What must a Missouri lawyer do with trust-account funds whose owner cannot be identified?
Apply this to your situation
This page answers the general question as of 2020. Ask about yours and see what the current Missouri Rules of Professional Conduct say for your facts, with citations.
Plain-English summary
The opinion addresses money in a lawyer's trust account when the lawyer cannot determine who owns it. The first duty is to continue making reasonable efforts to identify the client or third person entitled to receive the funds so they can be distributed.
If reasonable efforts fail after a reasonable period, the funds remain in an IOLTA or non-IOLTA trust account under Rules 4-1.15 and 4-1.155. The lawyer then follows Missouri's Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.
The opinion cites Formal Opinion 118 and Informal Opinion 2011-01 as related Missouri guidance.
In practice
Under this opinion, inability to identify the owner does not permit removal of the money from trust. The lawyer continues ownership research, keeps the funds in the proper trust account, and applies Missouri's unclaimed-property process after reasonable efforts and time.
Common questions
Q: What is the lawyer's first obligation?
A: The lawyer must continue reasonable efforts to identify the client or third person entitled to the funds.
Q: May the lawyer remove the money from trust when identification efforts fail?
A: No. The opinion directs the lawyer to hold it in an IOLTA or non-IOLTA trust account under Rules 4-1.15 and 4-1.155.
Q: When does the unclaimed-property law become relevant?
A: After reasonable identification efforts have failed for a reasonable period.
Q: Which law does the opinion identify?
A: Missouri's Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act.
Background and rules framework
Rules 4-1.15 and 4-1.155 govern continued trust-account holding. The state unclaimed-property statute supplies the disposition framework after reasonable efforts to identify the owner fail.
Citations and references
Rules of Professional Conduct:
- Missouri Rules 4-1.15 and 4-1.155
Statutes:
- Missouri Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act
Other opinions cited:
- Missouri Formal Opinion 118
- Missouri Informal Opinion 2011-01
See also
- Missouri Formal Op. 118: Unclaimed Client Trust Funds
- Connecticut Informal Op. 14-07: Unidentified Client Trust Funds
- Illinois Advisory Op. 15-02: Unclaimed and Unidentified Funds
Source
- Landing page: Missouri Informal Opinion 2020-18
Original opinion text
Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.
QUESTION: Attorney is holding funds in the trust account, but Attorney is unable to determine to whom the funds belong. What should Attorney do with the funds?
ANSWER: Attorney should continue to make reasonable efforts to identify the client or third person to whom the funds belong so the funds can be distributed. If the efforts are unsuccessful after a reasonable period of time, Attorney should hold the funds in an IOLTA or non-IOLTA trust account per Rules 4–1.15 and 4–1.155 and follow the requirements of Missouri’s Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act. Formal Opinion 118; Informal Opinion 2011–01.
What do the rules say today, for your facts?
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