bility to trade in or out of those stocks or securities? Are they frozen in their spots so as to possibly allow me to lose all my money while the government tries to sort it all out?

most accounts are insured to about 20 million .....If you worry about this,transfer your stocks to a major bank or brokaerage house.............higher fees, but better sleep at night.............

Depends what company he is with. If the brokerage firm that holds your securities is covered by SIPC than you will not be able to trade once your broker's brokerage goes bankrupt, but when SIPC steps in you will receive your shares and cash back. They are "frozen" for the time that the government takes to sort it out. SIPC does not protect customers against market risk. (Losses resulting from a fall in a security’s value are not covered.)Congress created the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) in 1970 to protect customers of member broker-dealers that may fail or be liquidated. If any securities or cash are lost in the bankruptcy for customer accounts, the corporation steps in to replace those securities and cash.This protection is limited to $500,000 per customer, including up to $100,000 in cash. See www.sipc.org for more information about SIPC.