What does a lawyer do with trust funds belonging to a client who has disappeared and left no forwarding address?

Plain-English summary

The lawyer asked how far to go to locate a client who left no forwarding address in order to return client funds, and what to do with the trust balance after taking the required steps without success. The committee said that RPC 1.3 and 1.14 apply to managing client trust accounts, and that RCW 63.29 applies regarding unclaimed property.

On what to do with the funds, the committee said the Rules require the lawyer to act with reasonableness and due diligence in resolving trust account matters, and that what is reasonable is a legal question depending on the specific facts of each case. The committee referred the lawyer to the booklet titled "Rules, Regulations and Common Sense - Managing Client Trust Accounts."

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1997, before the Washington State Bar Association's adoption of the 2006 revisions to the 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 Treat this page as historical context, not current guidance.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. Washington's cited rules correspond to ABA Model Rules 1.3 (diligence) and, for then-numbered RPC 1.14 (safekeeping property), ABA Model Rule 1.15.

Common questions

Q: How hard must a lawyer try to find a missing client to return funds?

A: The committee said the Rules require the lawyer to act with reasonableness and due diligence, and that what is reasonable is a fact-specific legal question.

Q: Which rules govern the trust balance?

A: The committee said RPC 1.3 and 1.14 apply to managing client trust accounts.

Q: What happens to funds that stay unclaimed?

A: The committee said RCW 63.29, Washington's unclaimed property law, applies.

Background and rules framework

The opinion applied RPC 1.3 (diligence, corresponding to ABA Model Rule 1.3) and then-RPC 1.14 (safekeeping of client property, corresponding to ABA Model Rule 1.15) to a trust balance held for a missing client, alongside RCW 63.29 on unclaimed property. The committee framed the standard as reasonableness and due diligence and treated the precise steps as a fact-specific legal question rather than a fixed checklist.

Citations and references

Rules of Professional Conduct:

• ABA Model Rule 1.3 (diligence); Washington RPC 1.3
• ABA Model Rule 1.15 (safekeeping property); Washington RPC 1.14

Statutes:

• RCW 63.29 (Uniform Unclaimed Property Act)

See also

• WSBA Ethics Op. 1128: Unclaimed Trust Funds
• WA Ethics Op. 1428: Disputed Funds in Trust
• WA Ethics Op. 1726: Disputed Settlement Assignment

Source

• Landing page: https://ao.wsba.org/print.aspx?ID=817

Original opinion text

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

Advisory Opinion: 1748
Year Issued: 1997
RPC(s): RPC 1.3; 1.14; RCW 63.29
Subject: Missing client with funds in trust account

You ask to what extent you must go to attempt to locate a client who has left no forwarding address to return client funds; and what is to be done with trust balances after you have taken the required steps to locate the client, to no avail.

It is the Committee's opinion that Rules of Professional Conduct l.3 and l.14 apply to your questions regarding managing client trust accounts. In addition, RCW 63.29 applies regarding unclaimed property. With respect to your question of what you should do with the funds, the Rules require that you act with reasonableness and due diligence in resolving trust account matters. The question of what is reasonable is a legal question which depends on the specific facts in each individual case. The committee refers you to the booklet entitled "Rules, Regulations and Common Sense - Managing Client Trust Accounts."