VETOES

account; providing for the liability of an attorney who
disburses funds under the provisions of this Act; and
generally relating to the authority of an attorney to
disburse funds, at settlement, received in a real estate
settlement transaction.

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments,

Article 10 - Attorneys at Law and Attorneys in Fact

Section 44(a)

Annotated Code of Maryland

(1987 Replacement Volume and 1987 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF
MARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article 10 - Attorneys at Law and Attorneys in Fact

44.

(a) (1) If any attorney is entrusted with, or receives and
accepts, or otherwise holds, deposit moneys or other trust
moneys, of whatever kind or nature, such moneys, in the absence
of court order to the contrary shall be expeditiously deposited
in an account or accounts maintained as a separate account or
accounts for funds belonging to others. In no event shall the
attorney commingle any such funds with such attorney's funds or
use any such funds for any purpose other than the purpose for
which they were entrusted to the attorney.

(2) Each attorney shall have discretion to determine
whether such trust moneys are to be deposited in a noninterest
bearing checking account, in an interest bearing checking
account, in one or more savings accounts, in one or more accounts
subject to negotiable orders of withdrawal ("NOW accounts"), or
in any combination thereof with any bank or savings and loan
association authorized by federal or State law to do business in
this State. If in the judgment of the attorney any trust moneys
received from any client or beneficial owner are too small in
amount or are reasonably expected to be held for too short a
period of time to generate at least $50 of interest or such
larger amount of interest as in the judgment of the attorney may
be equivalent to the cost of administering an account for the
benefit of the client or beneficial owner, such moneys may be
pooled and commingled by the attorney with other such moneys held
for other clients or beneficial owners, and the aggregate
interest earned on such commingled account shall be paid at least
quarterly, net of any service charges, by the depository bank or
savings and loan association, to the Maryland Legal Services
Corporation exclusively for the charitable purposes defined in
its statutory charter.

- 5218 -