Gift of brokerage account accomplished by opening account under donee’s name and Social Security number

A father opened a brokerage account in his son’s name and Social Security number.  The son knew nothing of the account until after it was closed by someone other than the father and the property transferred to a joint account in the name of the father and another child.

The son sued the brokerage firm and was awarded the value of the account at the time it was closed plus costs.

The court in Wasniewski v. Quick and Reilly, Inc., 940 A.2d 811 (Conn. 2008), upheld the judgment, holding that the father had made a completed gift of the brokerage account and that the son was the third party beneficiary of the contract between the father and the brokerage firm.