are non-refundable except as required by applicable law or as expressly stated in a written refund policy. We reserve the right to change pricing with at least 30 days' notice. Continued use of the Service after a price change constitutes acceptance of the new pricing.
If payment fails, we may suspend your account after reasonable notice. You remain responsible for all charges incurred through the date of suspension.
You agree to use GuardianStep only for lawful purposes. You must not:
We reserve the right to investigate and, at our sole discretion, suspend or terminate accounts that violate this section.
Your use of the Service is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using GuardianStep, you consent to the collection and use of information as described therein.
GuardianStep stores data you enter about your protected person and care team on secure cloud infrastructure. You retain ownership of all data you submit. You grant GuardianStep a limited, non-exclusive license to process and store your data solely for the purpose of providing the Service. We do not sell your personal data or your protected person's information to third parties.
You are solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and lawfulness of all data you enter into the Platform. GuardianStep is not responsible for errors in user-submitted data or decisions made based on that data.
HIPAA and Protected Health Information (PHI). GuardianStep operates as a Business Associate under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its implementing regulations (45 C.F.R. Parts 160 and 164) when processing Protected Health Information on behalf of Covered Entities, or as a platform used by individuals acting as personal representatives of patients under 45 C.F.R. § 164.502(g). GuardianStep maintains appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards required by the HIPAA Security Rule. For enterprise or institutional deployments that require a formal Business Associate Agreement (BAA), please contact us at privacy@guardianstep.com.
Electronic Health Record (EHR) Connectivity. If you use GuardianStep's optional EHR connectivity features to import health data from third-party health systems or aggregators (e.g., 1upHealth, Flexpa), you represent and warrant that: (a) you have lawful authority as a personal representative or authorized guardian to access the ward's health records under applicable federal and state law; (b) you have obtained any required consent or authorization from the ward or their legal representative; and (c) you will use imported health data solely for the purpose of managing the ward's care within GuardianStep. GuardianStep is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of data received from third-party health systems.
GuardianStep may offer optional integrations with third-party services, including financial data providers (Plaid), CMS Blue Button 2.0 for Original Medicare claims, FHIR aggregator services (currently Particle Health, with Flexpa or 1upHealth as alternates) for Medicare Advantage and commercial Patient Access plan data, EHR networks, identity verification providers (CLEAR), and payment processors (Stripe). Your use of these integrations is subject to the respective third-party's terms of service and privacy policy, in addition to these Terms.
When you connect an EHR integration, GuardianStep receives standardized health data (FHIR R4 resources) including medications, conditions, observations (vitals), care team information, and allergies. This data is stored within your GuardianStep account and subject to the same security controls and retention policies as manually entered data. You may disconnect any integration at any time from your account settings.
GuardianStep does not guarantee the availability, accuracy, or completeness of data received from third-party EHR systems, health information exchanges, or aggregators. All imported data should be reviewed by you for accuracy before relying on it for care decisions or court submissions.
Upon cancellation or termination of your account, we will retain your data for up to 90 days before permanent deletion, during which time you may request a data export by contacting us at customerservice@guardianstep.com. After that period, data will be deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law. We strongly recommend exporting your records before canceling your subscription.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we may retain certain data for longer periods as required by applicable law, including HIPAA's six-year record retention requirement for PHI-related policies and records, or as necessary for legal, audit, or dispute-resolution purposes.
All software, designs, text, graphics, logos, and other content on the GuardianStep platform are owned by or licensed to GuardianStep, LLC and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws. You are granted a limited, revocable, non-transferable license to use the Service for its intended purposes. No rights are transferred to you other than this limited license.
You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, or commercially exploit any portion of the Service without our prior written consent.
GuardianStep is a documentation and organization tool, not a licensed professional service. Nothing in the Service — including templates, reports, summaries, alerts, AI-generated valuation suggestions, recommendations, or any other content — constitutes or should be construed as legal advice, medical advice, or financial advice.
You should always consult with a licensed attorney for matters involving guardianship law, estate planning, or court proceedings; a licensed physician or healthcare professional for medical decisions; and a licensed financial advisor for investment or fiduciary decisions affecting your protected person's assets. AI-generated valuation estimates in the Inventory feature are informational only and do not constitute certified appraisals.
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, GuardianStep, LLC and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages — including loss of data, loss of revenue, harm to a protected person's health or finances, failure of health record synchronization, or inability to access the Service — arising from your use of or inability to use the Platform, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total cumulative liability to you for any claim arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the three months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred dollars ($100.00).
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless GuardianStep, LLC and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from (a) your use of the Service, (b) your violation of these Terms, (c) any information you enter into the Platform, (d) your violation of any rights of a third party, or (e) your violation of any applicable law, including HIPAA, in connection with your use of health record connectivity features.
You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings or by contacting us. Cancellation will take effect at the end of your current billing period; you will continue to have access to the Service through that date.
GuardianStep reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account at any time, with or without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or if continuing to provide the Service would expose us or others to harm or legal liability. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately.
We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice via email or a prominent notice within the Service at least 14 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Iowa, without regard to its conflict-of-laws provisions. Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Polk County, Iowa.
Before initiating any legal action, you agree to first contact us at customerservice@guardianstep.com and make a good-faith effort to resolve the dispute informally within 30 days.
Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any applicable Business Associate Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between you and GuardianStep, LLC regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.
Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
No Waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not be considered a waiver of that right or provision.
Assignment. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights without restriction.
GuardianStep offers optional SMS (text message) notifications to users who explicitly opt in inside the authenticated GuardianStep web application. By enabling SMS notifications you acknowledge and agree to the following:
Opt-in. SMS notifications are strictly opt-in. GuardianStep operates two opt-in paths, both inside the authenticated GuardianStep application at https://guardianstep.com:
Account-holder path. To enroll, you must sign in to your GuardianStep account, navigate to Settings → Notifications, enter a U.S. mobile number you control, and check the consent box stating:
Invitee path. A family-member or care-team invitee opens a unique single-use invite link generated from inside the platform, enters a U.S. mobile number, and checks the consent box stating:
A confirmation text is sent immediately upon enrollment in either path. We never add a phone number to SMS without this affirmative, in-app consent and we do not purchase, rent, or import phone numbers from third parties.
Message types. SMS messages are transactional account notifications only. Categories include: document expiration reminders for documents associated with a protected person, care incident alerts, temporary access notifications, account security codes and verification messages, and the one-time opt-in confirmation. We do not send promotional or marketing SMS.
Message frequency. Frequency varies and depends on activity in your account. A typical user receives between zero and eight messages per month.
Cost. GuardianStep does not charge for SMS notifications. However, message and data rates may apply from your mobile carrier depending on your plan.
Opting out (STOP) and getting help (HELP). You may opt out of GuardianStep SMS at any time by replying STOP (or any of the carrier-recognized variants STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT) to any GuardianStep message. You will receive a final confirmation that you have been opted out and will not receive any further GuardianStep SMS unless you explicitly opt back in by repeating the in-app opt-in flow above. You may reply HELP at any time to receive a message with support contact information.
Carrier disclaimer. Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. GuardianStep cannot guarantee message delivery through any specific carrier or to any specific device.
Privacy of phone numbers and SMS data. Phone numbers collected for SMS are used solely to send the transactional notifications described above. We do not sell, rent, or share phone numbers, opt-in records, or SMS-related personal information with third parties for their own marketing purposes. No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Information collected for SMS opt-in is not shared with any third party other than our SMS delivery vendor (Twilio), which processes the outbound message on our behalf under a data processing agreement. SMS opt-in consent is not transferable between affiliates or third parties.
Eligible numbers. GuardianStep SMS is available only to mobile numbers in the United States (country code +1). Landlines, VoIP numbers that do not accept SMS, and numbers outside the United States are not eligible.
For the full SMS Messaging Terms & Opt-In Policy, see SMS Messaging Terms.
Questions about these Terms? We're here to help:
GuardianStep, LLC
General: customerservice@guardianstep.com
Privacy & HIPAA: privacy@guardianstep.com
Website: www.guardianstep.com