Small estate checker for Iowa
Enter the date of death and what the person owned. The page adds what the state counts and compares it with the limit for that date. It does not decide anything.
The limits this checker uses
These come from the state's law as we checked it. The checker picks the row that matches the date of death you enter.
Distribution of property by affidavit - very small estates (Iowa Code 633.356)
40 days after the death.
Administration of small estates (Iowa Code chapter 635)
What counts toward the limit in Iowa
For the affidavit: add up the gross value of the person's personal property (the highest value at any time since the death). If any probate asset is an interest in real estate, the affidavit cannot be used.
Law: Iowa Code 633.356 (2026 HF 2660)
In this state the total is counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
| Kind of property | How it is treated | Details |
|---|---|---|
Bank accounts in the person's name alone | Counts | Bank accounts in the person's name alone count. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(1), (3)(a)(3) |
Joint or payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts | Not clear | The 2026 wording counts 'the decedent's personal property' and does not say how joint or payable-on-death accounts are treated; ask the clerk of court or legal aid. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(3)(a)(3) (2026 HF 2660) |
Cars and other vehicles | Counts | Vehicles are personal property and count. Heirs can also retitle a vehicle at the county treasurer with an affidavit under Iowa Code 321.47. Law: Iowa Code 633.356; Iowa Code 321.47(2) |
Boats and mobile or manufactured homes | Counts | Boats and other personal property count. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Real estate in Iowa | Left out | Real estate is not added to the total, but if the person's probate assets include any interest in real estate, the affidavit cannot be used. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(3)(a)(3) |
Main home (primary residence) | Left out | The home is real estate. If it is a probate asset, the affidavit cannot be used. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(3)(a)(3) |
Real estate in another state | Not clear | The law does not say whether real estate in another state prevents use of the affidavit; ask the clerk of court or legal aid. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Unpaid wages owed to the person | Counts | Money owed to the person, such as unpaid wages, counts. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(1)(b) |
Military pay owed to the person | Not clear | The law does not address military pay separately; ask the paying agency. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to a named person | Not clear | The 2026 wording does not say whether benefits paid to a named beneficiary count; ask the clerk of court or legal aid. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Life insurance or retirement money paid to the estate | Counts | Life insurance or other property with no named beneficiary counts and can be collected with the affidavit. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(1)(c) |
Property in a living trust | Not clear | The law does not address living trust property; ask the clerk of court or legal aid. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Property owned jointly with right of survivorship | Not clear | The law does not say how jointly held personal property is treated; ask the clerk of court or legal aid. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Property going to a surviving spouse | Counts | Personal property going to the spouse counts. Law: Iowa Code 633.356 |
Stocks, bonds and brokerage accounts | Counts | Stocks and bonds in the person's name count; a transfer agent must re-register them on a proper affidavit. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(1)(b), (6)(a)(2) |
Furniture, jewelry and other belongings | Counts | Furniture, jewelry and other belongings count. Law: Iowa Code 633.356(1)(a) |
Source: Official page
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
Administration of small estates (Iowa Code chapter 635)
A simpler court probate. The clerk issues letters to a personal representative, who gives the required notices, files an inventory and then closes the estate with a sworn closing statement.
- Limit
Up to $200,000 Counted at full value, without subtracting debts.
The gross value of the person's probate assets in Iowa cannot be more than $200,000.
- What counts
The gross value of the person's probate assets subject to Iowa's jurisdiction. Joint tenancy property, life insurance, retirement accounts and POD or TOD accounts paid to beneficiaries, and real estate outside Iowa are not probate assets.
- Waiting period
The law sets no waiting period after the death. Creditors file claims within the time in the published notice, and objections to the closing statement are due within 30 days after it is served.
- Who can use it
A person who may petition for administration under Iowa law files; the clerk appoints the personal representative named in the petition if qualified.
- Court or where to file
Clerk of the district court (probate) in the proper county, usually where the person lived.
- Notary
The closing statement is verified under penalty of perjury.
- Papers to attach
- Petition with the person's name, domicile, date of death, spouse, heirs, will information and estimated value
- Report and inventory of probate and nonprobate assets
- Closing statement with accounting and proposed distribution
- Steps
- File the petition with the clerk.
- Give the required notices to heirs and creditors.
- File the report and inventory.
- Pay claims and expenses.
- File the closing statement and serve it on all interested parties; distribute if no objection within 30 days.
- Fee
Court costs equal two-tenths of one percent of the value of the probate assets in the report and inventory; non-probate assets are not charged. Other clerk charges apply for specific services.
Law: Iowa Code 635.1, 635.2, 635.7, 635.8, 635.13; Iowa Code 633.31(3)
Source: Official page
Bank accounts after a death in Iowa
A state bank pays a payable-on-death account to the named beneficiary, and is not liable for the person's debts for doing so; the money stays subject to the person's debts (and Iowa inheritance tax only for deaths before 2025). For an account in the person's name alone, the heirs can use the 40-day affidavit if the estate qualifies; the bank must tell an affiant whether the account is (or was since the death) $100,000 or less. If the person got Medicaid and no successor presents an affidavit within 90 days, the state can collect the account up to its claim.
Law: Iowa Code 524.805(8); Iowa Code 633.356(8)(b), (9)
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.