The Legacy Group

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The Legacy Group

At The Legacy Group, we help families, individuals and business owners secure their future with our 3-Dimensional Planning Approach™.

Let’s build your legacy: https://go.legacygroupny.com/schedule-with-legacy

09/02/2026

Do you have a succession plan, or do you have a buy-sell agreement in a drawer?

There is a real difference, and it usually shows up at the worst possible time.

Three questions worth answering honestly:

If you did not come in tomorrow, who has the authority to sign, hire, borrow and make payroll?

Where would the cash come from to cover estate taxes and any buyout obligation?

Who is actually prepared to run the company, as opposed to inherit it?

Most owners can answer one of the three. A plan answers all three, and the documents behind it agree with each other.

I wrote about the three succession mistakes I see most often and how to find them while you still have options.

Explore business planning: https://legacygroupny.com/business-planning/

CRN202908-11901837

09/01/2026

One of the most common estate planning mistakes? Assuming the federal exemption is the only number that matters.

For New York families, the state picture is often more consequential. Here is what makes it different:

1. New York has its own estate tax threshold, significantly lower than the federal exemption.

2. New York uses a cliff structure. Exceed the state exemption by even a small percentage and the entire estate can become taxable, not just the amount over the threshold.

3. New York does not follow federal portability rules. Trust structures often need to do the work that portability does at the federal level.

4. New York has no state gift tax, making lifetime gifting a powerful tool for reducing exposure.

If your estate plan only addresses the federal picture, it may not be doing what you think it is.

Review your estate plan: https://legacygroupny.com/estate-planning/

CRN202908-11866172

08/27/2026

Late August has a particular feeling to it. Summer isn't over, but you can see the fall from here. It's a natural moment to look up and take stock before the year gets busy again.

A few questions worth sitting with:

• Have you revisited your estate plan since the tax law changed? The permanent $15 million federal exemption reshaped the conversation, and your documents may still reflect the old rules.
• Are your beneficiary designations current? One outdated form can override an entire estate plan.
• Is your investment allocation still aligned with your goals, or has the year pulled it off course?
• Have you looked at tax planning opportunities while there's still time to act on them?

You don't need to solve all of it this week. But the families who move through fall with confidence are usually the ones who paused in the quiet stretch to look ahead.

Schedule a planning review: https://tinyurl.com/call-legacy

CRN202809-11649166

08/25/2026

What if your financial advisor, your attorney and your CPA each had a slightly different picture of your plan?

It happens more than you'd think. Your attorney drafts a trust. Your CPA structures income to minimize taxes. Your advisor manages investments for growth. Each does good work, but if they aren't coordinating, the strategies can quietly pull against each other. A trust built for estate tax efficiency can conflict with an investment approach. Tax planning that helps this year can undercut a long-term transfer goal.

This is exactly why we built our practice around the 3-Dimensional Planning Approach, coordinating the financial, legal and tax dimensions of your life into one strategy instead of three separate ones.

It isn't about doing more. It's about making sure everything you're already doing is working together.

Learn about our approach: https://legacygroupny.com/our-strategic-estate-planning-approach/

CRN202809-11649166

08/20/2026

When most people hear "protection," they think about a single insurance policy. Real protection for a high-net-worth family is layered.

Here's what a coordinated risk management strategy actually covers:

𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — If you couldn't work for an extended stretch, could your family hold its lifestyle? Disability coverage is one of the most overlooked pieces of a plan.

𝗟𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Standard home and auto policies have limits. An umbrella policy can bridge the gap between what's covered and what's actually at stake.

𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 — Beyond a death benefit, properly structured coverage can provide estate tax liquidity and fund business transfers.

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 — Extended care costs can drain decades of savings. Planning for it protects both your assets and your family.

𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 — Trusts, titling and entity structures that keep what you've built from being exposed unnecessarily.

Protection isn't one product. It's a strategy that fits together.

Learn more about risk management: https://legacygroupny.com/risk-management/

CRN202809-11649166

08/18/2026

Not all retirement dollars are taxed the same. Where your money sits can matter as much as how much you've saved.

Traditional accounts — You deducted the contributions, the money grew tax-deferred, and every withdrawal in retirement is taxed as income. Required minimum distributions eventually force money out whether you need it or not.

Roth accounts — You paid the tax up front, the money grows tax-free, qualified withdrawals are tax-free, and there are no required minimum distributions during your lifetime.

A Roth conversion moves money from the first column to the second, and you pay tax on the amount you convert. The strategy can make sense in lower-income years, in the gap between retirement and required distributions, or when you expect tax rates to be higher later.

It isn't right for everyone, and the timing matters. Done thoughtfully, it can reshape how much of your savings you actually keep.

Explore retirement strategies: https://legacygroupny.com/retirement-planning/

CRN202809-11649166

08/13/2026

Picture the business running perfectly without you for a week. Now picture it running without you permanently, starting tomorrow, with no plan in place.

For a lot of owners, that second picture is where things fall apart. The company that took decades to build has no clear answer to a simple question: who takes over, and how.

Succession planning solves that before it becomes a crisis. It means identifying and preparing future leadership, agreeing on a fair valuation, and structuring a transfer that doesn't create an avoidable tax bill or family conflict. Done well, it can also build in liquidity so your family isn't forced to sell in a hurry.

The owners who hand off well are the ones who treated succession as a plan, not an event. The ones who avoid it usually leave the decision to the courts, the IRS or a disagreement nobody wanted.

Start planning your business transition: Part 3: Succession & Exit Planning: Protecting Your Business and Your Legacy.

CRN202809-11649166

08/11/2026

Myth: With the federal estate tax exemption at $15 million per person, estate planning is something only the ultra-wealthy need to think about.

Reality: The federal number is only half the story, and in New York it may be the less important half.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act set the federal exemption at $15 million per person and $30 million for married couples, and made it permanent. That removes the old countdown pressure for many families. But New York runs its own estate tax with a 2026 exemption of just $7.35 million, and it comes with a cliff. Exceed the threshold by more than 5 percent and the entire estate becomes taxable, not just the amount above the line.

So a family that owes nothing federally can still face a meaningful New York estate tax bill. Planning for both levels is where the real work happens.

Review your estate plan: https://legacygroupny.com/state-vs-federal-estate-taxes-why-geography-still-matters/

CRN202809-11649166

08/06/2026

If a big part of your compensation comes in RSUs or stock options, your financial plan has a wrinkle most people never deal with: too much of your net worth riding on one company.

It feels great when the stock is up. It's a real problem if it isn't.

Concentrated equity planning is about managing that risk without triggering unnecessary tax:

• Understand your vesting schedule and what gets taxed when
• Plan for the tax hit at vesting, not just at sale
• Consider a systematic selling strategy to diversify over time
• Use charitable giving or trusts where they fit the bigger picture
• Coordinate it all with your broader financial and estate plan

The goal isn't to talk you out of company stock. It's to make sure one position can't undo everything else you've built.

Learn more about risk management: https://legacygroupny.com/risk-management/

CRN202809-11649166

08/04/2026

Back-to-school season has a way of making the future feel closer. One year it's a backpack and a lunchbox. The next, you're touring campuses and staring down a tuition bill.

Here's a question worth asking now: is your college savings strategy actually working as hard as it could be?

A 529 plan offers tax-advantaged growth and flexibility that a regular savings account can't match. Earnings grow tax-deferred, qualified withdrawals come out tax-free and recent rules even allow unused funds to roll into a Roth IRA under certain conditions. For families building wealth, it's one of the more efficient ways to fund education without derailing other goals.

The families who feel calm about tuition usually started planning before the acceptance letters arrived.

Explore retirement and education planning: https://legacygroupny.com/retirement-planning/

CRN202809-11649166

Address

1393 Veterans Memorial Highway, Suite 307S
Hauppauge, NY
11788

Opening Hours

9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15166823383

Website

https://legacygroupny.com/

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