If you were luck to live until January 1, 2025, and you were worried about your beneficiaries having to pay Iowa inheritance tax when your estate is passed on to them, your worries are now over. The Iowa inheritance tax is fully repealed as of today!However, as a couple of remainders:If you died in 2024,
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FAQ about Revocable Living Trusts
Living Trust FAQA living trust, also known as a revocable trust, revocable living trust, or inter vivos trust, is an alternative way to own property during your life and transfer property at your death. Living trusts have been in use for many years. You can create a living trust during your lifetime by signing a
Your Voice, Your Choices: Thinking about Living Wills and Advance Directives
I’ll be the first to admit it: sometimes we breeze over the discussion of Advanced Directives and Living Wills discussion during estate plan consultations. And I’m pretty sure that a lot of clients don’t really grasp the depths of these critical documents. Here’s a pretty good guide and discussion of the issues and documents that
What is Probate?
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person. In Iowa, the person responsible for administering the probate is the executor or administrator of the estate. This individual is appointed by the court and has several important responsibilities, including:
Who Should Handle Your Assets After Death? Professional or an Amateur?
Most people
like to start with considering friends and family members as trustees. They are
going to be most familiar with you and your family, and they will understand
your family’s dynamics. In
addition, family members often do not charge a trustee fee (although they are
usually entitled to take a fee). Cost conscious clients
Iowa Inheritance Tax – A Thing of the Past in the Future?
Will Contests in Iowa Before Death? Nope.
Check out my post on the pre-mortem will contest on the Probate-Iowa blog. Too tired to click and just want the short answer? Can’t do it in Iowa. Have to wait until the person dies before you challenge the will.
Will Contest Before Death? Not in Iowa.
The Iowa Supreme Court recently dealt with the question of a “pre-mortem” will contest. Will contests are typically filed after the person (testator) has died. For example, typical will challenges are based on lack of testamentary capacity or undue influence, or both. However, in the Kiene v. Wash. State Bank opinion from February 19, 2021,
Selling Real Estate During Probate
When I’m discussing the probate process with a client, the discussion will get to a point where we talk about how the process may take a year or so before it is completed. And then I get the question:
You mean I can’t sell the house for a year?!?
Not exactly. Potentially as soon as
Do Assets with Beneficiaries Go Through Probate?
That’s a common question I get. Here’s the example: we are handling the probate estate for a deceased individual and we are discussing the assets: house, bank account, CD, car, etc. Then we also inquire about retirement accounts (IRA or 401(k) for example) and the client will state “oh, they had beneficiaries listed so they