38Receipting of trust money

38 Receipting of trust money (1) This section applies if a law practice receives trust money that is required to be paid into a general trust account. (2) After receiving the trust money, the law practice must make out a receipt. (3) The receipt must be made out as soon as practicable— (a) after the trust money is received, except as provided by paragraph (b); or (b) in the case of trust money received by direct deposit—after the law practice receives or accesses notice or confirmation (in written or electronic form) of the deposit from the ADI concerned.

(4) The receipt, containing the required particulars, must be made out in duplicate, whether by way of making a carbon copy or otherwise, unless at the time the receipt is made out those particulars are recorded by computer program in the trust account receipts cash book. (5) For subsection (4), the required particulars are as follows: (a) the date the receipt is made out and, if different, the date of receipt of the money; (b) the amount of money received; (c) the form in which the money was received; (e) details clearly identifying the name of the client in relation to whom the money was received and the matter description and (g) the name of the law practice, or the business name under which the law practice engages in legal practice, and the expression “trust account” or “trust a/c”; (h) the name of the person who made out the receipt; (i) the number of the receipt. (6) The original receipt must be delivered, on request, to the person from whom the trust money was received. (7) Receipts must be consecutively numbered and issued in consecutive sequence. (8) If a receipt is cancelled or not delivered, the original receipt must be kept.