May a lawyer keep personal funds in an IOLTA account to maintain the bank’s minimum balance?

Plain-English summary

The lawyer kept personal money in a low-activity IOLTA account to avoid bank charges and asked whether a much higher balance than amounts mentioned at seminars was permissible.

The opinion says there is no fixed amount of lawyer money allowed in a trust account. It quotes Rule 4-1.15(e), which permits personal funds only to pay bank service charges and only in the amount needed for that purpose. It says maintaining a minimum balance of the lawyer’s own money is impermissible.

In practice

The opinion ties the permitted amount of lawyer funds to actual bank service charges rather than a fixed figure. It directs a lawyer whose bank demands a minimum IOLTA balance to contact the IOLTA office.

Common questions

Q: Is there a fixed permitted amount of lawyer money in IOLTA?

A: No. The opinion says no set amount is permissible and ties the amount to necessary bank service charges.

Q: May the lawyer maintain personal funds to satisfy a bank minimum?

A: No. The opinion expressly rejects keeping the lawyer’s own money in the account as a minimum balance.

Q: What does the opinion say about $200 or $500?

A: It says those amounts are probably too much, while emphasizing that the necessary bank charges determine the permitted amount.

Background and rules framework

The opinion quotes Rule 4-1.15(e): a lawyer may put personal funds in a client trust account solely to pay bank service charges and only in the amount necessary for that purpose.

Citations and references

Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct:

• Rule 4-1.15

See also

• Missouri Informal Op. 2020-13: Trust Account Cushion
• Missouri Informal Op. 2020-18: Unidentified Trust Funds

Source

• Landing page: https://mo-legal-ethics.org/informal-opinion/2010-0067/

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

QUESTION: Attorney has an IOLTA account with very little activity. Attorney is maintaining a balance in the account at a level needed to avoid bank charges. The funds in the account are Attorney’s funds. Attorney heard amounts of $200 and $500 discussed at seminars. Attorney has been maintaining a much higher balance than that in order to avoid the bank charges. Is this permissible?

ANSWER: There is no set amount of the attorney’s own money that is permissible for an attorney to place in Attorney’s trust account. Generally speaking, $200 and $500 are probably too much. Rule 4–1.15(e) provides:

A lawyer may deposit the lawyer’s own funds in a client trust account for the sole purpose of paying bank service charges on that account, but only in an amount necessary for that purpose.

Attorney should only have Attorney’s own money in the account in amount necessary to pay bank service charges. It is not permissible to keep a minimum balance of Attorney’s own money in the trust account. If the bank indicates that Attorney must keep a minimum balance in the IOLTA account, Attorney should contact the IOLTA office at 573–634-8117 to see if they can assist.