Rule Text (verbatim from The Florida Bar)
Compliance With Trust Accounting Rules. A lawyer shall
comply with The Florida Bar Rules Regulating Trust Accounts.
Amended July 23, 1992, effective Jan. 1, 1993 (605 So.2d 252);, April 25,
2002 (820 So.2d 210).
Educational reference. This page summarizes a Florida Rule of Professional Conduct for educational purposes. The rule text and Comment are mirrored from the Florida Bar's official publication and are public domain. The plain-English summary and any commentary are the opinion of Phillips, Hunt & Walker and are general information only — not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you believe a Florida lawyer has violated this rule, you can file a complaint with The Florida Bar at floridabar.org. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What this rule means in plain English
Florida lawyers must comply with the Florida Bar Rules Regulating Trust Accounts when holding any property — money, documents, settlement funds — that belongs to you or to a third party. This rule cross-references Chapter 5 of the Bar Rules, which controls trust account record-keeping in detail. Misuse of client funds is the single most common cause of Florida lawyer disbarment. If your lawyer can’t account for your money on demand, escalate immediately.
Florida Bar Ethics Opinions interpreting this rule
- Opinion 02-4 (2002)
<p>If your lawyer is holding your settlement money and a third party claims a piece of it — a medical lienholder, ex-spouse, or court order — your lawyer can't help you skip out on enforceable claims, must keep disputed amounts in trust until resolved, and must notify the third party where a legal duty is owed. Before your lawyer takes any step against your interests, you have a right to get independent legal advice.</p>
Read on floridabar.org → - Opinion 93-5 (1993)
<p>A lawyer who acts as agent for a title insurance company cannot let the insurer audit the lawyer's general client trust account without each affected client's consent. A separate trust account used only for the lawyer's title-agent transactions can be audited without that step. If your lawyer handles real estate closings, the structure of their trust accounts affects who sees your records.</p>
Read on floridabar.org → - Opinion 60-34 (1960)
<p>A lawyer cannot tell a client's creditors that the lawyer is holding money belonging to the client so the creditor can move to collect. Doing so puts the lawyer on the creditor's team against their own client — a basic violation of the duty of undivided loyalty and confidentiality. If you're a client, your lawyer holding your funds doesn't make those funds visible to your creditors.</p>
Read on floridabar.org → - Opinion 72-13 (1972)
<p>A law firm cannot place client trust funds in interest-bearing accounts so the firm can capture the interest to cover its administrative costs of holding the funds. The interest belongs to the client, not the firm. Florida lawyers' trust accounts use the IOTA system to direct interest to the Florida Bar Foundation, but the lawyer can never personally profit from client funds.</p>
Read on floridabar.org →