Title XV, JUDICIAL BRANCH AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURES (Ch. 595 - 686D)

Prior to the settlement of every intestate estate in which there is a surviving spouse, and in which appraisal has not been waived by the surviving spouse and all the heirs of the decedent, the court, upon application of the personal representative, the surviving spouse, or any o…

At the time it appoints the appraisers provided for by section 633.213 the court shall prescribe the kind of notice and the method of service thereof, whether by publication or otherwise. [C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12019; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §636.34; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §6…

Such notice shall designate the names of the appraisers, the time and place of the appraisement, and the date on which the appraisers shall file with the clerk the report of their appraisement, directed to all persons interested in such appraisement. [C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12020…

All persons interested in such report and having objections to it and the appraisement, shall file their objections within ten days after the date fixed in said notice for the filing of the report of such appraisement. [C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12021; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §636.36; …

Such objections, if any, shall be tried to the court as in equity, and the court shall enter a final order in the matter. [C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12022; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §636.37; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.217 ] Referred to in §633.210

After such proceedings, and after payment of debts and charges, the surviving spouse shall have the right to select from the property so appraised, at its appraised value thus fixed, property equal in value to the amount to which the spouse is entitled under section 633.211 or 63…

The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse, or if there is no surviving spouse, the entire net estate passes as follows: 1. To the issue of the decedent per stirpes. 2. If there is no surviving issue, to the parents of the decedent equally; and if either…

The clerk shall have and may exercise within the county all the powers and jurisdiction of the court and of the judge thereof, in the following matters: 1. The examination and approval of all intermediate and interlocutory accounts and reports of fiduciaries under this chapter an…

Heirs of an intestate, conceived before but born after the intestate’s death, shall inherit as if they had been born in the lifetime of the intestate and had survived the intestate. With this exception, the intestate succession shall be determined by the relationships existing at…

1. For the purposes of rules relating to intestate succession, a child of an intestate conceived and born after the intestate’s death or born as the result of the implantation of an embryo after the death of the intestate is deemed a child of the intestate as if the child had bee…

Unless the child has been adopted, a biological child shall inherit from the child’s biological mother, and she from the child. [C51, §1415; R60, §2441; C73, §2465; C97, §3384; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12030; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §636.45; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.221 ] 94 …

Unless the child has been adopted, a biological child inherits from the child’s biological father if the evidence proving paternity is available during the father’s lifetime, or if the child has been recognized by the father as his child; but the recognition must have been genera…

1. Except as provided in subsection 3 , a lawful adoption extinguishes the right of intestate succession of an adopted person from and through the adopted person’s biological parents. The adopted person inherits from and through the adoptive parents in the same manner as a biolog…

When the owner of property transfers it as an advancement to a person who would be an heir of such transferor were the latter to die at that time, and the transferor dies intestate, then the property thus advanced shall be counted toward the share of the transferee in the estate,…

An advancement under section 633.224 shall be valued as of the time when the advancee came into possession or enjoyment or as of the date of the death of the intestate, whichever first occurs. [C51, §1419, 1420; R60, §2445, 2446; C73, §2459; C97, §3383; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 120…

If an advancee under section 633.224 dies before the intestate, leaving an heir who takes from the intestate, the advancement shall be taken into account in the same manner as if it had been made directly to such heir. If such heir is entitled to a lesser share in the estate than…

Where there is no will, administration shall be granted to any qualified person on the petition of: 1. The surviving spouse; 2. The heirs of the decedent; 3. Creditors of the decedent; 4. Other persons showing good grounds therefor. [C51, §1311, 1312; R60, §2343, 2344; C73, §2354…

1. To file such petition, there shall be allowed, commencing with the death of the decedent: a. To the surviving spouse, a period of twenty days. b. To each other class in succession, a period of ten days. 2. The period allowed each class shall be advanced to the period allowed t…

The petition for administration of an intestate estate shall contain the following: 1. The name, domicile and date of death of the decedent. 2. If the decedent was domiciled outside the state at the time of the decedent’s death, a statement that the decedent had property within t…

Any person aggrieved by any order made or entered by the clerk under the powers conferred in section 633.22, subsection 1 , may have the same reviewed in court upon motion filed within six months or before the hearing on the final report of the fiduciary, whichever is the earlier…

1. In intestate matters, the administrator, as soon as letters are issued, shall cause to be published once each week for two consecutive weeks in a daily or weekly newspaper of general circulation published in the county in which the estate is pending, and at any time during the…

1. Upon opening administration of an intestate estate, the administrator shall, in accordance with section 633.410 , provide by electronic transmission on a form approved by the department of health and human services to the entity designated by the department of health and human…

When a married person domiciled in Iowa at the time of death dies, the surviving spouse shall have the right to take an elective share under the provisions of sections 633.237 through 633.246 . If the surviving spouse has a conservator, the court may authorize or direct the conse…

1. Following the appointment of a personal representative of the estate of the decedent, the personal representative shall cause to be served a written notice upon the surviving spouse pursuant to section 633.40, subsection 5 , notifying the surviving spouse that unless, within f…

1. The elective share of the surviving spouse shall be limited to all of the following: a. One-third in value of all the legal or equitable estates in real property possessed by the decedent at any time during the marriage which have not been sold on execution or other judicial s…

The share of the surviving spouse in such real estate shall be set off in such manner as to include the homestead, or so much thereof as will be equal to the share allotted to the spouse pursuant to section 633.238 unless the spouse prefers a different arrangement, but no such di…

Upon the filing of such a motion, the clerk shall place the cause or proceeding on the docket without additional docket fee, and the matter shall stand for hearing or trial de novo in open court. [C97, §251; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 11835; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §632.4; C66, 71, 73, …

In estates in which the surviving spouse has filed an election and in all intestate estates, whether an election is filed or not, the surviving spouse or the spouse’s conservator, if applicable, may, in lieu of the spouse’s share in the real property possessed by the decedent at …

If the surviving spouse does not make an election to receive the life estate in the homestead and file it with the clerk within four months from the date of service of notice under section 633.237 , it shall be conclusively presumed that the surviving spouse waives the right to m…

The right of the surviving spouse to take an elective share, and the right of the surviving spouse to receive a life estate in the homestead, are personal. They are not transferable and cannot be exercised for the spouse subsequent to the spouse’s death. If the surviving spouse d…

The filing of the elective share and the election to receive a life estate in the homestead shall be filed in the office of the clerk in which the decedent’s estate is being administered and served on the trustee of the revocable trust. The court where the election is filed shall…

In case an affidavit is filed that the surviving spouse is incapable of determining whether to take the elective share, or to elect to receive a life estate in the homestead, and does not have a conservator, the court shall fix a time and place of hearing on the matter and cause …

The elections of the surviving spouse under section 633.236 , 633.240 , or 633.244 shall be entered on the proper records of the court. [C73, §2452; C97, §3376; S13, §3376; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 12008; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, §636.23; C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.245 ] Referre…

1. An election by or on behalf of a surviving spouse to take the share provided in section 633.211 , 633.212 , 633.236 , 633.238 , 633.240 , or 633.244 shall be binding and shall not be subject to change except for such causes as would justify an equitable decree for the rescissi…

Unless precluded from doing so under the terms of a premarital agreement, the failure of a surviving spouse to make an election under this subchapter constitutes a transfer of assets for the purpose of determining eligibility for medical assistance pursuant to chapter 249A to the…

The share of the surviving spouse under section 633.236 may be set off by the mutual consent of all parties in interest, or by referees appointed by the court. An application to have the share set off by referees shall be made by an interested party in writing by filing with the …

In the absence of mutual consent of all interested parties to the appointment of referees, the court shall fix a time and place for hearing upon such application and of the fact that referees will be appointed if such application is granted, and shall prescribe the time and manne…

The referees may employ a licensed professional land surveyor, and may cause the shares in real estate to be set off by legally sufficient land descriptions. They shall make a report of their proceedings to the court as early as reasonably possible. [C51, §1399; R60, §2430; C73, …

Records, orders, and judgments made and entered by the clerk under section 633.22 , which have not been reversed, set aside, or modified by the court, shall stand, and shall be of the same force, validity, and effect, and be entitled to the same faith and credit, as if they had b…

The court may require a report by such a time as it deems reasonable. If the referees fail to obey this or any other of its orders, the court may discharge them and appoint others in their stead, and impose upon the first referees the payment of all costs previously made, unless …

The court may set the report for hearing and prescribe the notice to be given to interested parties. The court may confirm the report, or may set it aside and refer the matter to the same or other referees, at its discretion. [C51, §1401; R60, §2432; C73, §2448; C97, §3373; C24, …

An order confirming a report of the referee shall be binding and conclusive unless appealed within thirty days and the surviving spouse may bring an action to obtain possession of any assets set apart to the surviving spouse. Such elective share constitutes a judgment lien in fav…

Nothing in sections 633.247 through 633.252 shall prevent any person interested from controverting the right of the surviving spouse to the share thus set apart before confirmation of the report of the referees. [C51, §1403; R60, §2434; C73, §2450; C97, §3374; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39…

If it appears to the court, upon application of the personal representative, the surviving spouse, or the report of the referee, that the property, or any part of it, cannot be advantageously divided, the court may order the whole, or any part of such property, sold, and the shar…

In case the homestead is sold, the surviving spouse may use any or all of the spouse’s share to procure a homestead which shall be exempt from liability for all debts from which the former homestead would have been exempt. [C51, §1406; C73, §2451; C97, §3375; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39,…

No sale shall be made under section 633.254 if anyone interested gives security to the satisfaction of the court, conditioned to pay the surviving spouse the appraised value of the share with seven percent interest on the same, within such reasonable time as the court may fix, no…