PRIVACY POLICY:

A Guide to How We Use and Protect Client Information

Since our Firm provides estate planning and tax-related services to some of our clients, we are subject to certain rules of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC Rules”). Recently the Federal Trade Commission issued certain Rules concerning the privacy of client financial information. Pursuant to these FTC Rules, we are furnishing to our clients, for whom we provide estate planning or tax-related services, the following information about our privacy policy and procedures (“Privacy Policy”).

As you know, we obtain nonpublic personal information about a client from the information we receive from the client on tax return interview forms and other documentation and communications the client provides to us for purposes of estate planning or tax-related services. “Nonpublic personal information” is personally identifiable financial about a client, and/or their businesses, which we obtain in providing estate planning and tax-related services to the client, that is not available publicly.

To be certain, we do not disclose and do not wish to reserve the right to disclose, nonpublic personal information about our clients or former clients, except as authorized under FTC Rules 313.14 (generally concerning actions taken at the client’s request) and 313.15 (generally concerning certain other exceptions to the FTC Rules, such as actions taken to protect client records, resolve client disputes, comply with federal, state, or local laws, and respond to judicial or regulatory authorities).

We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about our clients to those employees, partners (shareholders), and agents of the Firm who need to know that information to provide estate planning and tax-related services to the client. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard a client’s nonpublic personal information.

Finally, our Firm is subject to the rules of professional conduct for attorneys and is bound by professional standards of confidentiality which are, in fact, more restrictive with respect to the disclosure of confidential client information than the FTC Rules mentioned above. Moreover, under federal and state laws, tax return preparers can be subject to certain civil and criminal penalties for making unauthorized disclosures of information furnished by a taxpayer for the preparation of a tax return.

As long as attorneys and law firms that provide estate planning and tax-related services continue to be subject to the FTC Rules, we will provide notice of our Privacy Policy as required.

If you have any questions regarding our Privacy Policy please contact Stephen L. Hicks, Esq.