1. Introduction
This Privacy Policy describes how Guiding Retirees with Michael (Ebby) Eberhardt ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"), located in Chandler, Arizona, collects, uses, stores, and protects your personal information when you use our website GuidingRetirees.com and related services (the "Site").
Arizona does not currently have a comprehensive consumer data privacy statute equivalent to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). However, Arizona has enacted specific data breach notification requirements under A.R.S. §§ 18-551 and 18-552, and general consumer protection provisions under the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act (A.R.S. § 44-1521 et seq.). This Policy is designed to comply with those requirements and to reflect our commitment to your privacy.
If you are a California resident, additional rights may apply to you under the CCPA. See Section 10 below.
2. Information We Collect
2.1 Information You Provide Directly
When you use our Site, you may provide:
- Name and email address (when submitting a worksheet for review or booking a call)
- Phone number (if provided voluntarily)
- Financial information entered into the Retirement Income Worksheet, including income sources, monthly expenses, asset values, and debt amounts
- Answers to questions in estate document preparation tools
- Communications you send to us via email, contact forms, or phone
2.2 Information Collected Automatically
When you visit the Site, we may automatically collect:
- IP address and approximate geographic location
- Browser type and version
- Pages visited and time spent on the Site
- Referring website or search terms
- Device type and operating system
This information is collected through cookies and similar tracking technologies. See Section 7 (Cookies) below.
2.3 Information We Do Not Collect
We do not collect Social Security numbers, government-issued ID numbers, credit card numbers, or bank account numbers through our Site. Do not include this information in any form or communication.
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Provide and improve our Services
- Respond to your inquiries and schedule consultations
- Send you the free retirement worksheet review you requested
- Contact you regarding your submitted worksheet if you have provided your email address and consented to follow-up
- Send educational content, newsletters, or updates about our services (with your consent)
- Comply with applicable law
- Protect against fraud and misuse of our Services
We do not use your information to make automated decisions that produce legal or significant effects on you.
4. Retirement Worksheet Data — Special Notice
The Retirement Income Worksheet allows you to enter sensitive financial information. We want to be completely transparent about how this data is handled:
- If you use the worksheet without submitting your email: Your data is stored only in your browser's local storage and is never transmitted to our servers. Nothing is uploaded.
- If you submit your email address for a free review: Your worksheet data, including financial totals (income, expenses, surplus, and total assets) will be transmitted to our secure database and Michael (Ebby) Eberhardt will receive a notification email containing your totals for the purpose of preparing your review.
- We do not sell, rent, or share your financial data with third parties for marketing purposes.
- Your worksheet data is retained for no longer than 36 months following your last interaction with us, after which it is deleted.
5. Information Sharing and Disclosure
We do not sell your personal information. We may share your information only in the following circumstances:
5.1 Service Providers
We use third-party service providers to operate the Site, including database hosting and email notification services. These providers have access to your information only to the extent necessary to perform their functions and are contractually obligated to maintain confidentiality.
5.2 Third-Party Document Platforms
If you use estate document preparation services powered by a third-party platform, information you provide to that platform is subject to that platform's privacy policy. We encourage you to review the applicable third-party privacy policy before use.
5.3 Legal Requirements
We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, court order, or subpoena, or if we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or comply with a legal process.
5.4 Business Transfer
In the event of a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or a portion of our assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you by email or prominent notice on the Site of any such change and any choices you may have.
6. Arizona Data Breach Notification — A.R.S. §§ 18-551 and 18-552
Arizona law requires us to notify you if we discover a security breach affecting your personal information. Under A.R.S. § 18-551, "personal information" includes your name combined with any of the following if it was acquired without authorization:
- Social Security or taxpayer identification number
- Driver's license or state-issued ID number
- Financial account number with access code or password
- Medical or mental health information
- Biometric data
- Your email address combined with a password or security question answer
In the event of a qualifying breach, we will notify affected individuals in the manner and timeframe required by Arizona law. We will also notify the Arizona Attorney General if the breach affects more than 500 Arizona residents, as required by law.
7. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the Site and understand how it is used. You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect certain Site functionality.
We may use Google Analytics or similar analytics services to understand Site traffic and usage patterns. These services may collect information about your use of the Site. You can opt out of Google Analytics by visiting: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
We do not currently engage in cross-context behavioral advertising. If this changes, we will update this Policy accordingly.
8. Data Security
We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical security measures designed to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Our database is hosted on infrastructure that employs industry-standard security protocols.
However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security of your information and are not responsible for unauthorized access resulting from factors outside our reasonable control.
9. Data Retention
We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to provide our Services and fulfill the purposes described in this Policy, and as required by applicable law. Our general retention periods are:
- Worksheet submission data: 36 months from last interaction
- Email communications: 36 months
- Estate document preparation data: Per applicable third-party platform policy
Upon request, we will delete your personal information subject to any legal obligations to retain certain records.
10. California Residents — CCPA Rights
If you are a California resident, you have the following rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):
- Right to Know: You may request information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you in the past 12 months.
- Right to Delete: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
- Right to Correct: You may request correction of inaccurate personal information.
- Right to Opt-Out of Sale: We do not sell your personal information. You do not need to opt out.
- Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your CCPA rights.
To exercise these rights, contact us at ebby@guidingretirees.com. We will respond within 45 days as required by law.
11. Children's Privacy
Our Services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected such information, please contact us immediately and we will delete it.
12. Links to Third-Party Sites
Our Site may contain links to third-party websites, including estate document platforms, educational resources, and booking services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party sites and encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.
13. Your Choices and Rights
You may contact us at any time to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you
- Request correction of inaccurate information
- Request deletion of your information (subject to legal retention obligations)
- Opt out of marketing communications (every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link)
- Request that we not contact you regarding your submitted worksheet
To exercise any of these rights, email us at ebby@guidingretirees.com or call (602) 598-2992.
14. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Policy on the Site with a new effective date. For significant changes, we may also notify you by email if you have provided your email address. Your continued use of the Site following notice of changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated Policy.
15. Contact Us
If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us at:
Guiding Retirees with Michael (Ebby) Eberhardt
Chandler, Arizona
Email: ebby@guidingretirees.com
Phone: (602) 598-2992
Website: GuidingRetirees.com