California · Bus. & Prof. Code §10145California earnest money: neutral escrow, the broker's trust account and who may sign withdrawals

A California real estate broker who accepts funds belonging to others deposits every dollar not immediately placed into a neutral escrow depository or into the hands of the broker's principal into a trust fund account the broker keeps at a bank or recognized depository in California, and keeps it there until disbursed on the instructions of the person entitled to it (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §10145(a)(1)). A salesperson who accepts trust funds for the broker delivers them immediately to the broker – or, as the broker directs, to the principal, a neutral escrow or the broker's trust account (§10145(c)). Withdrawals need the broker's signature, or that of a licensed salesperson, another broker under a written agreement, or an unlicensed employee specifically authorized in writing – the last only if the broker carries a fidelity bond or insurance at least equal to the trust funds that employee can reach; none of these arrangements relieves the broker of responsibility (§10145(a)(2)–(3)). At the request of the owner of the funds or the principals, the broker may hold them in an insured interest-bearing account that meets the statute's conditions (§10145(d)).