Procedure in Lieu of Conservatorship for Minors

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House File 232, which was discussed in my article of last month was signed by the Governor on June 1, 2023.  Said bill also amends Section 633.555 to provide that in situations where a conservator has not been appointed for a minor, property due to a minor, not exceeding the aggregate of $50,000.00, shall be…

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Probate Court Jurisdiction

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On February 8, 2023, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion In the Matter of the Estate of Mark D. Levine, Margarita Cervera Levine, Appellant, vs. Sara Lunn Keown, Appellee (No. 22-0654).  Mark Levine died intestate in the country of Belize on February 8, 2021.  Mark owned a joint interest in a mobile home and adjoining real estate in Polk County, a condominium in Belize, along with various bank and investment accounts. Mark married Margarita Cervera Levine in September of 2020, in Belize.  Mark had an adult daughter Sara Keown who resides in Polk County Iowa.  After the marriage,

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Transfer of Joint Tenancy with Right of Survivorship Property to Revocable Trust

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On January 27, 2023, the Supreme Court of Iowa issued an opinion in the matter of Richard Grout as Trustee of the Helen Schardein 2018 Revocable Trust v. Dan R. Sickels (No. 21-0556).  In the Spring of 2014, Helen Schardein, who was in her nineties, purchased a lake lot at Sun Valley Lake for $85,000.00 and titled it in joint tenancy with right of survivorship, with Dan R. Sickels, who provided various services to her.  Helen had worked as a real estate broker and abstractor.  Dan met Helen in 2012, and performed work on Helen’s rental properties and assisted her

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Recent Undue Influence Case

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On November 2nd, 2022, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the matter of the Estate of Helen M. Halter, Deceased, v. Kim Barber, Appellant. The case involves the Estate of Helen M. Halter. Judy Conn is Helen’s daughter in law, and she was married to Bruce Halter until his death in 1982. Judy’s son, Chad Halter, is Helen Halter’s only living grandchild. The other parties in the case are Phyllis Green, who is Helen Halter’s half-sister and the daughter of Phyllis, Kim Barber. In May of 2013, Helen Halter executed her Last Will and Testament, a General

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Iowa Court of Appeals Abatement Case

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On May 11, 2022, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion in the case of In the Matter of the Estate of Dennis R. Peterson, Deceased, Joseph Parcell, Appellant. The decedent Dennis Peterson executed a Will on August 27, 2018. The Will provided in part “I hereby give to Joe Parcell lifetime use of the 2nd and 3rd bays at 207 Collins Street… so long as he pays 35% of overhead”. The Will went on to give the residue of the estate to the decedent’s daughter, Donna Sue Peterson. The Will Appointed Donna Sue Peterson as the executor. Dennis

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Details on the Iowa Inheritance Tax Repeal

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In the past week, the Governor signed Senate File 619 which repeals the Iowa inheritance tax over the next five years.  Numerous attempts have been made over the past decade to eliminate or modify the Iowa inheritance tax.  Pursuant to the bill, for persons dying in the year 2021, the Iowa inheritance tax will be reduced by twenty percent.  For persons dying in the year 2022, the Iowa inheritance tax will be reduced by forty percent.  For persons dying in the year 2023, the Iowa inheritance tax will be reduced by sixty percent.  For persons dying in the year 2024,

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Recent Judgment on Will Challenges During Lifetime

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On January 21, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in the case of In The Matter of the Guardianship and Conservatorship of Vernon D. Radda v. Washington State Bank, as Conservator for Vernon D. Radda.  The issue in the case was whether a prospective heir can bring a declaratory judgment action under Section 633.637 (2019) of the Iowa Code, to determine the validity of wills before the testator dies.  The Ward executed wills in 1992 and 2015 while he was under a voluntary Conservatorship and without any judicial determination of his testamentary capacity.  The sister of the Ward

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Navigating Probate Cases with Joint Tenancy Bank Accounts

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It is not unusual in probating an estate to find that the decedent’s checking account is held in joint tenancy with one of the decedent’s children. The joint account was usually set up to allow said child to pay the bills of the decedent. The question that arises is whether the funds in said account pass to said child at the time of death due to the joint tenancy ownership of the account. In many cases, said child does not want the account to be transferred to the child and would prefer that the funds be divided among all of

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Insights from a Recent Living Trust Case

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On July 22, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling in the matter of the Inman Family Living Trust (No. 19-1045).  Leland and Ella Mae Inman executed the Inman Family Living Trust in 2014.  In 2016, Leland passed away.  The Trust provided that the trustees possessed the powers, rights and discretion set forth in the Iowa Code; that the trustees are authorized to determine fairly and equitably the manner of ascertainment of income and principal and the allocation of all receipts and disbursements to income and principal accounts; and that the Trust shall be governed in accordance with

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New Iowa Supreme Court Probate Case – Harold Youngblut vs. Leonard Youngblut

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On June 12, 2020, the Supreme Court of Iowa issued a decision in the Harold Youngblut vs. Leonard Youngblut case.  The case involves two brothers, Harold and Leonard Youngblut.  Their parent were Earl and Agnes Youngblut.  Earl and Agnes were the parents of twelve children, three of whom predeceased them.  Earl and Agnes formed a corporation, Youngblut Farmland Ltd. in 1980 and transferred most of their farm assets into the corporation with the exception of farm ground in Tama County known as the “South Farm”.  Both Harold and Leonard worked for the corporation until Leonard left in 1988 over a

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