Law Business Essentials

You must always maintain enough money to meet your clients' obligations in each pooled trust account or separate interest-bearing account (Rule 119.39 of the Rules of the Law Society of Alberta).

You should ensure that:

• funds have actually been deposited and that they have cleared (no holds or restrictions);
• any withdrawal or transfer is coming from the same trust account to which the deposit was made;
• the funds on deposit are sufficient to cover the withdrawal or transfer;
• the trust funds can be used for the purpose of the withdrawal or transfer (i.e., the funds are not impressed with a trust for a different purpose, there is no court order, contractual obligation or other charge prohibiting withdrawal); and
• the withdrawal or transfer will not breach an undertaking.

Always review the individual client trust ledger and bank balance before the withdrawal or transfer. The individual client trust ledger must show sufficient funds to cover your withdrawal. You will have a shortage if there are not sufficient funds to the credit of that client, or if funds deposited to your client's credit have not cleared.