Probate

English

Iowa

## **General Forms Information**

In Iowa, probate is handled in the local District Courts. There are 8 Judicial Court Districts serving the 99 counties in Iowa. You can learn more about which district serves your county on the [Iowa courts website](https://www.iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/district-court/ "‌").

The state of Iowa generally requires the use of an attorney for probate. Therefore, in most cases, state-provided forms are not currently made available to the public by the state of Iowa. A local trust & estates attorney can assist with the drafting of any necessary forms and the submission of them to the courts on behalf of the estate. 

### **Small Estate Affidavit**

Small Estates in Iowa may be eligible for the Small Estate Affidavit process, allowing a person to settle an estate with no court involvement. Using this process, the completed and notarized affidavit is used to obtain possession of estate assets simply by presenting the affidavit to current custodians of the property. Once the property is obtained, the estate would be settled in a normal way (paying debts and then distributing remaining assets to the appropriate beneficiaries).

To qualify for a Small Estate Affidavit:

- The gross value of the estate assets is less than $50,000, not including homestead and exempt property
- The value of the assets of the estate, not including homestead and exempt property, exceeds the known liabilities
- The estate contains no real property (i.e., real estate), or the real property passes to persons exempt from inheritance tax as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship
- At least 40 days have passed since the death of the decedent

This process usually involves forms or affidavits such as: 

- Small Estate Affidavit

### **Small Estate Administration**

For small estates that do not qualify for the Small Estate Affidavit process discussed above, Small Estate Administration may be an option. Small Estate Administration is a simplified form of probate that allows the distribution of assets to occur much more quickly, and with less court supervision, than under Formal Probate. 

To qualify for Small Estate Administration:

- The gross value of assets subject to probate must usually be less than $200,000 (or less than $100,000 for deaths before July 1, 2020). In determining the value of the estate, you should value assets as of the date of death, and subtract any secured liens or mortgages (but not general unsecured debt). In addition, you should not include any assets that would not normally go through probate, such as community property with rights of survivorship, assets with named beneficiaries (e.g., 401Ks, life insurance policies), and other standard probate exclusions.

Some of the forms most commonly associated with Small Estate Administration in Iowa include:

- Petition for a Small Estate Administration
- Bond or Bond Waiver
- Letters of Administration
- Notice of Administration
- Estate Inventory
- Small Estate Statement
- Final Accounting
- Closing Statement 
- Notice of Closing Statement
- Affidavit of Closing Notification
- Statement of Asset Distribution

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