![]() The IOLTA Interest Remittance Report template is available and includes the following information that must be provided for each NC IOLTA account:Īccount Name / Account Number / Gross Interest / Gross Service Charge / Net Interest / Interest Rate / Average Principal Balance / Earnings PeriodĮligible NC financial institutions should use the remittance portal to upload their remittance reports or other documents. For ACH and wiring instructions, please contact the IOLTA office. Interest should be remitted to NC IOLTA monthly. Payment on multiple accounts should be combined into one payment and payments should be remitted through the ABA Clearinghouse or wired. No trust account, whether it is IOLTA or not, can be linked to an operating account to utilize the collected trust account balances to offset charges or fees attributable to operating accounts ( see NC State Bar RPC 150).įeel free to contact the NC IOLTA staff if you have any questions about opening an IOLTA account. Rules governing lawyer conduct prohibit a lawyer from benefiting from funds held or managed on behalf of clients. (This name should not appear on the trust account checks.) If a 1099 must be generated, please make sure the name associated with the tax ID number reads as follows: BOARD OF TTEES OF THE N CAROLINA ST BAR PL FOR INT ON LAWYERS TR ACCT. NC IOLTA is tax-exempt so, when possible, please suppress the generation of form 1099. The interest earned on these accounts should not be reported as income of the lawyer or law firm. Please contact the NC IOLTA office for the tax ID number. The identifying account name may include the term IOLTA however, it should be clear that the NC IOLTA program is not the fiduciary agent for the account.įor 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."Īll NC IOLTA accounts must use NC IOLTA’s tax ID number. Lawyers may use identifying names on their accounts and checks, such as Real Estate Trust Account, General Trust Account, etc. The trust account and all checks must be clearly labeled as a "trust account" or drawn on a trust account. For more information about the trust account rules, contact the NC State Bar at 91 or refer to the Trust Account Handbook.Īlthough 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. Rules 1.15 of the Rules of Professional Conduct - Rule 1.15 – Safekeeping Property, Rule 1.15-1 – Definitions, Rule 1.15-2 – General Rules, and Rule 1.15-3 – Records and Accountings – pertain to the safekeeping of client funds in a trust account. ![]() ![]() The procedures and rules governing all lawyer trust accounts, including NC IOLTA accounts, are established by the North Carolina State Bar. A lawyer's or law firm's operating accounts should not be established as IOLTA accounts. For more information about Settlement Agent accounts, see the settlement agent FAQ page. An amendment to the Good Funds Settlement Act allows for nonlawyers meeting the definition of a settlement agent to open NC IOLTA accounts. ![]() Only dedicated trust accounts (interest-bearing accounts maintained for the sole benefit of a single client or transaction) will not be IOLTA accounts.Īll NC IOLTA accounts must have an NC licensed attorney associated with the account unless the account is established as a Settlement Agent account. IOLTA accounts are interest-bearing general trust accounts, from which banks forward the interest net of service charges to the State Bar’s IOLTA program, which uses the money to fund law-related charitable causes. Traditionally, lawyers have placed these individual deposits together into pooled trust accounts, called general trust accounts. Often, the amount of money that a lawyer handles for a single client is nominal and/or held for only a short period of time. Lawyers handle money that belongs to clients. All General Client Trust Accounts Must Be IOLTA Accounts ![]()
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