Minnesota Judicial Branch Minnesota IOLTA Program

Well over $17.5 million has been provided for charitable services such as those listed, and we thank you for your part in making these vital services possible. To place client or third party funds that are nominal in amount or to be held for a short period of time in an interest-bearing pooled trust account with the interest going to the Oklahoma Bar Foundation (“OBF”) IOLTA Program, termed an IOLTA trust account. Interest is earned by pooling these funds in an IOLTA account. Participation is mandatory for all Oklahoma attorneys and law firms holding client or third party funds in connection with representation.

You can help generate more dollars for civil legal aid for low-income households by holding your IOLTA account at an IOLTA Eligible Financial Institution that waives all fees and pays above market interest rates on IOLTA accounts. A D.C. IOLTA account uses the Bar Foundation’s tax identification number because the Foundation is the beneficial owner of the interest. Although the tax identification number of NC IOLTA will be assigned to all general trust accounts, the trust account and all checks should bear the name assigned by the lawyer/law firm to the account. The trust account and all checks must be clearly labeled as a “trust account” or drawn on a trust account. Lawyers may use identifying names on their accounts and checks, such as Real Estate Trust Account, General Trust Account, etc.

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Financial institutions may choose to provide value to customers in other ways than strictly pricing, including higher levels of service. So long as the IOLTA accounts are being treated equally and are earning the same rates as other depositors. “Nominal” or “short-term” funds are those of a client or third party that the lawyer has determined cannot provide a positive net return to the client or third party. An attorney shall exercise good faith judgment in determining whether or not funds belong in an IOLTA account.

Payment on multiple accounts should be combined into one payment and payments should be remitted through the ABA Clearinghouse or wired. For ACH and wiring instructions, please contact the IOLTA office. For example, an appropriate title for a general trust account might be “The Trust Account of John Smith, Attorney” or “Smith, Jones & Williams Real Estate Trust Account” or “Smith, Jones & Williams IOLTA Account.” With so many IOLTA account rules, mistakes are not hard to make. The good news is, there are plenty of great options to help you steer clear of these mistakes in the future.

What is IOLTA?

Every lawyer/law firm or settlement agent maintaining IOLTA Accounts shall advise NC IOLTA of the establishment or closing of each IOLTA Account. Such notice shall include the name of the bank where the account is maintained, the name of the account, the account number, and the name and bar number of the lawyer in the firm and/or the name of any non-lawyer settlement agent maintaining the account. The North Carolina State Bar shall furnish to each lawyer/law firm or settlement agent maintaining an IOLTA Accounts a suitable iolta account plaque explaining the program, which plaque shall be exhibited in the office of the lawyer/law firm or settlement agent. Each year in November or early December, the Hawaii State Bar Association will send you your HSBA Dues Notice for the following year. Part of that dues information package will be your “IOLTA Certification,” which is a simple two-sided form. To meet your IOLTA reporting requirements, all you do is complete and sign that twosided form and attach a void check or deposit slip from your IOLTA Account.

A copy of this form should be submitted to the bank and maintained by the law firm. Lawyers must notify NC IOLTA when opening IOLTA accounts; however, lawyers do not need authorization from NC IOLTA prior to opening an IOLTA account. Notification can be made electronically through the North Carolina State Bar Member Portal or by submitting the NC IOLTA Information Update Form.

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Some IOLTA-friendly merchants will charge fees to your firm’s operating account while depositing funds to the IOLTA account. If your merchant isn’t IOLTA-friendly, however, these fees can become hard to track, causing you to charge the wrong client’s account. No matter which accounting solution you use, you should keep a separate ledger for each individual client account, even if it’s small or for a short period of time.

• Verify their IOLTA account information with the State Bar at least annually through their My State Bar Profile.
• Massachusetts Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15 and the 2009 IOLTA Guidelinesprovide rules and guidance regarding the Massachusetts IOLTA program and IOLTA accounts.
• It holds money that was received from the client for the purposes of funding their matter.
• As you work within the IOLTA account rules, the last thing you want to do is to commit a mistake that could turn into more time worrying about the accounts, instead of taking the valuable time you’d like to spend growing your business.
• All open accounts must be included in the report even if no interest was earned or paid during the period.
• Lawyers must notify NC IOLTA when opening IOLTA accounts; however, lawyers do not need authorization from NC IOLTA prior to opening an IOLTA account.
• All other fees are the responsibility of, and may be charged to, the lawyer maintaining the IOLTA account.

More information about how IOLTA funds are used in the public interest is available in the IOLTA Committee’s annual report. Take a copy of theNotice to Financial Institutions Form to your financial institution. In some instances the provincial legislation and/or regulations which direct the foundations also prescribe specific funding formulas which are applied to the five mandates. To remit funds to the Access to Justice Foundation pursuant to Rule 1.15, use the form found the IOLTA Forms page. If you prefer to check with us on the status of your firm’s compliance with IOLTA, please call. You are employed as in house counsel to a corporation and cannot, as a condition of employment, have a separate practice. For security reasons, we could soon disable access to 1st Source Online Banking for anyone using an out of date browser.

This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult his or her own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post. Bench assumes no liability for actions taken in reliance upon the information contained herein. If you don’t have time to manage your own bookkeeping and are thinking of hiring outside help, make sure to hire a bookkeeper who has experience with law firms.

• These charges may be deducted from the firm’s operating account, billed to the firm, or deducted from funds maintained or deposited by the lawyer in the IOLTA account for that purpose.
• If you have a good understanding of IOLTA account rules, keep careful records, and ensure that a CPA and reputable bank are overseeing your business and client trust accounts, you can avoid the mistakes that many lawyers make.
• If a bank does not waive service charges on IOLTA accounts, allowable reasonable service charges may be assessed but only against interest earned on the IOLTA account.SeeNC IOLTA Rule .1316.
• A list of all financial institutions meeting these requirements is provided at the link below.
• Nowadays, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have IOLTA programs.

We are not an agent for these third parties nor do we endorse or guarantee their products. We make no representation or warranty regarding the accuracy of the information contained in the linked sites. We suggest that you always verify the information obtained from linked website before acting upon this information.

Opening an IOLTA Account

For example, if the lawyer is licensed in and principally practices in Maryland, IOLTA eligible funds from D.C. Clients can be deposited into the Maryland IOLTA account and the lawyer would not need a D.C. But Arkansas banks have shown a strong desire to serve the lawyers in their community. The vast majority of banks not only offer IOLTA accounts, they also waive all service charges and fees on them. This support and generosity enables the Foundation to pay out more money in grants. For a list of our “Preferred Banks”, which offer the most competitive rates and terms, see the IOLTA Banks page.