There will be an area on the Trust Account Certification form which will allow for indicating this exemption. This program will impose no new burdens upon lawyers. Lawyers have always exercised their discretion in determining whether a client's trust deposit was of sufficient size or duration to justify placement in a separate interest-bearing account, with the interest payable to the client. Lawyers will retain this discretion and continue to make these fiduciary decisions under the Opt-out Program. Lawyers are expected and encouraged to continue the customary practice of establishing separate, interest-bearing accounts for individual clients' funds when the sum is large enough or the duration is long enough to justify the cost of opening, administering, and closing the account.
Any interest accrued becomes the property of the client.
If clients request their money be placed in a separate trust account, the lawyer is ethically bound to fulfill the clients' request. No time and no money. Yearly, a Trust Account Certification form will be mailed out to all active Nebraska lawyers. Once completed, no further effort is required by the lawyer. There is no designated or established form for a lawyer to use in filing his or her Notice of Declination.