On May 21, 2021, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion In The Matter and Conservatorship of Marvin M. Jorgensen, No. 18-1235 (Iowa Sup. Ct. May 21, 2021). Marvin Jorgensen suffered a stroke in 2016 that left him unable to manage his nearly 18,000 acres of Iowa farmland. Prior to the stroke, Marvin leased approximately half of his farmland to his children and to several grandchildren in “handshake” agreements that were never put in writing. After the stroke, a Conservatorship was opened for Marvin and the Conservator entered into new written leases with family members which continued with Marvin’s practice
More Legal News & Information... →On November 8, 2019, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion in the Matter of the Application of Coe College for Interpretation of Purported Gift Restriction. The case involves a gift of seven paintings of Grant Wood in 1976 by the Eppley foundation to Coe College in Cedar Rapids. The gift letter stated that the paintings would be given to the college “and that this would be their permanent home, hanging on the walls of Stewart Memorial Library”. The college treated the paintings on its books as an unrestricted gift that could be sold or otherwise alienated. In 2016 an
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