Recent Illinois Decision Shows Risks For Banks In Handling IOLTA Accounts

Mealey's (March 11, 2019, 2:19 PM EDT) -- In an opinion filed in 2015, an appellate court in Illinois held that Wells Fargo Bank should have frozen a judgment debtor’s “interest on lawyer’s trust account” (IOLTA) because it potentially included funds to which the debtor “may be entitled or which may thereafter be acquired by or become due him.” Kauffman v. Wrenn, 2015 Ill. App. (2d) 150285, 2015 Ill. App. LEXIS 916. The Illinois case illustrates the risks that banks must manage in handling IOLTAs, and the options available to the bank in managing those risks....