Attorney Portal

It is a two-step process:

1. Open an IOLTA account with an eligible bank or financial institution using the Enrollment Form;
2. Register your IOLTA account with the SC Bar Foundation here.

Take a look at Rule 5.3, SCRPC, and Rule 2 of Rule 417, SCACR. Remember: it is your law license. Only you can be disciplined for getting it wrong.

“Nominal” or “short-term” funds are those of a client or third party that the lawyer has determined cannot provide a positive net return to the client or third party. An attorney shall exercise good faith judgment in determining whether or not funds belong in an IOLTA account. No lawyer shall be charged with ethical impropriety based on the exercise of good faith judgment. See Rule 412(d)(1), SCACR, for more information.

Only attorneys handling client trust funds that are nominal in amount or held for a short time are required to establish IOLTA accounts. Licensed attorneys in South Carolina who do not handle client trust funds are not required to establish an IOLTA account.

No, Rule 412 requires that “each member of the South Carolina Bar in a law firm” should be listed, regardless of whether they have signatory authority.

Lawyers are automatically excluded from the requirement to maintain a South Carolina IOLTA account if you meet the following criteria:

• Do not maintain a practice of law
• Are employed in a corporate capacity
• Are employed by local, state or federal government
• Are a law clerk
• Are a professor
• Are a member of the judiciary
• Are retired
• Practice does not require the maintenance of trust/escrow accounts
• Do not have an office or maintain funds in depository institutions in the State of South Carolina

There is nothing the attorney needs to submit to the Foundation to be excluded if the attorney falls into one of the above categories.

Unlike exclusions, exemptions are not automatic. If you believe you qualify, you must apply for an exemption from the South Carolina Bar Foundation Board of Directors. See Rule 412 (i).

Exemption categories:

• If the bank service charges assessed on your current IOLTA account routinely exceed the interest earned, you may request an exemption.
• Extreme impracticality
• Participation would cause an undue hardship

Please submit a written request identifying the exemption category for which you are applying and explain why you qualify to the attention of the Executive Director of the SC Bar Foundation via email: iolta@scbarfoundation.org; or mail: South Carolina Bar Foundation, PO Box 608, Columbia, SC 29202.  For questions, please call 803-765-0517.  For the excessive services charges exemption, you must include bank statements for your current IOLTA account from the last 12 months.

Not every bank or financial institution in South Carolina offers IOLTA accounts. Financial institutions must be approved through the Foundation. In order to be certified as eligible, the Foundation needs to confirm they are in compliance with Rule 412 and institutions must provide documentation to support their request. The current list of eligible banks can be found below.

The TIN for all IOLTA accounts must be the Foundation’s TIN, which is 23-7181552. The attorney’s or law firm’s TIN should never be used when an IOLTA account is opened. Bank statements should be sent to the account holder and not to the Foundation.

Financial institutions may choose to waive any and all fees on an IOLTA account. If the financial institution assesses service charges and fees on the IOLTA account, they should be reasonable and customary. Certain reasonable fees as defined in Rule 412 may not be deducted from the IOLTA principal but may be deducted from interest or dividends that are earned on the IOLTA account. All other fees and service charges are the responsibility of the attorney or law firm maintaining the account.

There are no tax consequences for the attorney or client. Financial institutions should not issue IRS 1099 forms to anyone including the attorney, law firm, nor the attorney’s client.

Rule 1.15(h) of the S.C. Rules of Professional Conduct mandates that all lawyers with a trust account file a written directive with their bank requiring the bank to report any instrument drawn on the account is presented for payment against insufficient funds, regardless of whether the instrument was actually paid.  If you have an IOLTA account, please confirm with your bank that you have a directive filed; it is the duty of the lawyer to make sure this has been done. Do not assume that all banks do it automatically.  If the Office of Disciplinary Counsel discovers an overdraft that was not reported by the bank, the lawyer may be disciplined for both the Rule violation that caused the overdraft and the failure to file a directive with the bank. If you need an example of a “ reporting non-sufficient funds” letter, you can find one here.

Insufficient Funds (NSF) notices should be sent to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Their address is PO Box 12159, Columbia, SC 29211. A copy does NOT need to be sent to the Foundation.

There is no requirement that you notify the Foundation.  If you are looking for general practice management advice, you may contact the Practice Management Director with the SC Bar, Courtney Troutman at pmap@scbar.org or 803.576.3783.  If you change your account number, please “close” the old account number and register your new account number using the forms found in the FORMS Section.

You will need to notify the Foundation of these changes. Please close out the account with the old account number or old firm name using the Online Closing Form and register the new account number or firm name using the Online Registration Form. This same process applies if you are adding lawyers to or removing lawyers from the firm. Email iolta@scbarfoundation.org with any questions.

Contact your bank about how to properly close the account.  Once it is closed, you will also need to submit the IOLTA Account Closing Form to the Foundation.  Please do not submit the closing form to the Foundation until the account has been closed at your bank.

Client trust funds that do not meet the nominal or short-term fund requirements of an IOLTA account should be deposited in a separate trust account to earn interest for the benefit of that client. The attorney must use that client’s tax ID number.

If you do not maintain an office in the state of South Carolina, you are not required to have an IOLTA account in South Carolina. If you have offices in multiple states, including South Carolina, you need to be aware of and compliant with each jurisdiction’s IOLTA rules.

You are required to certify annually on your license fee statement that you are in compliance with the IOLTA Rule (Rule 412, SCACR). Rule 412 requires you to notify the Foundation any time you open a new IOLTA account or close an existing account; in addition, you must notify the Foundation any time your account information changes (e.g., change of account number). Beyond that, there is no requirement to annually check in or report to the SC Bar Foundation.

Each attorney is individually responsible for ensuring s/he is in compliance with Rule 412; that obligation cannot be delegated to your firm or your non-attorney staff.  When you join a new firm or legal organization with an existing trust account, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are listed under the firm’s account through the Foundation’s online Registration Form; do not assume the firm will handle that on its own.