Which duties are included in fiduciary duties owed by a licensee to a client?

• A. Care, loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, disclosure, accounting, and avoiding conflicts of interest
• B. Only honesty
• C. Only loyalty
• D. Only disclosure

Answer: (A)

Fiduciary duties require the licensee to act in the client’s best interests and to manage personal interests and information with integrity. The duties include care—using reasonable skill and diligence in representing the client; loyalty—putting the client’s interests above the licensee’s own and avoiding self-dealing or undisclosed conflicts; confidentiality—keeping all information the client shares private unless the client gives permission or disclosure is legally required; obedience—following lawful instructions from the client; disclosure—sharing all material facts known about the property or transaction that could affect the client’s decisions; accounting—properly handling and accounting for any funds the client entrusts to the licensee; and avoiding conflicts of interest—proactively avoiding situations where the licensee’s interests could conflict with the client’s unless full disclosure and consent are obtained.

Because this set covers all essential duties a licensee owes to a client, it is the best answer. Honesty alone is not enough, nor is any single duty by itself, since each of the other duties fills an important aspect of the fiduciary obligation.