What did Vermont Opinion 98-09 say about unidentified funds in a dormant IOLTA account?

Plain-English summary

The committee revisited its earlier Opinion 96-10, which had addressed a dormant IOLTA account with less than $1,500 whose true owner could not be identified. That earlier opinion had described transfer to the Vermont Bar Foundation, subject to repayment if the client later claimed the money.

Opinion 98-09 withdrew that advice. It cited the Vermont Unclaimed Property Act and said fiduciaries holding property unclaimed for five years had reporting and remittance duties to the state treasurer under 27 V.S.A. §§ 1215, 1220, and 1222. The committee suggested that lawyers who held property as fiduciaries under Chapter 13 comply with the Act.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1998 under Vermont's former Code of Professional Responsibility. The Vermont Supreme Court's rules history says the Rules of Professional Conduct replaced the Code and applied to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999; the court later made comprehensive amendments in 2009. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement.

Common questions

Q: What happened to Opinion 96-10?

A: The committee expressly withdrew it.

Q: Did 98-09 repeat the prior advice to send unidentified funds to the Bar Foundation?

A: No. It withdrew that approach and pointed to the Vermont Unclaimed Property Act.

Q: Which statutory provisions did the committee cite?

A: It cited 27 V.S.A. §§ 1215, 1220, and 1222 within Chapter 13.

Background and rules framework

The linked PDF discusses 27 V.S.A. Chapter 13, particularly §§ 1215, 1220, and 1222, and withdraws VBA Opinion 96-10. It does not interpret a numbered professional conduct rule.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• 27 V.S.A. Chapter 13, §§ 1215, 1220, and 1222

Other opinions cited:

• Vermont Opinion 96-10 (withdrawn by this opinion)

See also

• Vermont Ethics Op. 02-04: Trust account funds

Source

• Landing page: VBA conflict of interest opinions
• Original PDF: Vermont Advisory Opinion 98-09
• Rules history: Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct, “These rules apply to lawyer conduct after September 1, 1999.”
• Index discrepancy: the landing page describes the 98-09 link as “An Assistant Attorney General who formerly worked for an organization,” but the linked PDF opens, “This Opinion withdraws Opinion 96-10.”