Michigan State Bar Foundation

IOLTA 
(Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts)

NOTE: For a description of recent changes to the Michigan IOLTA Rule effective October 18, 2005, see the Notice of IOLTA Program Changes - Information for Financial Institutions

The IOLTA program, started in 1990, receives interest on lawyer's pooled trust accounts (interest bearing commercial checking accounts) that hold clients funds that are either so small in amount or held for such a short time, that the funds can not generate enough net interest to benefit the individual client. The Michigan Supreme Court designates 70 percent of these funds to support civil legal services for the poor.

Banks that reduce or completely waive fees on IOLTA accounts allow for more substantial grant funds to be available for critical legal services to aid Michigan's citizens. These funds, allocated by the Michigan State Bar Foundation, help Michigan's legal service providers assist the state's most vulnerable residents with problems such as domestic violence, child support, health care, and other critical needs.

Currently, 80 percent of Michigan's financial institutions waive all fees. These institutions are presented with plaques by the Foundation and are put on the "IOLTA Honor Roll of Banks", which is published regularly in the State Bar of Michigan Bar Journal and Michigan Banker Magazine. In addition, these banks are placed on our Web site as well as the State Bar of Michigan's Web site to acknowledge the banks support. For additional information please click below:

The "Notice to Eligible Financial Institution" form (Acrobat document) is used by financial institutions to set up IOLTA accounts.
The fillable version "Notice to Eligible Financial Institution" form permits you to enter the information into the form and print the form. With a full version of Adobe Acrobat, the completed form can be saved to a disk or emailed.

The Honor Roll of Banks (Acrobat document) is a list of all financial institutions that waive fees on IOLTA accounts.

The IOLTA FAQ's are contained in the Attorney IOLTA Guidelines Brochure which was approved by the Michigan Supreme Court on October 18, 2005. It provides information about the guidelines regarding financial institutions offering IOLTA accounts and contains a list of frequntly asked questions about the IOLTA program.

The Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 1.15 contains the IOLTA provisions.

The Michigan Financial Institutions IOLTA Handbook provides guidance for financial institution in administering the IOLTA program.

The IOLTA Remittance Report can be used to provide remittance information regarding IOLTA accounts to the Michigan State Bar Foundation. The Microsoft Excel version of the Remittance Report can be used to complete the form electronically. It can be e-mailed to ioltareport@msbf.org.