What Happens When an Estate Is Insolvent in Iowa?
Enter the estate's assets and the claims in each class of Iowa's payment order to see which claims are paid in full, which are paid in part, and which go unpaid, along with when the executor is personally liable.
Frequently Asked Questions
An estate is insolvent when the claims against it exceed the assets available to pay them. Iowa then pays the claims in 10 classes, in the order its statute sets, and the classes at the end of the order are the ones left unpaid when the money runs outIowa Code § 633.425Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
1. Court costsIowa Code § 633.425(1)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 2. Other costs of administrationIowa Code § 633.425(2)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 3. Reasonable funeral and burial expensesIowa Code § 633.425(3)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 4. Debts and taxes having preference under federal lawIowa Code § 633.425(4)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 5. Reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the decedent's last illness, including compensation of persons attendingIowa Code § 633.425(5)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 6. Taxes having preference under Iowa lawIowa Code § 633.425(6)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 7. Debt for medical assistance paid under Iowa Code 249A.53(2)Iowa Code § 633.425(7)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 8. Debts owed to employees for labor performed in the 90 days before deathIowa Code § 633.425(8)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 9. Unpaid support payments and unpaid awards and judgments in dissolution, separate maintenance, uniform support, or paternity actions, as accrued at deathIowa Code § 633.425(9)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source. 10. All other allowed claimsIowa Code § 633.425(10)Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
In proportion to their amounts: each claim in the class receives the same share of what it is owedIowa Code § 633.426Verified Sep 23, 2026View source.
Iowa's statutes state no rule on the executor's personal liability for the decedent's debts, paying a later class before an earlier class is paid in full or distributing property to heirs while claims are unpaid.
Iowa law recognizes that a person named as executor may refuse the appointment (Iowa Code § 633.292 (scan of Chapter 633)) but prescribes no particular document. A signed written renunciation filed with the court states the refusal on the record. Renunciation of Executor for Iowa
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