Requirements for Establishing a Claim

To establish a claim against the Fund, a claimant must prove:

that he/she has suffered pecuniary loss
by reason of theft committed by an attorney, candidate attorney or employee of the attorney
of money entrusted by or on behalf of the claimant to the attorney
in the course of the attorney’s practice as such.

Typical losses covered by the Fund include the theft of:

money from deceased or insolvent estates;
money held pending registration of the transfer of immovable property;
settlements in personal injury claims.

The Fund does not reimburse the following losses arising from:

negligence by a practitioner in the conduct of his or her practice;
business transactions with the attorney;
money that is handed to an attorney for investment purposes;
loans to the attorney.

Certain relationships such as family, business or partnership associations will preclude a person from claiming.