Pro Tier Module
IOLTA Trust Three-Way Reconciliation
Three-way reconciliation for a pooled lawyer trust (IOLTA) account.
This tool runs inside GDBS Pro. What it computes and the authorities it applies are below.
What it is
Three-way reconciliation for a pooled lawyer trust (IOLTA) account. Ties out the adjusted bank balance, the trust journal (checkbook) balance, and the sum of every client subsidiary-ledger balance, and flags the two conditions that matter most: a three-way mismatch (money misposted or missing) and any single client whose sub-balance goes negative (one client funding another - the cardinal trust violation). All money math is done in integer cents, so the tie-out is exact. Cites ABA Model Rule 1.15. This is a reconciliation AID: the lawyer remains responsible for the monthly reconciliation their state bar requires, and IOLTA interest remittance is state-bar-specific. Not legal or accounting advice; nothing leaves your browser.
Honest scope
Deterministic and citation-backed: every figure is exact arithmetic or a cited rule. Any year- or jurisdiction-indexed value is a confirmable input, never an eternal hardcode. This is a computation tool, not professional (legal, tax, medical, or financial) advice - confirm against the controlling authority for your context.
Authorities cited
- ABA Model Rule 1.15 - Safekeeping Property (a lawyer shall hold client/third-person property separate from the lawyer's own; complete records must be kept). https://www.americanbar.org/groups/professional_responsibility/publications/model_rules_of_professional_conduct/rule_1_15_safekeeping_property/
- Three-way reconciliation of a pooled trust account: on a common date the ADJUSTED BANK BALANCE, the TRUST JOURNAL (checkbook / general ledger) balance, and the SUM OF ALL CLIENT SUBSIDIARY-LEDGER balances must agree. The required cadence (commonly monthly) and record retention are set by each state's trust-accounting rule under its version of Rule 1.15.
- IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts): interest on pooled nominal/short-term funds is remitted to the state IOLTA program, NOT to individual clients. Program eligibility, remittance mechanics and reporting are governed by the STATE BAR / state supreme court, not by a national rule.
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Run it on your own data
Open it inside GDBS to save runs to Sandbox, attach results to a Worklog case, or share through a Gate client portal - all in the browser, nothing uploaded to anyone’s cloud.