TRUST ACCOUNTS

(a) Nature of Money or Property Entrusted to Attorney.

(1) Trust Account Required; Location of Trust Account; Commingling Prohibited. A lawyer must hold in trust, separate from the lawyer’s own property, funds and property of clients or third persons that are in a lawyer’s possession in connection with a representation. All funds, including advances for fees, costs, and expenses, must be kept in a separate federally insured bank, credit union, or savings and loan association account maintained in the state where the lawyer’s office is situated or elsewhere with the consent of the client or third person and clearly labeled and designated as a trust account except:

(A) A lawyer may maintain funds belonging to the lawyer in the lawyer’s trust account in an amount no more than is reasonably sufficient to pay bank charges relating to the trust account; and

(B) A lawyer may deposit the lawyer’s own funds into trust to replenish a shortage in the lawyer’s trust account. Any deposits by the lawyer to cover trust account shortages must be no more than the amount of the trust account shortage, but may be less than the amount of the shortage. The lawyer must notify the bar’s lawyer regulation department immediately of the shortage in the lawyer’s trust account, the cause of the shortage, and the amount of the replenishment of the trust account by the lawyer.

(2) Compliance with Client Directives. Trust funds may be separately held and maintained other than in a bank, credit union, or savings and loan association account if the lawyer receives written permission from the client to do so and provided that written permission is received before maintaining the funds other than in a separate account.

(3) Safe Deposit Boxes. If a lawyer uses a safe deposit box to store trust funds or property, the lawyer must advise the institution in which the deposit box is located that it may include property of clients or third persons.

(b) Application of Trust Funds or Property to Specific Purpose. Money or other property entrusted to a lawyer for a specific purpose, including advances for fees, costs, and expenses, is held in trust and must be applied only to that purpose. Money and other property of clients coming into the hands of a lawyer are not subject to counterclaim or setoff for attorney’s fees, and a refusal to account for and deliver over the property on demand is conversion.

(c) Liens Permitted. This subchapter does not preclude the retention of money or other property on which the lawyer has a valid lien for services nor does it preclude the payment of agreed fees from the proceeds of transactions or collection.

(d) Controversies as to Amount of Fees. Controversies as to the amount of fees are not grounds for disciplinary proceedings unless the amount demanded is clearly excessive, extortionate, or fraudulent. In a controversy alleging a clearly excessive, extortionate, or fraudulent fee, announced willingness of an attorney to submit a dispute as to the amount of a fee to a competent tribunal for determination may be considered in any determination as to intent or in mitigation of discipline; provided, such willingness shall not preclude admission of any other relevant admissible evidence relating to such controversy, including evidence as to the withholding of funds or property of the client, or to other injury to the client occasioned by such controversy.

(e) Notice of Receipt of Trust Funds; Delivery; Accounting. On receiving funds or other property in which a client or third person has an interest, a lawyer must promptly notify the client or third person. Except as stated in this rule or otherwise permitted by law or by agreement with the client, a lawyer must promptly deliver to the client or third person any funds or other property that the client or third person is entitled to receive and, on request by the client or third person, must promptly render a full accounting regarding the property.

(f) Disputed Ownership of Trust Funds. When in the course of representation a lawyer is in possession of property in which 2 or more persons (1 of whom may be the lawyer) claim interests, the property must be treated by the lawyer as trust property, but the portion belonging to the lawyer or law firm must be withdrawn within a reasonable time after it becomes due unless the right of the lawyer or law firm to receive it is disputed, in which event the portion in dispute must be kept separate by the lawyer until the dispute is resolved. The lawyer must promptly distribute all portions of the property as to which the interests are not in dispute.

(g) Interest on Trust Accounts (IOTA) Program.

(1) Definitions. As used in this rule, the term:

(A) “Nominal or short term” describes funds of a client or third person that the lawyer has determined cannot earn income for the client or third person in excess of the costs to secure the income.

(B) “Foundation” means The Florida Bar Foundation, Inc. which serves as the designated IOTA fund administrator and monitors and receives IOTA funds from eligible institutions and distributes IOTA funds consistent with the obligations and directives in this rule.

(C) “IOTA account” means an interest or dividend-bearing trust account benefiting The Florida Bar Foundation established in an eligible institution for the deposit of nominal or short-term funds of clients or third persons.

(D) “Eligible institution” means any bank or savings and loan association authorized by federal or state laws to do business in Florida and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, any state or federal credit union authorized by federal or state laws to do business in Florida and insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, or any successor insurance corporation(s) established by federal or state laws, or any open-end investment company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and authorized by federal or state laws to do business in Florida, all of which must meet the requirements set out in subdivision (5), below.

(E) “Interest or dividend-bearing trust account” means a federally insured checking account, business or consumer deposit account or sub account, business or consumer deposit account or sub account that does not have a maturity date (non-maturing deposit), or investment product, including a daily financial institution repurchase agreement or a money market fund. A daily financial institution repurchase agreement must be fully collateralized by, and an open-end money market fund must consist solely of, United States Government Securities. A daily financial institution repurchase agreement may be established only with an eligible institution that is deemed to be “well capitalized” or “adequately capitalized” as defined by applicable federal statutes and regulations. An open-end money market fund must hold itself out as a money market fund as defined by applicable federal statutes and regulations under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and have total assets of at least $250 million. The funds covered by this rule are subject to withdrawal on request and without delay.

(F) A “qualified grantee organization” is a charitable or other nonprofit organization that facilitates or directly provides qualified legal services by qualified legal services providers and that has experience in successfully doing so.

(G) “Qualified legal services” are free legal services provided directly to low-income clients for their civil legal needs in Florida, and includes post-conviction representation, programs that assist low-income clients in navigating legal processes, and the publication of legal forms or other legal resources for use by pro se litigants.

(H) A “qualified legal services provider” is a member of The Florida Bar or other individual authorized by the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar or other law to provide qualified legal services.

(I) “Direct expenses required to administer the IOTA funds” means those actual costs directly incurred by the foundation in performing the obligations imposed by this rule. Direct expenses required to administer the IOTA funds must not exceed 15% of collected IOTA funds in any fiscal year without the court’s prior approval. These costs include preparation of the foundation’s annual audit on IOTA funds, compensation of staff who exclusively perform the required collection, distribution, and reporting obligations imposed by this rule and overhead expenses of the foundation directly related to fulfilling its obligations under this rule. Direct expenses required to administer the IOTA funds also include:

(i) actual costs and expenses incurred by the foundation to increase the amount of IOTA funds available for distribution;

(ii) funding of reserves deemed by the foundation to be reasonably prudent to promote stability in distribution of IOTA funds to qualified grantee organizations;

(iii) direct costs related to providing training and technology to qualified grantee organizations, as specified below; and

(iv) direct costs to administer the Loan Repayment Assistance Program and to distribute funds in connection with the program (but not the program funds themselves).

(J) “The court” means the Florida Supreme Court.

(2) Required Participation. All nominal or short-term funds belonging to clients or third persons that are placed in trust with any member of The Florida Bar practicing law from an office or other business location within the state of Florida must be deposited into one or more IOTA accounts, unless the funds may earn income for the client or third person in excess of the costs incurred to secure the income, except as provided elsewhere in this chapter. Only trust funds that are nominal or short term must be deposited into an IOTA account. The Florida Bar member must certify annually, in writing, that the bar member is in compliance with, or is exempt from, the provisions of this rule.

(3) Determination of Nominal or Short-Term Funds. The lawyer must exercise good faith judgment in determining on receipt whether the funds of a client or third person are nominal or short term. In the exercise of this good faith judgment, the lawyer must consider such factors as the:

(A) amount of a client’s or third person’s funds to be held by the lawyer or law firm;

(B) period of time the funds are expected to be held;

(C) likelihood of delay in the relevant transaction(s) or proceeding(s);

(D) lawyer or law firm’s cost of establishing and maintaining an interest-bearing account or other appropriate investment for the benefit of the client or third person; and

(E) minimum balance requirements or service charges or fees imposed by the eligible institution. The determination of whether a client’s or third person’s funds are nominal or short term rests in the sound judgment of the lawyer or law firm. No lawyer will be charged with ethical impropriety or other breach of professional conduct based on the exercise of the lawyer’s good faith judgment.

(4) Notice to Foundation. Lawyers or law firms must advise the foundation, at its current location posted on The Florida Bar’s website, of the establishment of an IOTA account for funds covered by this rule. The notice must include: the IOTA account number as assigned by the eligible institution; the name of the lawyer or law firm on the IOTA account; the eligible institution name; the eligible institution address; and the name and Florida Bar number of the lawyer, or of each member of The Florida Bar in a law firm, practicing from an office or other business location within the state of Florida that has established the IOTA account.

(5) Eligible Institution Participation in IOTA. Participation in the IOTA program is voluntary for banks, credit unions, savings and loan associations, and investment companies. Institutions that choose to offer and maintain IOTA accounts must pay, net of all fees and charges assessed by the eligible financial institution, the Wall Street Journal Prime Rate in effect on the first business day of each month less 300 basis points (3.00%) with a floor of 0.25% and a ceiling of 1.50%.

(6) Eligible Institution Remittance and Reporting Instructions. Eligible institutions must:

(A) calculate and remit interest or dividends on the balance of the deposited funds, subject to the determination of required interest rates above in connection with the deposited funds, at least quarterly, to the foundation;

(B) transmit with each remittance to the foundation a statement showing the name of the lawyer or law firm from whose IOTA account the remittance is sent, the lawyer’s or law firm’s IOTA account number as assigned by the institution, the rate of interest applied, the period for which the remittance is made, the total interest or dividend earned during the remittance period, the amount and description of any service charges or fees assessed during the remittance period, and the net amount of interest or dividend remitted for the period; and

(C) transmit to the depositing lawyer or law firm, for each remittance, a statement showing the amount of interest or dividend paid to the foundation, the rate of interest applied, and the period for which the statement is made.

(7) Small Fund Amounts. The foundation may establish procedures for a lawyer or law firm to maintain an interest-free trust account for client and third-person funds that are nominal or short term when their nominal or short-term trust funds cannot reasonably be expected to produce or have not produced interest income net of reasonable eligible institution service charges or fees.

(8) Confidentiality and Disclosure. The foundation must protect the confidentiality of information regarding a lawyer’s or law firm’s trust account obtained by virtue of this rule. However, the foundation must, on an official written inquiry of The Florida Bar made in the course of an investigation conducted under these Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, disclose requested relevant information about the location and account numbers of lawyer or law firm trust accounts.

(9) Distribution of IOTA Funds by the Foundation. No later than 6 months after the fiscal year, the foundation must distribute to 1 or more qualified grantee organizations all IOTA funds collected that fiscal year except for direct expenses required to administer the IOTA funds, funds required to fund the Loan Repayment Assistance Program, and an additional reserve amount if requested by the foundation and approved by the court. Prior to distribution, the foundation must maintain IOTA funds separate from other foundation funds. The foundation may not condition distribution of IOTA funds to a qualified grantee organization on payment to the foundation for any purpose, including training or technology. The foundation must select qualified grantee organizations based on objective standards it develops. When adopted, the foundation must provide those standards to both The Florida Bar and the court and also prominently publish those standards on the foundation’s website. The standards must require that IOTA funds be used to facilitate or directly provide qualified legal services by qualified legal services providers and, to ensure fair distribution of IOTA funds across Florida, must consider relevant data, including:

(A) demographic data provided by an appropriate governmental agency, such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; and

(B) data provided by the qualified grantee organization on the use of any IOTA funds previously received.

(10) Use of IOTA Funds by Qualified Grantee Organizations. A qualified grantee organization must expend at least 85% of the IOTA funds received to facilitate qualified legal service providers providing or facilitating the provision of qualified legal services or, if such expenditures in any given year constitute less than 85% of the IOTA funds received, provide to the foundation a written justification. A qualified grantee organization must expend no more than 15% of the IOTA funds received for general administrative expenses not directly supporting the provision of qualified legal services and establishing reserves or, if such expenditures in any given year constitute more than 15% of the IOTA funds received, provide to the foundation a written justification. Except as provided below, general administrative expenses include rent, training, and technology. Expenditures to facilitate qualified legal service providers providing or facilitating the provision of qualified legal services are limited to:

(A) compensation paid to qualified legal service providers;

(B) compensation paid to support staff who are directly assisting qualified legal services providers, such as paralegals;

(C) compensation paid to staff necessary for coordinating volunteer qualified legal service providers; or

(D) expenses that otherwise directly facilitate providing qualified legal services, including training, legal research, and technology necessary to the provision of qualified legal services. Compensation includes benefits such as health insurance and bar membership fees.

(11) Reporting by the Foundation. In addition to providing the court with a copy of the annual audit of IOTA funds, the foundation must annually certify to the court its compliance with this rule’s requirements on the use of IOTA funds. This certification must include, but not be limited to:

(A) the amount of IOTA funds received;

(B) a detailed breakdown of direct expenses required to administer the IOTA funds;

(C) the name of each qualified grantee organization to which distributions were made;

(D) the amount of distribution received by each qualified grantee organization;

(E) a description of the process for determining eligibility and selection of each qualified grantee organization, including the objective standards developed for that purpose;

(F) the total amount received from sources other than IOTA funds;

(G) a detailed summary of the information provided to the foundation from qualified grantee organizations as required by subdivision (11) of this rule;

(H) the total amount distributed under the Loan Repayment Assistance Program and the number of qualified legal services providers to whom distributions were made; and

(I) any other information the court determines is relevant.

(12) Reporting by Qualified Grantee Organizations. Qualified grantee organizations must annually certify to the foundation their compliance with this rule’s requirements on the use of IOTA funds. This certification must include, but not be limited to:

(A) the number of qualified legal services providers compensated or facilitated by the use of IOTA funds;

(B) the number of clients receiving qualified legal services paid for or facilitated by the use of IOTA funds;

(C) the number of low-income Floridians who, while not directly represented, are nevertheless assisted by qualified legal services paid for or facilitated by the use of IOTA funds;

(D) the number of hours expended delivering qualified legal services paid for or facilitated by the use of IOTA funds;

(E) the types of matters for which clients received qualified legal services paid for or facilitated by the use of IOTA funds;

(F) an accounting of the use of IOTA funds, including the amount used to establish reserves and pay for overhead and other general administrative expenses;

(G) the total amount received from sources other than IOTA funds by the qualified grantee organization; and

(H) any other information the court determines is relevant.

(13) Required Review. The court will cause a review of the amendments to rule 5-1.1(g) finally adopted by the court on June 18, 2021, to be conducted to advise the court regarding their overall efficacy 2 years after their effective date. The scope of this review may also include any other matters related to the IOTA program.

(h) Interest on Funds That Are Not Nominal or Short-Term. A lawyer who holds funds for a client or third person and who determines that the funds are not nominal or short-term as defined in this subchapter may not receive benefit from any interest on funds held in trust.

(i) Unidentifiable Trust Fund Accumulations and Trust Funds Held for Missing Owners. When a lawyer’s trust account contains an unidentifiable accumulation of trust funds or property, or trust funds or property held for missing owners, the funds or property must be designated as unidentifiable or held for missing owners. The lawyer must make a diligent search and inquiry to determine the beneficial owner of any unidentifiable accumulation or the address of any missing owner. If the beneficial owner of an unidentified accumulation is determined, the funds must be properly identified as trust property in the lawyer’s possession. If a missing beneficial owner is located, the trust funds or property must be paid over or delivered to the beneficial owner if the owner is then entitled to receive the funds or property. Trust funds and property that remain unidentifiable and funds or property that are held for missing owners must be disposed of as provided in applicable Florida law after diligent search and inquiry fail to identify the beneficial owner or owner’s address.

(j) Disbursement against Uncollected Funds. A lawyer generally may not use, endanger, or encumber money held in trust for a client for purposes of carrying out the business of another client without the permission of the owner given after full disclosure of the circumstances. However, certain categories of trust account deposits are considered to carry a limited and acceptable risk of failure so that disbursements of trust account funds may be made in reliance on these deposits without disclosure to and permission of affected clients. Except for disbursements based upon any of the 6 categories of limited-risk uncollected deposits enumerated below, a lawyer may not disburse funds held for a client or on behalf of that client unless the funds held for that client are collected funds. For purposes of this provision, “collected funds” means funds deposited, finally settled, and credited to the lawyer’s trust account. The lawyer may disburse uncollected funds from the trust account in reliance on the deposit when the deposit is made by a:

(1) certified check or cashier’s check;

(2) check or draft representing loan proceeds issued by a federally or state-chartered bank, savings bank, savings and loan association, credit union, or other duly licensed or chartered institutional lender;

(3) bank check, official check, treasurer’s check, money order, or other instrument issued by a bank, savings and loan association, or credit union when the lawyer has reasonable and prudent grounds to believe the instrument will clear and constitute collected funds in the lawyer’s trust account within a reasonable period of time;

(4) check drawn on the trust account of a lawyer licensed to practice in the state of Florida or on the escrow or trust account of a real estate broker licensed under applicable Florida law when the lawyer has a reasonable and prudent belief that the deposit will clear and constitute collected funds in the lawyer’s trust account within a reasonable period of time;

(5) check issued by the United States, the state of Florida, or any agency or political subdivision of the state of Florida;

(6) check or draft issued by an insurance company, title insurance company, or a licensed title insurance agency authorized to do business in the state of Florida and the lawyer has a reasonable and prudent belief that the instrument will clear and constitute collected funds in the trust account within a reasonable period of time. A lawyer’s disbursement of funds from a trust account in reliance on deposits that are not yet collected funds in any circumstances other than those set forth above, when it results in funds of other clients being used, endangered, or encumbered without authorization, may be grounds for a finding of professional misconduct. In any event, disbursement is at the risk of the lawyer making the disbursement. If any of the deposits fail, the lawyer, on obtaining knowledge of the failure, must immediately act to protect the property of the lawyer’s other clients. However, the lawyer will not be guilty of professional misconduct if the lawyer accepting any check that is later dishonored personally pays the amount of any failed deposit or secures or arranges payment from sources available to the lawyer other than trust account funds of other clients.

(k) Overdraft Protection Prohibited. A lawyer must not authorize overdraft protection for any account that contains trust funds.