Terms & Conditions
Ask Kari is operated by CARES Consulting Inc. ("we," "us"). By using the chat widget or this site, you agree to what's below. If you don't, don't use it.
What this is
Ask Kari is a way to send us a question and get an answer from a real person. It's informal. We read everything, and we answer what we can.
It isn't professional advice. Nothing here is legal, tax, accounting, financial, or licensed professional advice, and using it doesn't create a professional or client relationship. Decisions with real money or real consequences deserve a professional who knows your whole situation. If we take you on as a client, that's a separate written agreement.
Response times
Free questions get answered when we get to them. We don't promise a timeframe, and we don't promise to answer every one. If your question is urgent, don't rely on this channel.
Priority Ask
Priority Ask is a paid option: one thorough written answer plus one follow-up exchange, normally within 24–48 hours. Payment is handled by Stripe; we never see your card number. If we can't give you a useful answer, tell us and we'll refund it. Buying Priority Ask still doesn't make any of it professional advice.
Your question, and where it might show up
We sometimes turn a good question into an article, post, or teaching example. The widget asks your permission before you send:
- By default, we may use the substance of your question with identifying details removed.
- Tick "name me" and we may credit you by name.
- Tick "I'd prefer you didn't use this" and we won't, even anonymously.
Change your mind any time at kari@karikounkel.com and we'll honor it going forward.
You keep ownership of what you write. You give us permission to use it as described above. Our replies, and the site itself, stay ours.
How to behave
Don't use Ask Kari to send anything unlawful, threatening, or abusive; anything that isn't yours to send; malware; or other people's personal information. Don't use it to spam us or to break into anything. We can stop responding to anyone, any time.
Don't send us passwords, card numbers, Social Security numbers, or health records. It's a chat widget, not a vault.
Text messages
Ask Kari sends text alerts only to our own staff phones when a visitor writes in. We do not text site visitors, and the widget doesn't collect your phone number.
Enrollment is by texting START to (651) 273-0113, which returns a confirmation. Message frequency varies — one text per incoming website message, typically a few per week. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any alert to stop receiving them, or HELP for help. Carriers aren't liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
No mobile information is shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes, and text-message consent is not shared with any third party. See the Privacy Policy.
AI
We sometimes use AI to draft a reply. A person reviews and edits it before it goes out, and any reply that began as an AI draft says so. See the Privacy Policy.
Availability
We may change, pause, or discontinue Ask Kari at any time. We try to keep it up. We don't guarantee it.
Liability
Ask Kari is provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent the law allows, CARES Consulting Inc. is not liable for indirect, incidental, or consequential damages arising from your use of it, and our total liability for any claim is limited to what you paid us for the service in question — which for free questions is nothing.
Some places don't allow those limits. Where that's true, they apply as far as the law allows.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota, without regard to its conflict of laws rules.
Changes
We may update these terms. The date at the top changes when we do. Continuing to use Ask Kari after that means you accept the update.