Advisory Opinion: 1010

Year Issued: 1986

RPC(s): RPC 1.14

Subject: Trust account; interest earned before adoption of IOLTA rule

The Committee was of the unanimous opinion that interest earned on your trust account prior to the adoption of the IOLTA rule must be allocated and paid to the clients whose funds earned the interest. If any of the clients to whom those funds would be payable had disappeared, the Committee was of the opinion that those funds should be disposed of pursuant to the laws addressing abandoned property.

Advisory Opinions are provided for the education of the Bar and reflect the opinion of the Committee on Professional Ethics (CPE) or its predecessors. Advisory Opinions are provided pursuant to the authorization granted by the Board of Governors, but are not individually approved by the Board and do not reflect the official position of the Bar association. Laws other than the Washington State Rules of Professional Conduct may apply to the inquiry. The Committee's answer does not include or opine about any other applicable law other than the meaning of the Rules of Professional Conduct.