Elder Law Attorneys in Iowa

16 elder law firms in Iowa, by county and firm type.

Firm listings are for informational purposes only. SimplyTrust does not endorse or recommend any specific firm or attorney. Contact firms directly to discuss your situation and verify their current practice areas and availability.

16 firms

FirmDavenport, IA

Bush, Motto, Creen, Koury & Halligan, P.L.C.

Since 2000 · Serves 2 counties

Serves Scott and Muscatine counties from Davenport, with attorneys licensed in Iowa and Illinois. Assists executors and trustees with probate and trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, and estate, inheritance and gift tax returns, and handles will and trust contests. Established in 2000; seven attorneys.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 7 more

Office: 5505 Victoria Avenue, Suite 100Davenport, IA 52807
Phone: (563) 344-4900

FirmNewton, IA

Caldwell & Brierly, PLLC

Since 1927 · Serves the whole state

Serves Jasper, Polk, Marion, and Poweshiek counties from Newton. Handles probate and trust law matters, estate planning, wills and trusts, and elder law. Randal B. Caldwell is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawWills Trusts

Office: 211 First Avenue WNewton, IA 50208
Phone: (641) 792-4160

FirmDes Moines, IA

Dickinson, Bradshaw, Fowler & Hagen, P.C.

Serves 2 counties

Serves Polk and Marion counties from offices in Des Moines and Pella. Represents fiduciaries in trust and estate administration, including probate, fiduciary tax returns, guardianships and conservatorships, and disputed probate proceedings such as will and trust contests. Formed in 2024 by the merger of Dickinson, Mackaman, Tyler & Hagen and Bradshaw, Fowler, Proctor & Fairgrave.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 9 more

Office: 801 Grand Avenue, Suite 3700Des Moines, IA 50309
Phone: (515) 243-4191

FirmDavenport, IA

Duffy Law Office, PLLC

Since 1995 · Serves 2 counties

Serves Scott County and the Iowa Quad Cities from Davenport. Handles probate and trust administration for families after a death, along with estate planning, Medicaid and elder-law planning, and special-needs planning. Offers free consultations to families who have lost a loved one.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more

Office: 1840 East 54th StreetDavenport, IA 52807
Phone: (563) 445-7400

Free consultation

Solo PracticeOrange City, IA

Huizenga Law Firm, P.C.

Since 2010 · Serves 5 counties

Serves northwest Iowa from Orange City. Handles probate and trust administration for executors and trustees through a nine-meeting process, along with Medicaid and long-term-care planning, guardianships and conservatorships, and estate planning. Founded by attorney Ethan Huizenga in 2010.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 6 more

Office: 118 2nd St NWOrange City, IA 51041
Phone: (712) 737-3885

FirmKnoxville, IA

Johnson, Lane & Hughes

Serves 1 county

Serves Marion County from Knoxville, one block from the Marion County Courthouse. Handles probate, wills, trusts, estate planning, and elder law alongside real estate, business, and tax matters. Rated AV by Martindale-Hubbell.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax PlanningWills Trusts

Office: 113 East Marion StreetKnoxville, IA 50138
Phone: (641) 828-7373

FirmIowa City, IA

Kennedy Law Firm PC

Since 1970 · Serves 1 county

Serves Johnson County from Iowa City. Handles probate and estates, guardianships, and conservatorships, and prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and living wills. Also assists with Medicaid planning for clients moving into assisted living or a nursing home.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 3 more

Office: 920 South Dubuque StreetIowa City, IA 52240
Phone: (319) 351-8181

Solo PracticeGrimes, IA

Letsch Law Firm

Since 2013 · Serves 2 counties

Serves Des Moines, Urbandale, and the surrounding area from Grimes. Handles probate and estate administration, post-death trust administration, guardianships and conservatorships, Medicaid planning for long-term care, and special needs trusts. The attorney and two staff members are Certified Medicaid Planners.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more

Office: 112 NE Ewing Street, Suite DGrimes, IA 50111
Phone: (515) 986-2810

Virtual consultations

FirmCarroll, IA

Minnich, Comito, Neu & Hawley, P.C.

Since 1901 · Serves 1 county

Serves the Carroll County area from Carroll. Handles probate, wills and trusts, estate planning, elder law, and taxation matters as part of a general practice. The firm and its predecessor partnerships have practiced in Carroll County since 1901.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax PlanningWills Trusts

Office: 721 N. Main StreetCarroll, IA 51401
Phone: (712) 792-3508

FirmAmes, IA

New Point Law Firm, plc

Since 1906 · Serves the whole state

Serves Story County and central Iowa from an office in Ames. Settles the estates of deceased persons through formal probate court administration or informal trust administration, handles guardianships and conservatorships, and advises on inheritance and estate taxes. Formed in July 2023 by the merger of the Newbrough and Pasley & Singer firms, tracing to 1906.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 5 more

Office: 612 Kellogg Ave.Ames, IA 50010
Phone: (515) 232-1761

FirmDubuque, IA

O'Connor & Thomas, P.C.

Serves 1 county

Serves Dubuque County from an office in downtown Dubuque. Handles probate and estate administration, trust administration, will and trust disputes, and guardianships and conservatorships for minors and adults, along with estate and gift tax work and fiduciary income tax returns. Senior counsel John C. O'Connor is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 9 more

Office: 1000 Main StreetDubuque, IA 52001
Phone: (563) 557-8400

FirmMason City, IA

Pappajohn, Shriver, Eide & Nielsen P.C.

Since 1960 · Serves the whole state

Serves Cerro Gordo, Floyd, Franklin, Winnebago, and Worth counties and clients throughout Iowa from Mason City. Handles wills and probate, estate administration, trusts and estates, and elder law, with two CPA attorneys practicing taxation. Began in its current form in 1960.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawTax PlanningWills Trusts

Office: 103 East State Street, Suite 800Mason City, IA 50402
Phone: (641) 423-4264

FirmWest Des Moines, IA

Pearson Bollman Law

Serves the whole state

Serves clients throughout Iowa from offices in West Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Bettendorf, and Milford. Guides personal representatives and successor trustees through probate and trust administration, represents families in will and trust disputes, and handles elder law and Medicaid planning. Also serves clients in Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateProbate Litigationand 4 more

Office: 1415 28th Street, Suite 160West Des Moines, IA 50266
Phone: (515) 727-0986

Free consultationVirtual consultations

FirmDubuque, IA

Reynolds & Kenline, L.L.P.

Since 1890 · Serves the whole state

Serves Dubuque and clients across Iowa, including Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, and West Union, from downtown Dubuque. Helps executors, beneficiaries, and families with wills, trusts, guardianships, conservatorships, and the administration of decedents' estates. Founded in 1890; offers free initial consultations to estate planning and probate clients.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 3 more

Office: 770 Main StreetDubuque, IA 52004
Phone: (563) 556-8000

Free consultation

FirmDavenport, IA

Schebler, Wine & Collins

Serves 3 counties

Serves Scott, Muscatine, and Clinton county communities from Davenport. Handles probate of estates, letters of administration and creditors' claims, guardianships and conservatorships, and Title XIX (Medicaid) planning for elderly clients. Attorneys Thomas Schebler and Thomas Wine have more than 50 years of combined experience.

PracticesEstate PlanningProbateElder LawConservatorshipand 4 more

Office: 1414 West Locust StreetDavenport, IA 52804
Phone: (563) 324-1387

FirmCouncil Bluffs, IA

Telpner Peterson Law Firm, LLP

Since 1952 · Serves 1 county

Serves Pottawattamie County from Council Bluffs, a few blocks from the county courthouse, and also handles probate and estate matters in Nebraska. Guides personal representatives through probate, from the petition to admit the will through creditor notices, court reports, and the final accounting, and helps trustees administer trusts. Opened in 1952 by Maynard Telpner.

PracticesEstate PlanningTrust AdministrationProbateElder Lawand 4 more

Office: 25 Main Place, Suite 200Council Bluffs, IA 51503
Phone: (712) 309-3738

Elder law attorneys in Iowa work the legal issues facing aging adults and their families: Medicaid planning for long-term care, drafting and updating durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, special needs trusts, and asset protection. Many also handle probate and estate planning; elder law is the subset focused on care planning and benefits eligibility. The Iowa healthcare proxy and financial power of attorney forms cover the two instruments.

Federal law, as Iowa applies it, sets a 5-year lookback period for Medicaid long-term care eligibility. An uncompensated transfer in the five years before the application (a gift, a transfer to a family member, a transfer to a trust that does not qualify) can trigger a penalty period during which Medicaid does not pay for nursing home care. It is why Medicaid planning starts years before the care is needed, and why elder law exists as its own practice area.

Estate planning attorneys in Iowa average $288 an hour for wills and estates work. A flat-fee package runs $864 to $1,728 for a simple individual will and $3,140 to $4,710 for a basic revocable trust. An online service prices the same documents in the tens to low hundreds of dollars; the Iowa will cost calculator sets the two side by side.

In Iowa, estates with personal property of $100,000 or less skip probate with the Small Estate Affidavit, 40 days after death. That route is a form rather than a court case, and most families handle it without an attorney. Above the line, formal probate generally benefits from counsel for the procedural work, even when nothing is contested. The Iowa probate calculator estimates the cost by estate value.

In Iowa, the situations where counsel is typically worth the cost are: a blended family with children from a prior relationship; a business, rental property or significant investment assets; a dependent with special needs, who needs a special-needs trust to keep benefits; substantial property in more than one state. Where none of these apply, an online or self-help document is often enough.

Elder Law Attorneys in Iowa

Elder law attorneys in Iowa charge $235 per hour, focused on Medicaid planning, long-term care funding, guardianship, and asset protection for aging families. The work is often time-sensitive: Medicaid eligibility has a 5-year lookback period, so planning typically needs to start well before nursing home care is needed.

Estate planning attorneys in Iowa charge $288 per hour for wills and estates work. A simple will done through an attorney typically runs $864–$1,728; online services cost $30–$300 for the same document.

Iowa hasn't adopted the Uniform Probate Code and doesn't offer simplified independent administration. The procedural floor is higher than most states, which is why retaining counsel for uncontested matters here is more practical than optional.

Worth knowing: estates under $100,000 can use Iowa's simplified affidavit instead of formal probate. If your situation is straightforward and the estate fits, you may not need an attorney at all.

SimplyTrust Editorial·Updated October 15, 2026

Legal Sources

Data sourced from Iowa statutes and official state code. How we research.

Forms for Planning and Settling an Estate in Iowa

Free Iowa forms for planning an estate or settling one: a will, trust, powers of attorney, TOD deed, and the probate forms an executor files.

$12/month

Revocable Living Trust

Create a revocable living trust to avoid probate, protect privacy, and control asset distribution.

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Free

Healthcare Power of Attorney

Iowa allows a choice for a healthcare power of attorney: 2 witnesses or a notary.

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Free

Financial Power of Attorney

Iowa treats a power of attorney as durable by default, and it is signed before a notary.

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Free

Last Will and Testament

In Iowa, a will is signed before 2 witnesses, and a self-proving affidavit signed with it lets the court admit it without witness testimony.

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All Iowa forms

Tools for Planning and Settling an Estate in Iowa

Free calculators and checklists for planning or settling an estate in Iowa: will and trust costs, probate, executor pay, and inheritance taxes.

What Does Estate Planning Actually Cost?

An attorney-prepared revocable trust in Iowa runs $3,140 to $4,710 and a simple will $864 to $1,728, against $0 to $549 up front plus a subscription with an online service.

Compare Costs

How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?

In Iowa, four years at a public university cost about $82,188 and the cost of living is 12% below the U.S. average; no state estate or inheritance tax applies.

Use Calculator

What Are the Estate Laws in My State?

Probate on a $500,000 estate in Iowa costs an estimated $21,555 and takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate, with attorney fees set by the court and capped at a statutory schedule. Estates under $100,000 can use a small-estate procedure instead.

Check Your State

Do I Need a Revocable Trust?

Probate in Iowa takes 6 months to 9 months for a simple estate and charges attorney fees set by the court and capped at a statutory schedule; assets held in a revocable trust skip both.

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Are My Beneficiary Designations Protected?

Iowa automatically revokes an ex-spouse as beneficiary at divorce; employer plans under ERISA follow federal rules either way, so a 401(k) beneficiary changes only by a new designation.

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All Iowa tools