Iowa Probate Guide
County-specific probate filing-office contacts, filing fees, required forms, and step-by-step guidance for families settling an estate in Iowa.
Find Your County
Types of Probate in Iowa
Iowa probate is handled by the district court sitting in probate, filed with the clerk of the district court in the county where the decedent resided. The path depends on estate value and whether real estate is involved: an out-of-court affidavit for small personal-property estates, chapter 635 small estate administration, or full chapter 633 administration.
See the full comparison of Iowa probate typesWhich procedures exist, who qualifies, and how the timelines compare.Find your county
Iowa Probate Filing Offices by County
Choose your county to get its probate court contacts, filing fees, and required forms. 99 counties have detailed data.
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Browse Iowa guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Browse Iowa guide topics
Jump to court, executor, tax, planning, property, and probate-avoidance guides that match your next task.
Probate Basics
4Forms & Court
2Executor Duties
5Taxes & Deadlines
6Planning Documents
7Property Transfer
3Avoiding Probate
1Iowa Probate Self-Help and Online Resources
Iowa probate resource map by source type
All Iowa self-help resources (11 links)Official court, form, law-library, referral, and legal-education links, plus how to use each source
Iowa probate source navigation starts with state court, form, agency, legal-help, or referral links that are already tracked in Settled state data. These links are state-level starting points, not county-specific filing instructions.
Which Iowa probate source should you use?
- Start with the state court, form, or self-help source for general Iowa probate context.
- Use county filing-office, clerk, register, or court pages for local filing locations, local forms, fee schedules, and records portals.
- Use legal-help, law-library, or referral links as research or referral paths, not as a substitute for counsel.
- Verify current filing steps with the county office, court, clerk, register, legal-aid source, or counsel before filing.
Statewide process, forms, and code sources
State court, form, statute, agency, and self-help sources for general probate and estate-settlement questions.
- Iowa Judicial Branch, court forms
The statewide form library published by the Iowa Judicial Branch. Start here rather than with a local form when the filing is a probate matter.
- Iowa Judicial Branch, representing yourself
The judiciary's own guidance for people handling a case without an attorney, including what court staff may and may not explain.
- Iowa Judicial Branch, civil court fees
The statewide civil fee table, which is where the filing charge for opening an Iowa estate comes from.
- Iowa Judicial Branch, district court
The district court is the trial court that hears Iowa probate, so this page describes the forum an estate is opened in.
- Iowa Code chapter 633, Probate Code
The probate code's own section index, covering administration, the small-estate route, guardianship and conservatorship. Sections are listed individually rather than as one long document.
- Iowa Court Rules, chapter 7, probate procedure
The procedural rules that sit on top of the probate code, including how fee requests are made and reported. Published as a PDF chapter.
- Iowa Health and Human Services, vital records
How to order a certified Iowa death certificate and who is entitled to request one. Nearly every asset transfer starts with certified copies.
- Iowa Department of Revenue, inheritance tax guidance
The department's own guidance on Iowa inheritance tax, including how it applies by the beneficiary's relationship to the person who died.
- Iowa Health and Human Services, estate recovery
The official page for Iowa's Medicaid estate recovery program, which is a claim the state may bring against the estate of someone who received Medicaid.
Referral-navigation sources
Referral paths for finding certified lawyer-referral services when a family wants help locating counsel.
- Iowa Legal Aid
Free civil legal help for Iowans who meet its income limits. The Get Help page is the intake path and states who qualifies before you apply.
- Iowa State Bar Association, Find A Lawyer
The state bar's own directory for locating an Iowa attorney by practice area and location.
Settled pairs these Iowa source links with county pages, forms, first-step guides, transfer guides, and source notes so families can move from statewide context to the local office that handles the estate.
Iowa Estate Law Overview
Iowa Estate Tax Info
Iowa has no state estate tax, and the Iowa inheritance tax is fully repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2025. Iowa does have a state income tax (a flat 3.8%) and percentage-based probate court costs (0.2% of probate assets), which are court costs rather than a tax.
Federal estate tax info
Federal estate tax only applies to estates exceeding $15,000,000 (2026).
Who Inherits Without a Will?
Intestate succession determines who receives probate property when an Iowa resident dies without a valid will.
View spouse inheritance rules
Under Iowa Code 633.211, the surviving spouse receives all real property the decedent possessed at any time during the marriage (not sold on execution or judicial sale and not relinquished by the spouse), all exempt personal property held by the decedent as head of family, and all other personal property not needed to pay debts and charges.
Iowa Code 633.211 gives the surviving spouse the entire intestate estate when the decedent left no issue or left issue all of whom are also issue of the surviving spouse. Shared children inherit nothing while the spouse is alive.
Under Iowa Code 633.212, the spouse takes one-half in value of the real property the decedent possessed during the marriage, all exempt personal property, and one-half of all other personal property not needed for debts and charges. If that combined share is worth less than $50,000, the spouse receives enough additional property from the remaining estate (after debts and charges) to reach $50,000, even to the extent of the whole net estate (Iowa Code 633.212(4)).
View order of inheritance (no spouse)
- 1Issue of the decedent (children, grandchildren, and further descendants)The share not passing to a surviving spouse, or all if no spouse, per stirpes
- 2ParentsIf no surviving issue, to the decedent's parents equally; if one parent is dead, the survivor takes the whole parental share
- 3Issue of the decedent's parents (siblings, nieces, and nephews)If no issue or parents survive, the estate is divided into two equal shares: one to the issue of the decedent's mother per stirpes and one to the issue of the decedent's father per stirpes. If one parent has no surviving issue, the entire estate passes to the issue of the other parent
- 4Grandparents and their issue (aunts, uncles, cousins)Half to the paternal side and half to the maternal side, passing to surviving grandparents or, if none, to their issue per stirpes; if one side has no takers, the whole passes to the other side
- 5Great-grandparents and their issueEqually to each set of great-grandparents, or to their issue per stirpes
- 6Issue of a deceased spouse of the decedentIf no blood relatives qualify, the estate passes to the issue of the decedent's deceased spouse per stirpes (divided equally among the issue of multiple deceased spouses). This can pass property to stepchildren before it escheats
Iowa Homestead Protection
Iowa homestead protection is a statutory creditor exemption with no dollar cap: the homestead of every person is exempt from judicial sale unless a statute says otherwise (Iowa Code 561.16). The limits are physical, not monetary: within a city plat the homestead may not exceed one-half acre; outside a city plat it may not exceed 40 acres in the aggregate (Iowa Code 561.2). A surviving spouse may keep possession of the homestead after death (Iowa Code 561.11) or elect to hold it for life in lieu of the spouse's share in the decedent's real property (Iowa Code 561.12 and 633.240).
Creditor protection: read the statute text
Unlimited value, limited by area: one-half acre within a city plat or 40 acres outside one (Iowa Code 561.2). If the homestead's value is less than $500 it may be enlarged until it reaches that amount.
Statute: Iowa Code § 561.16
Size limits & qualifications
Inside city limits: One-half acre
Outside city limits: 40 acres
Property types: House used as the owner's home, with appurtenances, Contiguous lots or tracts habitually used as part of the homestead, Trust-held homes occupied by the beneficiary or surviving spouse
Restrictions on leaving homestead in will
With spouse, no minor children:
No devise restriction. The surviving spouse may occupy the homestead until it is disposed of according to law, and may elect a life estate in the homestead in lieu of the spouse's share in the decedent's real property.
With minor children:
No devise restriction. Protection for children flows from intestate shares, the support allowance for dependents (Iowa Code 633.374 and 633.376), and the rule that the homestead generally remains exempt from the decedent's general debts while it passes to the surviving spouse or issue (Iowa Code 561.21(4) implies the exemption survives when a survivor or issue exists).
Exempt Property
Iowa protects a surviving spouse through exempt personal property (property that was exempt from execution in the decedent's hands stays exempt in the spouse's hands), a court-set support allowance for the twelve months after death, and the unlimited-value homestead. Separate creditor exemptions under Iowa Code 627.6 protect debtor property from ordinary collection.
View exempt items
Family Allowance
No fixed dollar amount; the court sets what it deems reasonable - On application, the court sets off and orders paid to the surviving spouse, as part of the costs of administration, enough of the decedent's property (including revocable trust assets if estate assets fall short) for the spouse's proper support for the twelve months following death, plus a reasonable additional amount to support dependents of the decedent who reside with the spouse.