First and foremost, if there is one take away from this article, please let it be that there is no such thing as an overage in your Attorney Trust Account. All funds came from a somewhere. It is your responsibility to record detailed records and account for funds. If you think you have an overage in your Attorney Trust Account, decide to consider it “found money” and take it. You’ve made a grave mistake and placed yourself in jeopardy of being severely disciplined (potentially disbarred), no one wishes to see that.

On to why you are reading.

Unidentified Funds

You likely have unidentified funds in your Attorney Trust Account because you were not performing three-way reconciliations (see my other article for help with these) or you were not performing them properly and now your in the middle of an audit or investigation by the Office of Attorney Ethics. This is not a great position to be in. However, its better than having to respond to a shortage in your account.

Starting off, if my assumption is correct and you were not performing three-way reconciliations, start and do so retroactively. You should have your records for the last 7 years at a minimum. By doing this, you may start to identify some or all the funds that are unidentified at the time of reading this. If the number is around $100.00, try and think if you had to deposit any funds when you opened the account, it may be your money after all. If you are not maintaining a firm ledger card start here and find proof of the deposit.

If my assumption is off and you have perfect three-way reconciliations and still cannot figure it out, look through your deposits on your bank statement and see if anything was improperly recorded or if any checks or other disbursements were improperly marked as cleared in a future or previous period.

If these tips do not work and you have exhausted all options. There is a process rid yourself of these funds. R.1:21-6(j) allows an attorney to deposit funds with Superior Court Trust Fund, if they have conducted a reasonable search and document such in an affidavit. This could be mailed to Trust Fund Unit, Superior Court Clerk’s Office, 25 Market St, PO Box 971, Trenton, NJ 08625-0971. Checks should be made payable to “Superior Court of New Jersey” and the sending should include an original and copy of your affidavit, with a self-addressed (postage paid) envelope (to receive receipt).

Unclaimed Funds

If you have funds in your Attorney Trust Account for which you know the owner of but, cannot locate you need to conduct a reasonable search. If the problem is the client moved and did not leave a forwarding address. Attempt to find their new mailing address. If they are deceased, attempt to locate beneficiaries. If the client is lost on Gilligan’s island, send a rescue team.  In all seriousness, make reasonable attempts to find the client, document them, and if all fails send the funds to the Superior Court Trust Fund Unit as described in the unidentified funds section above. Further, unclaimed funds are not just funds sitting on a client ledger card. If you have old outstanding checks written on your Attorney Trust Account, you should attempt to resolve them in a similar fashion.

Trust this helps.

Please feel free to reach out for a confidential consultation.

-Will