December 2024
All property managers must open and maintain a clients' trust account. Principal brokers who manage rental real estate must also open at least one clients' trust account.
A clients' trust account is an account established to keep clients' funds separate from the licensee's personal and business funds. The primary purpose of a trust account is to protect clients' funds from creditor attachments, legal actions, and judgements against a licensee. Proper labeling of clients' trust accounts is an important measure in safeguarding clients' funds.
When opening a clients' trust account at a bank, the account label must include specific terms depending on the type of funds held.
For owners' funds, the account label must contain one of the following:
- “Clients' Trust Account"
- “Client Trust Account"
For security deposits, the account label must contain one of the following:
- “Clients' Trust Account – Security Deposits"
- "Client Trust Account SD"
If you determine that your clients' trust account does not meet the labeling requirement, please contact your bank to update the account names.