Section 33-28-122 - Responsible broker's trust accounts; disposition of interest; commingling with personal funds prohibited; disputed deposits; cooperative transactions(a) Every responsible broker licensed by the commission in this state shall comply with the following provisions for each licensed real estate company he supervises: (i) Maintain an account in a financial institution in this state designated as a trust or escrow account in which all down payments, earnest money deposits, advance listing fees or other trust funds received by him, his associate brokers or his salespersons on behalf of a principal or any other person shall be deposited unless all persons having an interest in the funds have agreed otherwise in writing. The account shall permit immediate withdrawal of the funds deposited therein. In lieu of maintaining a trust or escrow account under this paragraph, a responsible broker may use a funds holder;(ii) Notify the real estate commission on forms it prescribes of the name of the financial institution in which a trust account is maintained and the name of the account. If the responsible broker uses a funds holder and deposits monies with the funds holder, his intention to use a funds holder and the name of the funds holder shall be disclosed to all parties to any contract, purchase agreement, lease or lease agreement negotiated by him. The responsible broker shall identify all funds holders used by the broker and notify the real estate commission in writing that he uses and deposits monies with the funds holder;(iii) Permit the commission or its representative to examine the responsible broker's trust accounting records;(iv) Upon cancellation of his license for any reason, maintain the trust account until all deposits have been properly disbursed.(b) If a responsible broker's branch office maintains a separate trust account, the office shall maintain a separate bookkeeping system.(c) A trust account maintained by a responsible broker under this section may be interest bearing or noninterest bearing. Any interest accrued on any deposit in a trust account shall be paid out as agreed in writing by all persons having an interest in the deposit. In the absence of a written agreement among all persons having an interest in the deposit, at the time all or any portion of any deposit is withdrawn and paid out, all interest accrued upon the funds withdrawn and paid out shall also be withdrawn and paid out to the person from whom the trust funds were received; provided, if the funds are required to be disbursed to more than one (1) person, each person entitled to receive any portion of the deposit shall also be paid a portion of the interest in the same proportion as the funds withdrawn and paid out to each person bears to the total deposit.(d) A licensee is not entitled to any part of the earnest money or other item of value given to him in connection with any real estate transaction as part or all of his compensation or fee until the transaction has been consummated or terminated.(e) No responsible broker shall permit an advance payment of funds belonging to others to be deposited in the responsible broker's personal account or be commingled with his personal funds. It will not be considered commingling if, when establishing the trust account, the responsible broker deposits some of his funds to keep the account open or to avoid charges for a minimum balance, so long as that deposit is identified at the time of deposit. No responsible broker shall use deposits in a trust account for a purpose other than the transaction for which they were provided.(f) In the event of a dispute over the return or forfeiture of any deposit held by a responsible broker, the responsible broker shall continue to hold the deposit in a trust account until he has a written release from the parties consenting to its disposition, until a civil action is filed or the responsible broker interpleads all parties, at which time it may be paid to the court.(g) Unless otherwise agreed by all parties to the contract, in a cooperative transaction in which the responsible broker working with a buyer receives cash or a check as earnest money, the responsible broker shall deliver the contract and the cash or check to the responsible broker working with the seller who shall deposit the cash or check in his trust account. If the responsible broker working with a buyer receives a promissory note, or thing of value, the note or thing of value shall be delivered with the contract to the responsible broker working with the seller, who shall hold the note or thing of value.Amended by Laws 2017 , ch. 166, § 1, eff. 7/1/2017.Amended by Laws 2011 , ch. 104, § 1, eff. 7/1/2011.