First Steps After a Death in Iowa

A medical professional must pronounce the death. If death was expected under hospice, the hospice nurse can pronounce; if unexpected, call 911. Then choose a licensed Iowa funeral home or cremation provider to transport and care for your loved one.

Lock the residence, keep utilities and insurance active, and avoid distributing property until authority and ownership are clear. Until a personal representative is appointed by the Clerk of the District Court, no one has legal authority to sell or give away estate property.

Iowa law requires the person who has custody of the will to deliver it to the court having jurisdiction of the estate after being informed of the death (Iowa Code 633.285). Also look for codicils, trusts, deeds, vehicle titles, account statements, and life insurance policies.

Certified copies are issued by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics, and by the county recorder in the county of residence or where the death occurred. Iowa charges $20 per certified copy. The funeral home usually orders them for you. Order more than you think you need, because banks, insurers, the county treasurer, and the court all ask for one.

Iowa probate is handled by the Iowa District Court sitting in probate, filed with the Clerk of the District Court in the county where the decedent resided. There is no separate probate court in Iowa. The clerk maintains the probate docket, issues letters of appointment, and collects probate court costs.

Separate probate assets (solely owned, no beneficiary) from nonprobate assets such as joint tenancy property, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, life insurance and retirement accounts payable to a named beneficiary, and trust property. This list becomes the basis for the report and inventory and for deciding which Iowa procedure fits.

If the probate assets consist only of personal property with no interest in real estate and are worth $100,000 or less, a successor may collect them by affidavit at least 40 days after death, without opening an estate (Iowa Code 633.356, threshold effective July 1, 2026). If the gross probate assets do not exceed $200,000, chapter 635 small estate administration is available (Iowa Code 635.1). Larger or more complex estates use full administration under Iowa Code chapter 633.

File a petition for probate of the will or for administration with the Clerk of the District Court in the proper county. The person named in the will is typically appointed executor; if there is no will, an eligible person is appointed administrator. The clerk issues letters of appointment confirming your authority, and a bond may be required unless waived by the will or by statute (Iowa Code 633.169).

Apply for a free estate EIN from the IRS, then open a bank account in the estate's name (such as 'Estate of Jane Doe'). Keep estate money completely separate from personal money and keep receipts for every payment and distribution.

After appointment, the personal representative publishes notice once each week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and mails notice to the surviving spouse, heirs, devisees, and known creditors (Iowa Code 633.230 and 633.304). This starts the creditor claim period.

Within 120 days after qualification, unless the court grants a longer time, the personal representative files a verified report and inventory of the decedent's property with the Clerk of the District Court (Iowa Code 633.361, deadline extended to 120 days effective July 1, 2026). Probate court costs of two-tenths of one percent (0.2%) are computed on the probate assets it lists (Iowa Code 633.31).

Claims against the estate are barred unless filed with the clerk within the later of four months after the second publication of the notice to creditors, or one month after mailed notice to a reasonably ascertainable creditor (Iowa Code 633.410). Do not distribute assets before the claim period closes and known debts, taxes, and allowances are resolved.

Report the death to the Social Security Administration (1-800-772-1213), notify each bank and brokerage, file life insurance claims, and address debts. The county treasurer handles vehicle title transfers for a deceased owner.

Use the estate account for all estate income and expenses, and keep receipts for every transaction. Review the decedent's final federal Form 1040 and Iowa income tax return, federal Form 1041 and Iowa fiduciary returns if the estate earns income, and federal Form 706 only if the estate exceeds the federal exemption. Iowa has no state estate tax, and the Iowa inheritance tax is repealed for deaths on or after January 1, 2025.