The creditor claim period of 4 monthsIowa Code §§ 633.230, 633.304, 633.410, 633.413, 633.425, 633.442Verified Sep 15, 2026View source runs from the last publication of the creditor notice, which follows the executor's appointment. A claim not presented in time is barred. Every claim is barred 60 monthsIowa Code §§ 633.230, 633.304, 633.410, 633.413, 633.425, 633.442Verified Sep 15, 2026View source after the date of death, whether or not notice was given.
Within 120 daysIowa Code §§ 633.361, 633.364, 633.365 (§ 633.361 as amended by 2026 Acts, HF 2532, § 4)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source of the personal representative's appointment.
The personal representative closes the estate by filing a final report under Iowa Code § 633.477 that sets forth the statutory recitals (heirs/devisees, tax and claim compliance, and a detailed accounting of receipts and disbursements) and applies for discharge; after notice to interested persons (§ 633.478), the court enters an order approving the final report and discharging the personal representative (§ 633.479(1))Iowa Code §§ 633.469, 633.470, 633.473, 633.477, 633.478, 633.479, 633.487Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.
Iowa law recognizes that a person named as executor may renounce the appointment but prescribes no particular document. A signed written renunciation filed with the court states the refusal on the record.
No fixed statutory closing date, but final settlement is gated by the creditor-claim period: the final report must state whether all claims are paid (§ 633.477(12)), and claims are barred only at 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 (§ 633.410(1)). Where the decedent left genetic material, final distribution waits until two years after death (§ 633.477(13)). Section 633.473 sets a three-year outer limit for final settlement, not a floorIowa Code §§ 633.410(1), 633.473, 633.477(12)-(13)Verified Sep 15, 2026View source.