An IOLTA shall be: (1) established in the name of the attorney, firm or association that creates and maintains it, and (2) titled as “IOLTA” or as “Interest on Lawyer’s Trust Account,” in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 4705.09.

An IOTA shall be: (1) established in the name of the title insurance agent or company that creates and maintains it, and (2) titled as “IOTA,” or as “Interest on Trust Account,” in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Section 3953.231.

31-1126612 is the federal tax identification number (EIN) of all Ohio IOLTA and IOTAs. An attorney, firm, title agent, or title company must use this number when opening an IOLTA or IOTA.

IOLTA/IOTAs must be established at an eligible participating financial institution that is authorized to do business in Ohio and either FDIC or NCUA insured.

Once an IOLTA/IOTA is established at a participating financial institution, the lawyer/title agent should promptly notify the Foundation by registering the account on the Foundation’s website. Promptly reporting IOLTA and IOTA to the Foundation ensures that accounts are set up correctly and are in compliance with Ohio statutes and rules.

Lawyers must maintain client and third person funds held in connection with a representation, which is either nominal in amount or held for too short of a period to earn net income for their benefit, in an IOLTA.

Funds that can earn net interest for the client should be deposited into a separate trust account, held for the client’s benefit.

Types of funds commonly deposited into IOLTA or IOTAs include, but are not limited to:

• Retainers, until earned and transferred to the attorney’s operating account;
• Funds which belong in part to the client and in part to the lawyer;
• Client funds being held for later disbursement;
• Personal injury settlements or awards;
• Deposits required to close property transactions; and
• Prepaid court costs.

Ohio Professional Conduct Rule 1.15 and 1.5 provides guidance for lawyers in respect to the management of client funds.

The following categories provide informative topics that may be helpful in maintaining your IOLTA/IOTA. For additional topics, please see the Office of Disciplinary Counsel’s website.

Credit Card Transactions

Lawyers may allow clients to pay for costs and expenses related to representation with a credit card. However, the lawyer is responsible for any brokerage charges or fees associated with the use of the card. These fees and charges must always be paid from the lawyer’s operating account and never from interest earned on the client’s trust account. See Op 2007-3.

Debit Card Transactions

Though not prohibited, it is best practice not to have debit cards associated with an IOLTA. If a lawyer has an IOLTA debit card, the lawyer is required to demonstrate that the debit card is only used for representation-related expenses.

FDIC Insurance

FDIC regulations ensure funds held in an IOLTA, in an amount up to $250,000 per client, provided certain requirements are met.

To be eligible for this coverage, the account must be clearly designated as an IOLTA and a proper accounting of each client’s funds must be maintained. This per client coverage is available, regardless of the total amount held in the IOLTA and regardless of any other deposits which the law firm or title company may hold at the financial institution. See 12 U.S.C. 1787(k)(5); and 12 C.F.R. 330.5. See also, https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/insured-deposits/.

Flat-fee agreements

A flat fee, paid in advance of services, must be deposited into a lawyer’s IOLTA and should be drawn against at pre-determined benchmarks (e.g., ¼ after arraignment, ¼ after the final pre-trial, and remaining ½ after the representation is complete).

A flat fee which designates in writing to be “earned upon receipt” may be deposited directly into an operating account. Lawyers engaging in such flat fee agreements must advise clients, pursuant to Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(d)(3), that clients may be entitled to a full or partial refund if the lawyer fails to complete the representation. See Ohio Board of Professional Conduct Advisory Opinion 2016-1.

A flat fee paid after a representation is complete should be deposited directly into an operating account.  See Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(d)(3).

PayPal, Square, Apple Pay, etc.

If using third party services such as those named above, payments should be deposited directly into a lawyer’s IOLTA.

The lawyer and client should reach agreement, prior to payment, as to who will be responsible for any fees associated with utilizing the third party payment. https://odc.ohio.gov/iolta

Personal Funds

A lawyer may only deposit personal funds into an IOLTA to pay or to obtain a waiver of bank service charges on the account. The amount of personal funds in an IOLTA must be proportional to the bank the charges being mitigated. See Prof.Cond.R. 1.15.

Written fee agreement

A written fee agreement is only required to establish a contingency fee or flat fee “earned upon receipt” representation.

Use of written fee agreements is highly encouraged. Written fee agreements protect both the lawyer and the client in the event of a dispute over fees. Fee agreements should include:

• The nature and scope of the representation; and
• The basis or the rate of the fee and expenses for which the client will be responsible.

Written fee agreements should be shared with a client within a reasonable time after commencing the representation. See Prof.Cond.R. 1.5(b)

Only bank transaction charges (i.e., per check, per deposit charge) and standard monthly maintenance charges may be deducted from the interest earned on an IOLTA or IOTA.  See Prof.Cond.R. 1.15.

The following charges or fees may not be deducted from interest earned on an IOLTA:

• check printing charges;
• not-sufficient-funds charges;
• stop payment fees;
• teller and ATM fees;
• electronic fund transfer fees (i.e., wire transfer fees);
• brokerage and credit card charges; and
• other business-related expenses, which are not part of the two permissible types of fees.

Should any of the above service charges be deducted from IOLTA interest, please contact the Foundation immediately via email so that we can resolve this matter with the financial institution.

Funds held in an IOLTA/IOTA shall be sent to the Department of Commerce, Division of Unclaimed Funds (“the Division”) if:

• funds have been held for 3 years, and
• the owner is either unknown or efforts to reunite the funds to the owner have been unsuccessful.

Lawyers are required to remit the funds to the Division using the Nature of Funds Code TR88, in accordance with Ohio Revised Code Sections 169.01(L) & 169.03.

Please visit the Foundation’s Unclaimed Funds webpage for more information.

Utilize Probate Form 13.11 ( Application to Disburse Attorney Decedent’s Trust) in order to be appointed to administer the estate of a deceased attorney or to close the deceased attorney’s business. Funds should be disbursed from the deceased attorney’s IOLTA to the rightful owner(s) and/or remitted to the Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Unclaimed Funds.