What does your broker say? Has he contacted the family to explain the mistake?
Get.
A.
Lawyer.
Stupid.
The brokerage house should clean up the mess. In the meantime, I might call the attorney general and/or your CPA if you use one.
They just need to reverse the transaction.
It’s your property.
Calmly explain (via an attorney) that you want your shares back, and any legal fees/expenses involved. I wouldn’t care where they get those shares (IOW, they can buy you ‘new’ ones and let their mistake stand), but you want them replaced.
For everyone reading this thread make a note: Fill out a beneficiary document with your broker for each account!
Schwab had my wife and I designate the primary and secondary beneficiaries. If this type of document had been in force, then they might have mistakenly distributed your account, but at least the funds would have been delivered to appropriate parties.
I am not in the securities industry, nor am I a lawyer, but what they did is beyond outrageous.
If I were in your situation, I would immediately write a letter to the firm, demanding that they rectify their mistake and restore your accounts as they were. Be sure to include your SS No and point out that they had no right to take your account and hand the content to someone else.
I think this would not preclude your taking additional actions, if needed.
Clearly you need to be compensated for the inconvenience ...for not having access to your account.
BTW: Make sure you are prepared to prove that you are alive! :)
From post #7
“Calmly explain (via an attorney) that you want your shares back, and any legal fees/expenses involved. I wouldn’t care where they get those shares (IOW, they can buy you ‘new’ ones and let their mistake stand), but you want them replaced.”
All of the above, PLUS:
Make sure the BH does not hand you any losses incurred in the interim (and includes any gains that may have accrued) be sure the interest is calculated properly. These are the REAL weasels of the financial business and they will cheat you somehow to pay for their mistake.
IMPORTANT: Prearrange the above for a transfer to another broker. Do not accept any excuses.
You do have proof that you own the account?
You should just need to show that to your broker and make him responsible.
Of course, do not relinquish ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
Give the broker time to clear it up (2-3 days at most). If he hasn’t, then you might need to seek an attorney.
You might try a simple phone call to the brokerage customer service first.
Get a lawyer. Sue them with the ferocity of a liberal at a welfare office.
I have a brokerage account
With what firm?
Tell a lawyer to tell the investment house that you are not dead and that the employee and your son are committing bank fraud.
Just joking. I hope you get it worked out
Document everything
Every call
Time, date, names and summary of calls
Instruct them as to the problem and how you want it fixed
If it does not happen and it involves lots of money, get legal counsel and have him contact them.
FILE A COMPLAINT with the NASD or SEC.
If nothing happens, file a complaint with your state attorney general.
Write a letter to your Senator and Congressman
You certainly don’t share SSNs which were used to establish the account. I suspect that brokerage has a problem, but we also live in an era of lawlessness (John Corzine), where most anything goes if it goes for the big guys.
PS:
Sounds pretty sad as how many John Smiths do major brokerage firms have?
I would think there are a few safe guards to prevent this like an account number for starters.
After you get it squared away you may consider changing firms!
The use of the word “attorney” is probably incorrect and irrelevant. Unless the account is decades old, it contains an arbitration agreement, as does every single brokerage agreement I’ve ever seen/signed and I have had seven brokerage accounts. Each and every one has an arb clause. That means, you have pre-agreed to settle the “dispute” via arbitration and you waive the right to a trial or any sort of litigation outside of arbitration.
But you do not want to get anywhere near arbitration and there should be no need to do so. It’s costly, minimum $2500 to start the game, and the arb caluse will specify that your arb has to take place in NYC or someplace else that is likely most inconvenient for you.
I’d be absolutely stunned if the brokerage did not work this out for you. It may take a few days. You want to get conversant with what is known as a “compliance officer”. You will show him a statement showing your shares pre-distribution. If you have a local branch of the brokerage, this should be pretty easy. Otherwise you can scan and email the docs. You will ask him/her to look at your account now today and see items removed from the account. Be prepared to name those items unless it is really obvious. And then you ask “show me the confirmation of sale or option exercise put the shares back in my account”.
Had you sold options that caused your shares to be assigned or called out....I am going to ignore that possibility....but even so, your acct history would show that.
Take a deep breath, you’ll have this fixed in a couple of days.
let your fingers do the walking ....
http://whitecoatinvestor.com/what-to-do-when-your-broker-rips-you-off/
http://www.jeffreyfeldman.com/Practice-Areas/Broker-Misconduct/Trading-on-Margin.shtml
LAWYER....
A good one, that specializes in finance.
Licensed brokers should have/will have Errors and Omissions insurance.