Terms & Conditions

Last Updated: June 13, 2026

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the websites at www.thenextstepsenior.com and www.theonedecisionrule.com, together with any related landing pages, registration and booking forms, communications, content, products, and offers made available through those websites (collectively, the “Services”), which are operated by The Next Step (“The Next Step,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
Please read these Terms carefully. By accessing or using the Services, submitting information through any of our forms, booking an appointment, purchasing a product, or opting in to receive communications from us, you agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Services.
Please read Section 17 (Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver) carefully, as it affects how disputes between you and us are resolved.
1. About The Next Step and the Services
The Next Step is a Houston, Texas-based senior care placement and strategy business. We help families, most often an adult son or daughter making decisions on behalf of an aging parent, identify and evaluate senior living communities that may fit their needs, and we provide related educational content and products, including the book The One Decision Rule and associated digital materials.
The Services are operated by The Next Step Placement Services LLC, a Texas limited liability company doing business as "The Next Step." "The One Decision Rule" is a brand of The Next Step Placement Services LLC. References in these Terms to "The Next Step," "we," "us," or "our" mean The Next Step Placement Services LLC.
The entity that operates the Services and enters into these Terms with you is:
Legal entity name: The Next Step Placement Services LLC
Entity type and state of formation: Limited liability company formed in Texas
Principal place of business: 19214 Clay Road, Suite C #2012, Katy, Texas 77449
The Services provide general guidance, education, and referrals for informational purposes and to help you make your own decisions. We are not a medical, legal, financial, tax, insurance, or real estate advisor, and nothing in the Services constitutes medical, legal, financial, tax, insurance, or real estate advice. You are responsible for evaluating any senior living community, product, or offer and for making your own decisions. We recommend that you consult appropriately qualified professionals about your specific situation.
2. Eligibility
To use the Services, you must be at least 18 years of age and able to form a binding contract under applicable law. By using the Services, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements and that the information you provide to us is accurate, current, and complete. If you use the Services on behalf of another person or a family member, you represent that you are authorized to do so.
3. Acceptable Use
You agree to use the Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You agree not to:
Use the Services in any way that violates applicable law or regulation;
Interfere with or disrupt the integrity, security, or performance of the Services;
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Services or related systems or networks;
Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information, including another person’s information without authorization;
Use any automated means to access or scrape the Services except as expressly permitted; or
Use the Services to transmit unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or other unlawful content.
4. Placement Services and Referral Compensation
Our senior care placement guidance is provided to families at no charge. We are compensated through referral fees.
When we refer a client to a senior living community and that client moves into the community, the community pays us a referral fee or commission. This means we have a financial relationship with the senior living communities to which we may refer you, and we may receive compensation if you or your family member moves into a community we recommend. We disclose this relationship so that you can weigh it when considering our guidance.
Our goal is to help you find an appropriate community for your family’s needs. However, because we are compensated by communities, you should perform your own due diligence, visit communities, ask questions, and make the decision that is right for your family. We do not guarantee the suitability, quality, availability, pricing, or performance of any senior living community, and your relationship with any community you select is solely between you and that community.
5. Registrations and Appointments
Our Services allow you to register for workshops or masterclasses and to book appointments through our online calendar. When you register or book, you agree to provide accurate information and to attend or cancel in accordance with any instructions we provide. We may confirm, remind, reschedule, or follow up regarding your registration or appointment by email and, where you have opted in, by text message, as described in Section 12.
6. Products and Digital Content
We offer for sale the book The One Decision Rule and related digital content, which may include instant bonuses, a first chapter, an audiobook, and full-book access. When you purchase a product, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the digital content for your own personal, non-commercial use. You may not copy, distribute, resell, sublicense, or create derivative works from our content except as expressly permitted.
7. Pricing and Payment
Prices for products and offers are stated at the point of sale and may change from time to time. When you make a purchase, you authorize us and our third-party payment processor to charge the payment method you provide for the total amount of your order, including any applicable taxes and shipping charges. Payment card information is collected and processed by our third-party payment processor under its own terms and security practices; we do not store your full payment card details. You represent that you are authorized to use the payment method you provide.
8. Shipping and Delivery
Physical copies of the book are shipped by a third-party fulfillment provider to the mailing address you provide. You are responsible for providing an accurate shipping address. Delivery timeframes are estimates and are not guaranteed. Risk of loss for physical products passes to you upon our delivery of the product to the carrier. Digital content is delivered electronically, and you are responsible for having the equipment and internet access needed to receive it.
9. Refunds and Cancellations
Any refund or cancellation policy applicable to a product or offer will be presented at the point of sale or otherwise made available to you. Except as required by applicable law or as expressly stated at the point of sale, digital content that has been accessed or downloaded may be non-refundable. If you believe there is a problem with your order, contact us using the details in Section 24 and we will work with you in good faith to resolve it.
10. Upcoming Offerings
We are developing a bridge financing offering that would use home equity to help families fund senior care transitions. This offering is not currently available. If and when it becomes available, it will be governed by separate terms and disclosures specific to that offering, and nothing in these Terms constitutes an offer, solicitation, recommendation, or commitment to provide financing or any credit product. We will provide applicable terms before you enroll in or use any such offering.
11. Email Communications
By providing your email address or opting in through our forms, you agree that we may send you transactional emails (such as confirmations, receipts, reminders, and shipping updates) and, where you have opted in, marketing emails (such as newsletters, event invitations, and offers). You can unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the email or by contacting us. We may still send you transactional messages related to your purchases, appointments, or account.
12. Text Message (SMS) Program Terms
If you provide your mobile telephone number and opt in, you agree to the following terms for our text-message program. These terms also appear in our Privacy Policy, and the key disclosures appear at the point where you opt in.
Program description and consent. By opting in, you provide your prior express written consent to receive recurring, automated marketing and transactional text messages from The Next Step Placement Services LLC (doing business as "The Next Step") at the mobile number you provide, including appointment reminders, follow-ups, event and registration reminders, and invitations to our workshop, call, and book offers.
Consent not required to purchase. Your consent to receive text messages is not a condition of purchasing any goods or services.
Message frequency. Message frequency varies.
Message and data rates. Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile carrier and plan.
Opt out. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message. We will send a single confirmation message, after which you will no longer receive text messages from that program unless you opt in again.
Help. For help, reply HELP to any message or contact us using the details in Section 24.
Eligibility. The text-message program is available only to individuals who are 18 years of age or older.
Carrier disclaimer. Wireless carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Privacy of mobile opt-in data. We do not share, sell, or otherwise disclose your text-message opt-in or consent information, or the mobile telephone number you provide for the text-message program, with any third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes. We share this information only with the messaging and telephony providers that help us operate the program and as required to comply with law. This provision controls over any more general description of information sharing in these Terms or our Privacy Policy.
13. Intellectual Property
The Services and all content we provide, including text, graphics, logos, the book The One Decision Rule, digital materials, and the selection and arrangement of the foregoing, are owned by The Next Step or its licensors and are protected by intellectual property laws. Except for the limited license granted in Section 6, we do not grant you any right, title, or interest in the Services or our content. You may not use our name, trademarks, or content without our prior written permission.
14. Your Submissions and Feedback
If you send us questions, suggestions, testimonials, or other feedback, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use that feedback to operate and improve the Services, without any obligation to you. You are responsible for the information you submit, and you represent that you have the right to provide it and that it is accurate.
15. Third-Party Services and Communities
The Services may reference, link to, or integrate with third parties, including senior living communities, advertising platforms, payment processors, and fulfillment providers. We do not control and are not responsible for the acts, omissions, products, services, or content of third parties. Any dealings you have with a third party, including any senior living community you select, are solely between you and that third party.
16. Disclaimers
THE SERVICES AND ALL CONTENT, PRODUCTS, AND OFFERS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
Without limiting the foregoing, we do not warrant that the Services will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that any information provided is complete or accurate, or that any senior living community, product, or offer will meet your expectations or achieve any particular result. Our guidance is not a substitute for your own judgment and due diligence.
17. Binding Arbitration and Class Action Waiver
Please read this section carefully. It affects your legal rights.
You and The Next Step agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services will be resolved by binding arbitration on an individual basis, rather than in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. The arbitration will be administered by a recognized arbitration provider under its applicable rules, and will take place in the State of Texas or, where required by law, in the county of your residence.
You and The Next Step agree that each may bring claims against the other only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person’s claims and may not preside over any form of class or representative proceeding. If this class-action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim shall be severed and proceed in court, while the remaining claims proceed in arbitration.
You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by sending us written notice within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, using the contact details in Section 24. If you opt out, neither you nor we will be required to arbitrate.
18. Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE NEXT STEP AND ITS OWNERS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US FOR THE PRODUCT OR OFFER GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
19. Indemnification
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Next Step and its owners, officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your misuse of the Services, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party.
20. Termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to the Services at any time, with or without cause or notice, including if we believe you have violated these Terms. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including Sections 13 through 19, and Sections 21 through 23.
21. Governing Law and Venue
These Terms and any dispute arising out of or relating to them or the Services are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to its conflict-of-laws principles. Subject to Section 17, you agree that any dispute not subject to arbitration will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Texas, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
22. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Services after updated Terms become effective constitutes your acceptance of them. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you should stop using the Services.
23. General Terms
These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any terms presented at the point of sale, constitute the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Services and supersede any prior agreements on that subject. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full effect. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of it. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets. The Services are controlled and operated from the United States, and we make no representation that they are appropriate or available for use in other locations. Headings are for convenience only and do not affect interpretation.
24. How to Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms, contact us:
The Next Step
Email: info@thenextstepsenior.com
Mailing address: 19214 Clay Road, Suite C #2012, Katy, Texas 77449
Telephone: 281-306-5575
Websites: www.thenextstepsenior.com and www.theonedecisionrule.com