Email money transfers into and out of a trust account

Email transfers into a trust account have always been acceptable. Email transfers out of a trust account are also permitted if a Form 9A is prepared and the lawyer or paralegal has obtained in writing, the client’s preferred email address for transferring funds. In such cases, because the licensee will not have the recipient’s financial institution, branch number, address, or account number, they should include the recipient’s email address and method of payment on the Form 9A. For ease of reconciliation, the licensee should also note the reference number in the message field of the email transfer. When licensees send funds using email transfer, they will receive an email confirmation that the transferred funds have been accepted by the recipient. Licensees must save or print this email, keep it with the Form 9A, and sign, date, and add the client’s name and file number to the email. The signed Form 9A and confirmation email must be maintained at least 10 years preceding the licensee's most recent fiscal year end.