Cookie Policy

This Cookie Policy explains how The Legacy Counsel Group, LLC d.b.a. Legacy Tax Specialists (“Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) uses cookies, tracking pixels, browser storage technologies, and similar digital tools when visitors access www.legacytaxspecialists.com or any related online portal, scheduling page, digital form, or embedded communication tool (collectively, the “Website”). By continuing to use this Website, you acknowledge that cookies and related technologies may be used in accordance with this Policy, subject to your browser or consent preferences.

WHAT ARE COOKIES & TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES?

1.1 Defining Digital Identifiers

Cookies are small text files, pixels, or browser-based identifiers stored on your computer, mobile phone, or tablet when you interact with the Legacy Tax Specialists Website. These technologies serve as a "digital memory" for your browser.

1.2 Why We Use Them

We utilize these technologies to ensure our digital infrastructure remains secure, fast, and user-friendly. Specifically, these tools help our systems:

Maintain Security: Authenticate your identity and maintain secure sessions while you are logged into our client portals.
Remember Preferences: Recall your language settings, login credentials (if opted-in), and display preferences.
Optimize Performance: Monitor the performance of our Cognito Forms and scheduling systems to ensure they load correctly on your specific device.
Analyze Traffic: Understand how visitors navigate our site so we can prioritize the most helpful tax resources and advisory content.
Facilitate Communication: Support automated reminders, follow-ups, and document request notifications to keep your tax file moving forward.

1.3 Persistence of Cookies

Cookies fall into two primary categories based on their lifespan:

Session Cookies: These are temporary and expire automatically once you close your web browser. These are typically used for "active" tasks like filling out a single form.
Persistent Cookies: These remain on your device for a pre-set period or until you manually delete them. These allow us to recognize you as a returning client when you visit us later in the tax season.

CATEGORIES OF COOKIES WE UTILIZE

To provide a professional and secure digital environment, Legacy Tax Specialists utilizes the following categories of cookies:

A. Strictly Necessary Cookies

These are essential for the Website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you, such as:

Security & Authentication: Managing secure portal logins, session authentication, and fraud monitoring.
Protection: Spam prevention (reCAPTCHA) and form submission protection on our Cognito Forms.
Infrastructure: Proper page routing and server-load balancing to ensure the site remains accessible during peak tax season.
Note: Without these cookies, the Website’s security protocols and core functionalities will be compromised.

B. Performance & Analytics Cookies

These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us understand:

Engagement: Which pages are the most and least popular and how visitors move around the site.
Efficiency: Time spent on intake forms, document upload completion rates, and scheduling page usage.
Third-Party Analytics: We may use tools such as Google Analytics, heat mapping, or CRM visitor reporting to aggregate this non-sensitive data.

C. Functional Cookies

Functional cookies enable the Website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. They manage:

Continuity: Saved form progress (so you don't lose data if you refresh) and auto-filled contact fields.
User Preferences: Portal language settings and remembered browser configurations for future visits.

D. Marketing & Communication Cookies

These may be set through our site by our advertising and CRM partners (such as Google, Facebook, or Instagram). They are used to:

Campaign Tracking: Measure the effectiveness of digital ads and consultation requests.
Retargeting & Automation: Identify if a visitor returned to the site after viewing an ad or starting an email campaign.
Lead Management: Syncing visitor activity with our CRM follow-up automations to ensure timely responses.

THIRD-PARTY TRACKING & INTEGRATED TOOLS

3.1 Automated Third-Party Deployment

To provide a full suite of tax and advisory services, our Website integrates specialized third-party systems. These providers may automatically deploy their own cookies or browser trackers when you interact with certain elements of our site. These include:

Analytics & Marketing: Google Analytics and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) Pixels used to measure site traffic and ad performance.
Operational Widgets: Embedded appointment scheduling tools, chat widgets, and media players (such as YouTube or Vimeo).
Secure Infrastructure: CRM form systems (Cognito Forms), secure client portal software, and document upload applications.
Financial Processing: PCI-compliant payment processors used for service invoicing and retainers.

3.2 Independent Privacy Disclosures

These third-party providers operate under their own independent privacy and cookie disclosures. When these tools are active, they may collect information such as your IP address, browser type, and interaction data according to their own corporate standards.

3.3 Limited Control & Vendor Selection

While Legacy Tax Specialists utilizes these tools to enhance your experience:

Control Limits: We do not exercise direct control over the specific code or data-collection behavior of third-party cookies once they are deployed by the provider's server.
Reputable Partnerships: We use commercially reasonable efforts to partner exclusively with reputable, industry-standard service providers who maintain high security and privacy benchmarks.
Cross-Reference: We encourage you to review the privacy policies of these specific vendors (e.g., Google, Meta, or your specific portal provider) for more detailed information on their data handling.

THE PURPOSE OF COOKIE UTILIZATION

4.1 Core Functional Objectives

Legacy Tax Specialists utilizes cookies and tracking technologies to ensure our digital platforms meet the high standards required for financial services. These technologies are deployed to:

Maintain Security & Integrity: Keeping website pages functioning securely and protecting our digital intake portals from spam, bots, and unauthorized automated submissions.
Optimize the Intake Process: Tracking incomplete or abandoned intake forms so we can identify technical hurdles and assist clients who may be experiencing difficulty during the submission process.
Enhance Cross-Platform Performance: Improving mobile and desktop browsing speed and interface responsiveness to accommodate clients on any device.

4.2 Strategic & Administrative Insights

To better serve our clients and manage our firm's growth, we use tracking data to:

Monitor Conversion Metrics: Analyzing appointment request conversions to ensure our scheduling systems are operating efficiently.
Assess Service Demand: Understanding which tax advisory services or educational resources are most in-demand, allowing us to tailor our content to current client needs.
Refine Outreach Efforts: Improving the accuracy of our lead generation and marketing campaigns to ensure our messaging reaches the appropriate audience.

4.3 Best Practice & Transparency

In the financial services sector, transparent disclosure is a cornerstone of professional ethics. Legacy Tax Specialists adheres to industry best practices by providing this comprehensive disclosure. We believe that informed consent regarding analytics and marketing technologies is essential to maintaining the trust-based relationship we share with our clients.

MANAGING YOUR COOKIE PREFERENCES

5.1 User Controls & Opt-Out Options

We believe you should have full transparency and control over your digital footprint. You may manage, limit, or disable cookies through the following methods:

Browser Settings: Most modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) allow you to block all cookies, accept only "First-Party" cookies, or delete your cookie history upon closing the browser.
Cookie Consent Banners: If a consent banner is presented upon your arrival at our Website, you may select your preferences and reject "Non-Essential" (Marketing and Analytics) cookies while keeping "Strictly Necessary" ones active.
Global Privacy Controls: You may utilize browser extensions or built-in privacy permissions to limit cross-site tracking and data collection.

5.2 Consequences of Disabling Cookies

While we respect your choice to limit tracking, please be aware that the Legacy Tax Specialists digital ecosystem relies on certain cookies for security and professional workflow. Disabling essential or functional cookies may result in:

Inhibited Scheduling: Difficulty using our real-time appointment scheduling widgets.
Session Disruption: The inability to stay securely logged into your client portal or maintain a secure connection during document transmission.
Data Loss: Failure of the "save-and-resume" feature on multi-part tax intake forms (e.g., Cognito Forms), requiring you to restart the process if your session times out.
Feature Degradation: Reduced performance or total unavailability of interactive tax tools, calculators, or secure upload links.

5.3 Consent Acknowledgment

By continuing to use this Website without adjusting your browser settings, you consent to our use of cookies and tracking technologies as outlined in this Policy.

COOKIE CONSENT & COMPLIANCE MANAGEMENT

6.1 Consent Framework

To ensure transparency and regulatory alignment, visitors to the Legacy Tax Specialists Website may be presented with a digital cookie consent notification (the "Cookie Banner"). This interface allows you to exercise informed control over your data by choosing to:

Accept All Cookies: Enabling the full suite of security, functional, analytical, and marketing technologies for the best possible user experience.
Reject Non-Essential Cookies: Disabling all tracking except for "Strictly Necessary" cookies required for website security and core functionality.
Customize Preferences: Selecting specific categories of cookies (e.g., allowing Analytics but disabling Marketing) based on your personal privacy standards.

6.2 Documentation of Selections

In accordance with professional data governance standards, your consent choices may be digitally logged and stored. This documentation serves to:

Verify Compliance: Maintain a record of visitor selections to demonstrate our adherence to privacy regulations and internal compliance standards.
Persistent Preferences: Remember your choice across future visits so you are not repeatedly prompted by the consent banner.
Audit Readiness: Support our commitment to maintaining a transparent and legally defensible digital presence.

6.3 Modification of Consent

You may revisit and modify your cookie consent selections at any time by clearing your browser cache or clicking the "Cookie Settings" link (where available) in our website footer.

SCOPE OF DATA COLLECTION

7.1 Technical Metadata & Interaction Data

The data collected through our cookies and tracking technologies is limited to browser-level information and website interaction metrics. This includes, but is not limited to:

Device Profiles: Browser type, version, operating system, and unique device identifiers.
Geographic Context: Approximate location based on IP address (typically limited to city/state level).
Navigation History: Referral pages (where you came from), viewed content, click patterns, and timestamps of your visit.
Conversion Metrics: Identification of whether a visitor successfully navigated to a "Thank You" page after scheduling an appointment or submitting a form.

7.2 Protection of Private Local Files

We maintain a strict boundary between website tracking and your personal data. Cookies are not designed or intended to:

Retrieve, read, or scan tax return files or PDF documents stored on your private device.
Access Social Security cards, IDs, or sensitive financial records saved locally on your computer or mobile phone.
Extract any data from your device that has not been explicitly and voluntarily uploaded through our authorized, secure portals.

REVISIONS TO THIS COOKIE POLICY

8.1 Right to Amend

Legacy Tax Specialists reserves the right to revise this Cookie Policy at any time to stay aligned with our evolving business operations and the digital landscape. Modifications are typically driven by:

Infrastructure Updates: Changes or upgrades to our website software or hosting environment.
Service Integration: Changes in our third-party analytics providers or the expansion of our CRM and automation systems.
Regulatory Evolution: Updates to state or federal legal compliance requirements regarding digital privacy.

8.2 Notice of Updates

Updated versions of this Policy become effective immediately upon being posted to this Website. We recommend that clients and visitors review this page periodically to remain informed of our current tracking and transparency practices.