Under the Uniform Securities Act,
client information may not be disclosed to a third
party unless such disclosure is authorized by the
client. Which of the following disclosures would
be prohibited under this provision?
a) The
client’s accountant with a signed power of
attorney requests tax basis of a security
(b) The IRS requests the details of a stock sale
in the account from last year
(c) The client’s attorney requests the current
account balance to help with the client’s estate
planning
(d) The client’s wife requests the account
balance of a joint account
Answer:
The correct answer is c.
No authorization is needed from the client’s
wife since it is a joint account. Also none is needed
for the IRS, since there is an exception for government
agencies. And, the power of attorney would constitute
authorization from the client. But written authorization
would be required to disclose the information to the
attorney.
