DES MOINES, Iowa — More interest is building on the use of interest on lawyers' trust accounts or IOLTAs with the latest movement occurring in Iowa.
With IOLTAs, attorneys routinely hold funds in trust for clients to pay costs related to legal services such as court filings, depositions and business transactions. If these funds are large or held for a long period of time, the attorney may deposit them in an interest-bearing account at a credit union or bank for the benefit of the client. Interest from collective, short-term trust accounts is paid to a non-profit foundation for programs such as providing legal services to the poor.
The Iowa Supreme Court is currently accepting grant applications to help provide legal services to the poor in civil cases via IOLTAs. Last year, the court awarded more than $1.3 million to various programs in the state, according to Iowa Representative Bob Kressig, (D-Cedar Falls), who serves on the board at $1.3 billion Veridian CU.
In September, the Maine Supreme Court ruled that effective Jan. 1, 2008, all credit unions may accept IOLTA deposits for all deposits at low-income designated credit unions regardless of membership status. In August 2006, the Washington Supreme Court ruled credit unions could continue their IOLTA use. In both Maine and Washington, credit unions faced opposition from the Maine Bar Foundation and the Washington State Bar Association, respectively.
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
