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Iowa Intestate Succession
Pillar GuideIowa9 min read

Iowa Intestate Succession

Who inherits under Iowa intestate succession: the spouse takes everything when all children are the spouse's, otherwise shares the estate with a $50,000 floor.

By Settled Editorial

When an Iowa resident dies without a will, Iowa Code chapter 633 decides who inherits. A surviving spouse takes the whole estate when the couple has no children or when every child is also the spouse's child. When the decedent leaves a child who is not the spouse's, the spouse and the decedent's children divide the estate.

This guide answers one question: who gets what when there is no will. For how to open the estate, qualify as the personal representative, and work through the deadlines, read the companion Iowa probate guide. This page maps the shares. That one maps the process. For the wider picture, start at Iowa probate help.

What Dying Without a Will Means in Iowa

Dying without a valid will is called dying intestate. When that happens, no document names the heirs, so Iowa statute does. Iowa Code section 633.210 sets the rule: the estate of a person who dies intestate descends as provided in sections 633.211 through 633.226. Those rules of descent run in a fixed order of family classes.

Intestate succession reaches only probate property, meaning assets that pass through the estate. Property with a named beneficiary, a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death tag, or joint ownership with survivorship passes outside the estate and skips these rules. A life insurance policy that names a person, or a bank account held jointly with survivorship, goes to that person no matter what the descent rules say. Check the title and the beneficiary form on each asset before you apply anything below.

When the Surviving Spouse Inherits Everything

Iowa Code section 633.211 gives the surviving spouse the entire net estate in two situations: the decedent left no issue, or the decedent left issue and every one of them is also the surviving spouse's issue. Iowa uses the word issue to mean descendants, so children, grandchildren, and lines below them all count.

Under section 633.211 the spouse receives all real property the decedent held during the marriage that the spouse never relinquished, all personal property the decedent held as head of a family that is exempt from execution, and all other personal property left after debts and charges are paid. Added together, that is the whole estate.

Say a married couple has two children together and no children from any other relationship. If one spouse dies without a will, the surviving spouse inherits everything. The children receive nothing by intestacy, because every child of the decedent is also a child of the surviving spouse. A spouse can also claim protections that sit on top of or apart from the intestate share, which the Iowa surviving spouse rights guide works through.

When the Spouse Shares With Other Children

The math changes when the decedent leaves at least one child who is not the surviving spouse's child, such as a child from an earlier relationship. Iowa Code section 633.212 then gives the surviving spouse:

  • one-half of the real property the decedent held during the marriage and did not relinquish
  • all personal property the decedent held as head of a family that is exempt from execution
  • one-half of the remaining personal property left after debts and charges

Section 633.212 adds a floor. If those three pieces total less than $50,000, the spouse takes enough additional property, up to the whole net estate, to reach $50,000. The rest of the estate passes to the decedent's issue under the class order below.

Take a decedent survived by a spouse, one child of that marriage, and one child from a prior relationship. Because not every child is the spouse's child, section 633.212 controls. The spouse takes half of the real property, the exempt personal property, half of the other personal property, and at least $50,000. The two children divide the balance per stirpes. To see how these rules divide a specific estate, use the Iowa inheritance calculator and model who inherits what when there is no will.

Family situationSurviving spouse receives
No children, or every child is also the spouse's childThe entire net estate (section 633.211)
At least one child is not the spouse's childHalf the real property, the exempt personal property, half the other personal property, and a $50,000 floor (section 633.212)

When There Is No Surviving Spouse

Any part of the estate that does not pass to a spouse, or the whole estate when there is no spouse, moves down the classes in Iowa Code section 633.219. Each class must be empty before the next one inherits.

  1. Issue. The decedent's children and their descendants take everything, divided per stirpes.
  2. Parents. With no issue, the estate goes to the decedent's parents in equal shares. If one parent has died, that share passes to the surviving parent.
  3. Issue of the parents. With no issue and no living parent, the estate splits into two equal halves. One half goes to the issue of the decedent's mother per stirpes, and one half to the issue of the decedent's father per stirpes, which reaches siblings, nieces, and nephews. If one parent left no issue, the whole estate passes to the other parent's issue.
  4. Grandparents and their issue. With none of the above, half the estate goes to the paternal grandparents or their issue and half to the maternal grandparents or their issue.
  5. Great-grandparents and their issue. With no closer heir, the estate passes to the great-grandparents or their issue, per stirpes.
  6. Issue of a deceased spouse. If no blood relative qualifies, the uninherited part goes to the issue of the intestate's deceased spouse, per stirpes.
  7. The State of Iowa. Only when no one above exists does the property escheat to the state.

How Per Stirpes Splits a Deceased Heir's Share

Iowa distributes to issue per stirpes, which means by branch of the family. When an heir who would have inherited died before the decedent but left descendants, those descendants step into that heir's place and split the one share the heir would have taken.

Say a decedent with no spouse had three children, and one of them died first, leaving two children of their own. The estate divides into three equal shares. The two surviving children each take one-third. The share of the child who died passes to that child's two children, who split it, so each of those grandchildren takes one-sixth. They do not each take a full one-third. They divide the single branch their parent would have received.

Afterborn Heirs and Adopted Children

Iowa Code section 633.220 protects a relative conceived before the decedent's death but born afterward. That child inherits as if born during the decedent's lifetime. Apart from that exception, Iowa fixes every family relationship as it stood on the date of death.

Adoption changes the family tree for inheritance. Under Iowa Code section 633.223, a lawful adoption lets the adopted person inherit from and through the adoptive parents just like a biological child, and it cuts off inheritance from and through the biological parents. One exception keeps a tie intact: when a biological parent's spouse adopts the child, the child still inherits from and through that biological parent. Confirm each adoption and each parent-child link before you name the heirs.

Iowa Inheritance Tax No Longer Applies to Recent Deaths

Who inherits is one question. What tax applies is another. For anyone who dies on or after January 1, 2025, Iowa's inheritance tax is repealed, so an heir owes no Iowa inheritance tax on an intestate share, under Iowa Code section 450.98. Older articles that still describe an Iowa inheritance-tax rate schedule are out of date for these deaths. This page covers the shares, not the return, so verify any federal filing question with a tax professional.

Read an Iowa Intestate Estate in Order

Use this sequence when you map who inherits:

  1. Separate probate property from assets that pass by beneficiary, survivorship, or trust. Only probate property follows these rules.
  2. Apply the spouse's share under section 633.211 or 633.212, and account for valid debts and charges.
  3. Send any part that does not pass to the spouse down the class order in section 633.219.
  4. Split a deceased heir's branch per stirpes, and adjust for afterborn or adopted heirs.
  5. Confirm the family tree, the asset titles, and the county file with the Clerk of the District Court before anyone distributes property.

Whoever serves the estate still files through District Court and follows the steps in the first steps after a death in Iowa guide. Making a valid will is the way to replace these defaults with your own plan, and the Iowa will requirements guide shows what Iowa asks for.

When to Bring in an Iowa Attorney

Some intestate estates are simple to map from the statute. Others need a licensed Iowa attorney, especially when:

  • a child from a prior relationship shifts the spouse's share under section 633.212
  • the $50,000 floor decides how much property the spouse keeps
  • an heir died before the decedent and their branch raises a per stirpes question
  • an heir cannot be found, or the family tree is unclear
  • an adoption or a stepparent adoption affects who counts as issue
  • real property must be sold to pay the estate's debts

This guide helps you organize the source-backed shares and the questions to ask. A licensed Iowa attorney can advise on rights, disputes, and signing decisions for a specific estate. This is general information about Iowa estates, not advice for your situation.

Sources:

It is not legal advice.

Information current as of July 15, 2026

Settled Estate is not a law firm, and this content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Probate laws and procedures in Iowa can change. Consult with a qualified attorney for advice specific to your situation. Full disclaimer.

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