What to gather for a small estate in Iowa
Pick a procedure and check off what you already have. Download or print the list to take with you.
Distribution of property by affidavit - very small estates (Iowa Code 633.356)
A sworn affidavit you give to the bank, company or person holding the person's property, so they pay or transfer it to the people who inherit. It is not filed with the court.
- Limit
Up to $100,000 Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
Since July 1, 2026, the gross value of the person's personal property, at any time since the death, cannot be more than $100,000, and the person's probate assets must be only personal property, with no interest in real estate. Before July 1, 2026, the limit was $50,000.
- What counts
The gross value of the person's personal property, at its highest at any time since the death. The person's probate assets must be only personal property, with no interest in real estate.
- Waiting period
At least 40 days must have passed since the death, shown by an attached certified death certificate.
- Who can use it
A 'successor': the beneficiary under the will (a trust that inherits under the will counts), or the heir under the inheritance law if there is no will. If there are two or more successors, any one of them may sign. If the person got Medicaid, the Iowa Medicaid agency can also be a successor. The procedure can be used only if no estate administration is pending.
- Court or where to file
Given to the holder of the property. To release a judgment or mortgage, or deed real estate under a contract the person signed, the affidavit is filed with the county recorder.
- Notary
Signed under penalty of perjury. The holder must be given reasonable proof of each successor's identity.
- Papers to attach
- Certified copy of the death certificate
- Copy of the will, if inheriting under a will, with a statement that it was delivered to the clerk of the district court
- The person's evidence of ownership (passbook, stock certificate, title), if available
- Reasonable proof of identity of each successor
- Steps
- Wait 40 days after the death and check that no estate is being administered.
- If unsure of the value, give the holder an affidavit asking it to disclose whether the property it holds is (or was since the death) $100,000 or less; the holder must say.
- Fill in the affidavit with all the statements the law lists, including that any Medicaid debt, creditors and (for deaths before 2025) inheritance tax will be paid from what you receive.
- Sign it under penalty of perjury and give it to the holder with the death certificate, any will, proof of ownership and proof of identity.
- Fee
No court fee, because the affidavit is not filed with the court. The county recorder charges its recording fee if you record it.
- Debts and responsibility
The affidavit states that Medicaid debt and creditors will be paid to the extent of the money received, and that no one else has a right to the property. A false affidavit is perjury.
- What the bank or holder must do
If the requirements are met, the holder must pay, deliver or transfer the property, and a transfer agent must re-register securities. The holder may rely in good faith on the affidavit, is discharged from further liability and is not liable for the person's debts. If the holder does not have the person's evidence of ownership, it may require a bond or an indemnity agreement. If it refuses within a reasonable time, you may sue, and the court must award attorney fees if the refusal was unreasonable.
Law: Iowa Code 633.356 (as amended by 2025 Iowa Acts ch. 148 and 2026 HF 2660)
Source: Official page
Death certificates in Iowa
The state vital records office has death records since July 1880. A certified copy from the state office costs $20. Application instructions are on the Iowa HHS website.
- Where to get it
- Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Statistics (vital records)
- Official page
- Official page
Car or vehicle title after a death in Iowa
If the estate is not probated, the person entitled to the vehicle files an affidavit with the county treasurer stating the name and date of death, their right to the vehicle and that there has been no administration, and agreeing to indemnify the person's creditors up to the vehicle's value. Iowa DOT uses form 411088 (no will) or 411083 (will not probated), plus the title application form 411007, the title, and a copy of the death certificate. Title fees are waived when the vehicle goes to the surviving spouse.
Law: Iowa Code 321.47(2)
- Agency
- Iowa Department of Transportation, through the county treasurer
- Fee
Title fees apply, except the title fee and surcharge are waived for a surviving spouse.
Source: Official page
Surviving spouse in Iowa
With no will, a surviving spouse whose children with the person are all also the spouse's children receives all of the person's real estate interests during the marriage and all personal property not needed for debts. A spouse can retitle the person's vehicle with the title fee waived.
Related pages
Free help in Iowa
A court self-help center or a legal aid office can check whether the estate qualifies, free of charge or at low cost.