Terms & Conditions

1. Definitions

In these Terms and Conditions:

• "Agreement" means these Terms and Conditions together with any written engagement brief signed or accepted by both parties.
• "We / Us / Our" means Ashgrove Ledger, 54 Jalan Bendahara, 75100 Melaka, Malaysia.
• "You / Client" means the individual or household engaging our services.
• "Services" means the family records and inheritance documentation services described on our website and in any written engagement brief.
• "Engagement Brief" means the written document setting out the scope, deliverables, fee, and data-handling arrangements for a specific service engagement.
• "Outputs" means the printed and digital materials produced in the course of a service engagement and delivered to you.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By using our website, submitting an enquiry, or entering into an engagement with us, you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions. You must be at least 18 years of age and have legal capacity to enter into an agreement under Malaysian law.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Malaysia. Any disputes arising from them are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Malaysia.

3. Nature of Our Services

Our services are archival and organisational in nature. We record what households tell us and describe what we observe. We do not draft legal documents, provide legal advice, value or authenticate objects, advise on financial matters, or prepare documents for submission to any authority.

Any question that falls outside the archival and clerical scope of our services will be referred to a qualified professional. We make no representation that our outputs are suitable for use as legal or financial documents.

Services are available to households in Malaysia. Enquiries from outside Malaysia may be accepted at our discretion where one or more family members are based in Malaysia.

4. Engagement Process

Before any service work begins, we will provide you with a written Engagement Brief setting out the scope of work, the deliverables, the fee (in Malaysian Ringgit), data-handling arrangements, and the estimated timeline. No work proceeds until you have indicated acceptance of the Engagement Brief in writing.

Any changes to the agreed scope during the engagement must be agreed in writing by both parties. We will advise you promptly if a requested change would affect the fee or timeline.

5. Your Responsibilities

You agree to:

• Provide accurate information during the engagement.
• Ensure that any third parties (such as other family members) who provide information or participate in sessions have consented to do so.
• Not use our outputs for any purpose other than that described in the Engagement Brief.
• Not represent our outputs as legal, financial, or valuation documents.
• Notify us promptly if you become aware of any error or omission in an output.

6. Intellectual Property

Upon full payment of the agreed fee, you own the physical and digital outputs produced under the Engagement Brief. We retain no rights to reproduce or use those outputs without your written permission.

We retain ownership of our methods, templates, finding aid structures, and any other materials that are not unique to your engagement. You receive a non-exclusive licence to use any such materials as incorporated in your outputs.

7. Fees and Payment

All fees are quoted in Malaysian Ringgit (RM) and are all-inclusive unless otherwise stated in the Engagement Brief. Fees are due as follows:

• Where Things Are Sheet: full payment at or before the appointment.
• Heirloom and Object Cataloguing: 50% at commencement, 50% on delivery of the catalogue.
• Family Archive and Handover Programme: 25% at commencement, 25% at month three, 25% at month six, 25% on delivery of final outputs.

Payment may be made by bank transfer to the account details provided in the Engagement Brief. We do not currently accept payment by card.

8. Cancellation and Refunds

You may cancel an engagement before it begins with a written notice. Any deposit paid will be refunded in full if notice is given at least five working days before the first scheduled appointment. If notice is given within five working days of the first appointment, 50% of any deposit paid is refundable.

Once work has commenced, fees for work already completed are non-refundable. If we are unable to complete an engagement for reasons within our control, we will refund any amounts paid for work not yet completed.

9. Confidentiality

We treat all information provided by you during an engagement as confidential. We will not disclose any information about you or your family to any third party without your written authorisation, except as required by law.

10. Disclaimers

Our outputs are descriptive and organisational documents. They are not legal instruments, valuations, or expert opinions of any kind. We make no representation that the information recorded in an output is complete or that all documents or objects in a household are captured.

We are not responsible for the accuracy of information provided to us by you or other family members during an engagement.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by Malaysian law, our total liability to you in connection with any engagement is limited to the fee paid for that engagement. We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental loss arising from the use of our outputs.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for fraud, death, or personal injury caused by our negligence.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify us against any claims, damages, or costs arising from your use of our outputs in a manner not contemplated by the Engagement Brief, or from inaccurate information provided to us during the engagement.

13. Termination

Either party may terminate an engagement by written notice if the other party materially breaches these Terms and fails to remedy that breach within ten working days of written notice. On termination, you will pay for work completed to the date of termination; we will deliver any outputs completed to that date.

Sections 6, 9, 10, 11, and 12 survive termination of any engagement.

14. Dispute Resolution

If a dispute arises, we ask that you contact us first at [email protected] so that we can try to resolve it informally. If informal resolution is not possible within 30 days, either party may refer the dispute to mediation under the rules of the Asian International Arbitration Centre (AIAC) or to the courts of Malaysia.

These Terms are governed by the laws of Malaysia. The courts of Malaysia have exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute not resolved by mediation.

15. General Provisions

These Terms, together with the Engagement Brief, constitute the entire agreement between us in relation to any engagement. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full effect. A failure to enforce any provision does not constitute a waiver of that provision. These Terms may not be assigned by you without our written consent.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The date at the top of this page shows when they were last revised. Engagements commenced before the date of a revision are governed by the Terms in effect at the time of commencement.

17. Contact

For legal enquiries relating to these Terms, please contact us at:

• Email: [email protected]
• Post: Ashgrove Ledger, 54 Jalan Bendahara, 75100 Melaka, Malaysia
• Telephone: +60 6 3852 7164