State Bar Of California Handbook On Client Trust Accounting In Texas
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Per California probate code sections 16060 and 16062, trustees must: Keep beneficiaries 'reasonably' informed about how they manage the trust. Provide an accounting at least once annually. Provide an accounting at the termination of a trust or when a trustee changes.
Recording a document means that it is filed with the county recorder's office and becomes a public record. In California, living trusts are not required to be recorded, nor is it recommended.
Per California probate code section 16063, an accounting should include the following information for the last fiscal year of the trust or the time since a trustee last prepared and provided an accounting: A statement of all receipts and disbursements of principal and income. A statement of assets and liabilities.
You must keep a written record showing that every month you completed a three-way reconciliation where you “reconciled” or balanced the account journal against the individual ledgers and the bank statement with canceled checks. You must perform this three-way reconciliation for each client trust account you keep.
What Should a Trust Accounting Include? An account statement with all principal and income held by the trust. A detailed breakdown of assets/liabilities. Trustee compensation. A report of the agents a trustee hired. A legal statement that beneficiaries can object to the trust accounting.
California law requires attorneys who handle client funds or funds entrusted by others to hold them in one or more interest-bearing bank accounts labeled as a "Trust Account," or words of similar import.
Trustees must maintain separate accounts for each trust, with each client's funds handled individually. Detailed Record-Keeping: Every financial transaction involving the trust must be meticulously recorded. This includes deposits, disbursements, interest income, investment gains, and expenses.
The Formal Accounting must detail all assets and justify all expenses. The Accounting Attorney may then Object to anything in the Formal Account. If the judge believes the Trustee's actions reduced the Trust's assets, the judge may surcharge the Trustee.
The primary distinction between an IOLTA and an attorney trust account is who benefits from the interest—public services for IOLTA versus the client for standard attorney trust accounts.
