Does the trust-account rule need a new provision telling lawyers how to disburse funds when more than one person claims them?

Plain-English summary

The inquiry concerned a possible amendment to RPC 1.14 to add a section about disbursing funds when there is more than one claimant to the funds. The committee was of the opinion that no amendment to the rules is required.

The committee was of the opinion that the present rule, which states that a lawyer is to pay a client the funds "which the client is entitled to receive," resolves the issue, and that the question of "entitlement" is a legal question rather than an ethical one.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1989, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the Washington Rules of Professional Conduct. Subsequent rule amendments or later opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance. Verify against current rules before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or requirement mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: Does the trust-account rule tell a lawyer what to do when several people claim the same funds?

A: Under this 1989 opinion, the committee read the existing rule to resolve the issue: a lawyer pays the client the funds the client is entitled to receive. It did not think an amendment was needed.

Q: Who decides which claimant is "entitled" to the funds?

A: The committee characterized "entitlement" as a legal question rather than an ethical one, so it falls outside what the committee would resolve.

Background and rules framework

At the time of this opinion, Washington's RPC 1.14 governed the safekeeping of client property, the subject the current Model Rules place in Rule 1.15. The committee read the rule's direction to pay a client the funds the client "is entitled to receive" as already addressing competing claims, with the entitlement question itself being a matter of law rather than ethics.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• ABA Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property)
• Washington RPC 1.14 (as numbered at the time of the opinion)

See also

• WA Ethics Op. 1320: Trust Account Overbalance and Earned Fees
• WA Ethics Op. 1284: Returning a Former Client's Documents

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=407

Original opinion text

Reproduced from the official source for research purposes. The linked source is authoritative.

The Committee reviewed your inquiry concerning a possible amendment to RPC 1.14 to add a section about disbursing funds when there is more than [one] claimant to the funds. The Committee was of the opinion that no amendment to the Rules is required. The Committee is of the opinion that the present rule, which states that a lawyer is to pay funds to a client "which the client is entitled to receive" resolves the issue and that the question of "entitlement" is a legal question rather than an ethical one.