Beginning September 1, 2024, the IOLTA Committee will accept undistributable IOLTA funds under the . The IOLTA Committee will use the transferred funds to support legal help for Massachusetts residents who cannot afford a lawyer and to improve the administration of justice in the Commonwealth.
What are the amendments about?
Earlier this year, the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) approved amendments to Rule 1.15 and 1.15A of the Rules of Professional Conduct in response to the decision in Matter of Olchowski, 485 Mass. 807 (2020), in which the SJC concluded that undistributable IOLTA funds are not governed by the state’s abandoned property fund and that such funds should be transferred to the IOLTA Committee.
The amendments to Rule 1.15 establish procedures for lawyers to follow when they discover that the owner of funds in an IOLTA account cannot be identified or located and for financial institutions to follow when an IOLTA account has been inactive for at least two-and-a-half years. The amendments also provide for the transfer of those funds to the IOLTA Committee. For more details about the amendments, please review our earlier blog post.
How is the new process going to work for lawyers?
Lawyers (or their authorized agent) will complete an online affidavit and make an electronic transfer of funds to the IOLTA Committee. As set forth in the amendments, there will be two affidavits: an affidavit for lawyers remitting $500 or less to the IOLTA Committee within a twelve-month period and a different affidavit for transfers of more than $500. Among other things, the affidavits will require lawyers to identify the owners of any unclaimed funds being transferred to the IOLTA Committee. Information regarding those owners will be published on a webpage maintained by the Board of Bar Overseers to allow the owners to reclaim their funds from the IOLTA Committee.
The affidavits and more information regarding the process for lawyers to transfer funds will be publicly available closer to September 1. Prior to September 1, 2024, lawyers who wish to transfer undistributable funds to the IOLTA Committee should utilize the established by the BBO.
What do financial institutions need to know about the amendments?
Financial institutions that are eligible to hold IOLTA deposits in Massachusetts should have already received an email from the IOLTA Committee with additional information, templates for the required notices, and an Agreement to Provide Dishonored Checks and Inactivity Reports. For the financial institution to remain eligible to hold IOLTA deposits, the signed Agreement must be returned to the IOLTA Committee no later than July 15. Any IOLTA-eligible financial institution that has not received this information should contact the IOLTA Committee immediately.
Over the next two months, the IOLTA Committee will provide updates on its website, via social media, and in other communications with financial institutions and lawyers. Questions may be directed to the IOLTA Committee at 617-723-9093 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..