If all of your assets have a joint owner and/or a beneficiary listed, your estate may not need to go through the court-supervised probate process. But before you rush out to make those changes on your accounts, here are some
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Probate Issues in Iowa Now a Separate Blog
Way back in 2009, or whenever I started this blog, I posted about probate topics as well as estate planning. (I’m not sure I expected to be blogging still in 2020. My dream of retiring at age 44 and retiring
Protection for Elders in Iowa From Financial Exploitation
What is “elder abuse”?As provided in Iowa Code 235F, elder abuse means any of the following:1. Physical injury to, unreasonable confinement, punishment or assault of a vulnerable elder2. Sexual offense with or against a vulnerable elder3. Neglect by
What If the Will Isn’t Notarized? Is It A Waste of Paper?
What comes as a surprise to many people, a Will does not need to be notarized to be a valid document. It just needs to be signed by the testator and then witnessed by two individuals. That’s basically it. No
Mom Didn’t Have Very Much When She Died — Do We Need to Go Through Probate in Iowa?
“Small” can mean a lot of different things to people. One man’s small estate might be YUGE to someone else. But Iowa does describe what is a small estate for an Iowa decedent, so it doesn’t really matter what you
COVID-19 and Suspension of Physical Presence for the Execution of Legal Documents
Each day gets crazier and crazier on COVID-19’s impact on our society, including in the estate planning world. Under Iowa long-standing law (Iowa Code sec. 633.279), when an individual signs their will, it is required that they sign
Retirement Accounts and Conduit Trusts and SECURE Act. What Do I Need to Do???
The recent passage of the “Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement” Act(SECURE Act) in December 2019 created some significant changes to retirement accounts. One big change of SECURE resulted in changes to allowing what is commonly referred
Iowa Guardians and Conservators: Substantial Changes in Store for 2020
If you are (a) currently acting as the guardian and/or conservator for an Iowa resident or (b) plan to be appointed as guardian and/or conservator for an Iowa resident, bigly changes are in place for 2020 for annual reports or initial
Some Gifts Are Not Forever: Iowa’s Rule on Confidential Relationship and Refunding of Lifetime Gifts
A recent ruling from the Iowa Court of Appeals addressed gifts from a parent (now deceased) to a trusted child. Applying the standard involving “confidential relationships” and gifts during life, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed that the recipient of
