Samantha and Gregory establish a joint brokerage account designated as Tenants in Common (TIC), with Samantha holding an 80% ownership interest and Gregory holding a 20% interest. Two years later, Samantha passes away testate, leaving her entire estate to her adult daughter, Clara. Immediately following Samantha's death, Gregory submits a request to the broker-dealer to liquidate all account holdings and transfer 100% of the proceeds into his personal individual account, asserting full ownership rights as the surviving joint owner. Concurrently, Clara presents a copy of Samantha's will and demands an immediate payout of 80% of the account value. Which of the following statements correctly describes the required operational actions of the broker-dealer and the legal disposition of the account assets?
- The broker-dealer must freeze the account against new transactions, cancel open orders, and reject both immediate distribution requests; Samantha's 80% interest must pass to her estate according to legal probate procedures, while Gregory retains his 20% interest.Cevap
- BThe broker-dealer must honor Gregory's request to transfer the account assets into his individual account, because joint account ownership automatically conveys full rights of survivorship to the surviving tenant regardless of specified ownership percentages.
- CThe broker-dealer must honor Clara's request and distribute 80% of the account proceeds directly to her as the named beneficiary in the will, while liquidating the remaining 20% for Gregory.
- DThe broker-dealer must liquidate the entire account immediately and deposit all funds into an escrow account protected by SIPC while the court determines asset distribution between Gregory and Clara.