Free Iowa Small Estate Affidavit

Prepare the Iowa small estate affidavit for estates up to $50,000, plus presentation letters for each holder. Iowa Code § 633.356.

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Your Information

The Iowa affidavit identifies the claiming successor and the basis of entitlement.

Skipping probate?Settle the whole estate in one place.

State Where the Property Is Collected*

The decedent's state. Only states where this tool prepares the affidavit are listed; other states' pages explain their procedure.

Your Full Legal Name*

The successor signing the affidavit.

Your Entitlement to the Property*

Street Address*

City*

State

ZIP Code*

Telephone

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Frequently Asked Questions About Iowa Small Estate Affidavits

No statewide form. Iowa Code § 633.356(3)(a)(1)-(12) sets what the affidavit must state, and the affidavit is drafted to those requirements; the required elements print with the document as a checklist.

$50,000, per Iowa Code § 633.356. This tool checks the entered estate value against the limit and does not prepare an affidavit for an estate over it.

40 days after the death (Iowa Code § 633.356). The affidavit states that the waiting period has elapsed, so it cannot be signed earlier.

A successor of the decedent: if testate, the reasonably ascertainable beneficiary who succeeded to the item under the will (including the trustee of a lifetime trust that takes under the will); if intestate, the reasonably ascertainable person who succeeded under Iowa intestate succession; and, where the decedent received medical assistance, the Iowa Medicaid agency under subsection 8. Any one of multiple successors may execute the affidavit. Iowa Code § 633.356(1), (2), (3)(b).

The holder of the decedent's property (bank, transfer agent, or other person), with the certified death certificate attached, reasonable proof of each successor's identity (subsec. 5), and — where the decedent held evidence of ownership the holder could have demanded — that evidence, if available (subsec. 4(a)); otherwise the holder may require an indemnity bond or agreement (subsec. 4(b)).

The Iowa affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury — notarization is not required by the statute, though holders commonly request it (Iowa Code § 633.356(3)(a), (3)(a)(12)).

Receipt of the affidavit constitutes sufficient acquittance and discharges the holder from further liability; the holder may rely in good faith on the affidavit's statements with no duty of inquiry and is not liable for the decedent's debts by reason of paying (subsec. 7). If a holder unreasonably refuses, the successor may sue to compel transfer and the court SHALL award attorney fees against an unreasonable holder — and shall award fees to a holder sued despite acting reasonably (subsecs. 6(b), 7(b)).

For deaths on or after January 1, 2025 there must be NO real property in the estate (the 2025 amendment removed the joint-tenancy/inheritance-tax exception along with the inheritance-tax repeal); for earlier deaths, real property passing to inheritance-tax-exempt joint tenants with survivorship rights was permitted. The affidavit still has recorder-side uses: recorded with the county recorder it can release, discharge, or assign judgments and mortgages belonging to the decedent, and deeds may be executed in performance of the decedent's real estate contracts (subsec. 4(c)). Iowa Code § 633.356(1), (3)(a)(3), (4)(c).

Small Estate Collection in Iowa

The Iowa distribution of property by affidavit is prepared by the successor — Iowa Code § 633.356(3)(a)(1)-(12) governs its contents — and collects a small estate's property without probate administration.

The Iowa Code § 633.356 limit is $50,000. The affidavit can be signed 40 days after the death. An estate over the limit is administered through probate instead.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Iowa Small Estate Affidavits

$50,000, per Iowa Code § 633.356. This tool checks the entered estate value against the limit and does not prepare an affidavit for an estate over it.

40 days after the death (Iowa Code § 633.356). The affidavit states that the waiting period has elapsed, so it cannot be signed earlier.

The Iowa affidavit is signed under penalty of perjury — notarization is not required by the statute, though holders commonly request it (Iowa Code § 633.356(3)(a), (3)(a)(12)).

Small Estate Collection in Iowa

The Iowa Code § 633.356 limit is $50,000. The affidavit can be signed 40 days after the death. An estate over the limit is administered through probate instead.

Free Iowa Small Estate Affidavit

Your Information

Frequently Asked Questions About Iowa Small Estate Affidavits