PRIVACY POLICY

In this age of information access, we take your privacy very seriously.

Privacy Matters
Your privacy is important to us, and we protect it as we would our own. Whether you are a prospective client (the legal term here is “consumer”) or an existing client (the legal term here is “customer”), we consider you to be under the privacy umbrella of our firm. Your request for information about our services is considered private by us.

What information do we collect?
We collect both public and nonpublic information from you. This information may be collected through our website, emails, or in person.

Non-public personal information (NPI) is any personal information that cannot be found in public sources.

Publicly available information would be details available from federal, state, or local government records; widely distributed media (such as telephone directories or newspapers); or information disclosed to the public as required by federal, state, or local law. NPI is usually obtained directly from the individual. It includes such details as the person’s date of birth, Social Security Number, financial account numbers and balances, sources and amounts of income, credit card numbers, general information obtained about visits to our Internet web site, and sometimes could include home addresses and telephone numbers.

The information we collect directly from you includes information required to communicate with you, including your name, mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address and fax number; and to identify who you are, including Social Security number, employer name and address. Obviously this includes both your public and nonpublic information.

We don’t place cookies on your computer. However, at a future time, if we allow you access to your client accounts through our secure website, we may take whatever electronic measures necessary to protect our clients’ information from unauthorized access, such as implementing username and password protocols and electronic monitoring. We don’t accept credit card payment in an effort to keep that information secure.

When do we obtain information?
You directly provide to us the majority of information we collect. You do this by completing our forms, completing account applications if necessary, authorizing us to complete account transactions, sending us emails, or providing information at client appointments.

How do we use your personal information?
Again, the trust of our clients is our most valued asset. Therefore, we use personal information only as appropriate to provide you quality service and security. For example, if you decide to open an account with an account custodian or set up additional insurance policies, and we facilitate that action, we may communicate such information with the other company (known as a third party service provider) as is necessary to provide you with the best service possible.

Any service provider we recommend will already have in place its own privacy practices, and you will have access to a copy of those from them. By law, we are permitted to disclose collected information to service providers to effect, service, administer, process, or settle a transaction, product or service you have authorized or requested.

We do not provide information to mailing lists, email lists, or other solicitors. In addition, we ask that you DO NOT put our email address on a global email address list. We receive hundreds of emails a week, and security is enhanced by our controlling with whom we email.

If you authorize us to disclose information about you to a third party such as a mortgage lender, your accountant, or your lawyer, then we will.

What steps do we take to protect our clients’ personal information?
We are constantly evaluating our security software, systems, and procedures to offer you a safe and secure environment and to protect your personal information. While no security system is impenetrable, we are committed to constantly reviewing, refining and upgrading our security technology and our in-office procedures as new tools become available. We also incorporate client computer security education into all aspects of our financial planning.

In addition, we restrict access to your confidential nonpublic information to those persons who require such information to provide services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your information.

We shred any discarded paper information if there is any personal information on it.

A word of education and warning: Do not give personally sensitive information to websites from a public computer or using a wireless system available publicly, such as from the public library or at Starbucks, etc.
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When does this Privacy Policy NOT apply? 
When the consumer or customer has consented to, and has not revoked, the disclosure; for resolving consumer or customer disputes or inquiries; to persons holding a legal or beneficial interest relating to the consumer or customer; to persons acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity on behalf of the consumer or customer; to provide information to agencies assessing Forthright Financial Planning LLC’s compliance with industry standards, and to its attorneys, accountants, and auditors; to respond to a state or national regulator’s examination of FFP; or to comply with a civil, criminal, or regulatory investigation by federal, state, or local authorities.