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Iowa source record

Every source behind the Iowa guide

6 primary records, quoted verbatim and checked against 25 named presence or absence conditions that must pass against the live government text. Open the record, read the words the publishing body actually used, and confirm the current rule for yourself.

Last full re-fetch September 15, 2026

What each source establishes

The Iowa guide rests on the source-backed rules this site can verify for the state: which simplified procedure exists and what it limits, what the court charges, how the person administering the estate may be paid, and the statutory creditor-deadline clocks the official text states.Every published rule below is quoted in the publisher’s own words rather than summarised.

Simplified-procedure rule

Iowa Code 635.1 (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 635.1 · Verified August 9, 2026

When the gross value of the probate assets of a decedent subject to the jurisdiction of this state does not exceed two hundred thousand dollars

What this means: Threshold last set by 2018 Acts, ch 1140; the harvested PDF is the Iowa Code 2026 edition.

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 635.1 (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • small-estate threshold
  • section identity
  • currentness edition
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Iowa Code 635.7 (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 635.7 · Verified August 9, 2026

If the gross value of probate assets subject to the jurisdiction of this state exceeds the amount permitted for a small estate under section 635.1, the estate shall be administered as provided in chapter 633.

What this means: Confirms the cap is measured on the gross value of probate assets and drives automatic conversion to/from full administration.

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 635.7 (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • gross value conversion
  • section identity
  • section identity

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Executor compensation rule

Iowa Code 633.197 (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 633.197 · Verified August 9, 2026

not in excess of the following commissions upon the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory, which shall be received as full compensation for all ordinary services: a. For the first one thousand dollars, six percent. b. For the overplus between one and five thousand dollars, four percent. c. For all sums over five thousand dollars, two percent.

What this means: Value basis is the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory, excluding life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate (633.197(2)).

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 633.197 (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • commission schedule basis
  • tier 6 percent
  • tier 4 percent
  • tier 2 percent
  • life insurance exclusion
  • section identity
  • section identity

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Court cost rule

Iowa Code 633.31(3)(a) (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 633.31 · Verified August 9, 2026

two-tenthsofonepercent of the value of the probate assets listed in the report and inventory.

What this means: Statewide probate court-cost formula (0.2% of probate-inventory value). Non-probate assets are expressly excluded by 633.31(3)(b). 2025 Acts ch 148 amended the fixed short-form charge in subsection 2, not the 0.2% formula.

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 633.31(3)(a) (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • 0.2 percent court cost
  • non-probate exclusion
  • section identity
  • section identity

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Creditor deadline rule

Iowa Code 633.410 (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 633.410 · Verified August 9, 2026

are forever barred against the estate, the personal representative, and the distributees of the estate, unless filed with the clerk within the later to occur of four months after the date of the second publication of the notice to creditors or, as to each claimant whose identity is reasonably ascertainable, one month after service of notice by ordinary mail to the claimant's last known address.

What this means: General nonclaim bar = later of (4 months from second publication) or (1 month from mailing to a known creditor). Medical-assistance claims: six months from electronic notice (633.410(2)).

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 633.410 (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • later-of nonclaim bar
  • medical assistance six months
  • section identity
  • section identity

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Simplified-procedure rule

Iowa Code 635.13 (2026)

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Iowa Code 2026, Section 635.13 · Verified August 9, 2026

If a petition for administration of a small estate is granted, the notice as provided in section 633.237, and either sections 633.230 and 633.231 or sections 633.304 and 633.304A shall be given.

What this means: Small estates use the same creditor-notice sections as full ch. 633 administration, so the 633.410 nonclaim framework applies.

What was published from this source

  • IA Iowa Code 635.13 (2026)

Conditions checked against the live text

Each condition below must be found in the page as the publisher currently serves it. If any one of them stops matching, the build fails and the figure is withheld rather than published from memory.

  • small-estate adopts ch633 notices
  • section identity
  • section identity

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Iowa source decision map

How the Iowa records fit together

The source record is most useful when each citation has a job. This map links the Iowa procedure, cost, compensation, and deadline records to the decision each one can and cannot answer.

QuestionRecorded Iowa answerCarry into the case
What route is being screened?Administration of small estates (Iowa Code ch. 635)Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route.
What property and basis count?probate property within the rule's stated scope; gross value for this route.Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately.
What is the amount screen?$200,000Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut.
What is the time or deadline record?No waiting-period number verified; Iowa's general nonclaim bar (Iowa Code 633.410(1)) runs to the later of two separately-triggered deadlines: four months after the date of the second publication of the notice to creditors, or one month after service of notice by ordinary mail to a reasonably ascertainable claimant. Medical-assistance (Medicaid estate-recovery) claims have a separate six-month bar from electronic notice (633.410(2)). Because the operative bar is the later of two triggers and cannot be reduced to one honest day count, it is left unknown and the triggers are itemized in deadlineFramework.Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number.
What does the cost record establish?1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total.Ask the District Court (Probate) about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
What does compensation use?Iowa Code 633.197 sets a real statutory maximum-commission schedule on the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory: 6% of the first $1,000, 4% of the overplus between $1,000 and $5,000, and 2% of all sums over $5,000, received as full compensation for all ordinary services. The court may allow only reasonable fees not in excess of these commissions. Gross assets for this section exclude life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate. Extraordinary services may be separately allowed by the court. The relevant base is gross probate property.Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate.

Decision boundary

What the Iowa source set does not silently decide

The Iowa records establish the rules listed above, but they do not turn a source citation into advice about title, family priority, tax filing, contested proceedings, or the exact clerk practice in every county. Those questions stay with the official court or a qualified adviser. The useful next step is to match the question to the citation rather than treating the longest quote as the answer to every estate problem.

Arithmetic illustration

See the Iowa amount screen without mistaking it for a result

The recorded Iowa ceiling is $200,000, and it is tested against probate property within the rule's stated scope, on a basis this site records as gross value for this route. Counted that way, $150,000 sits below the Iowa figure and $250,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what Iowa counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.

Illustrative counted amountComparison to the Iowa ceilingWhat it does not decide
$150,000Below $200,000Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties
$250,000Above $200,000Whether another statutory route or court process applies

Next evidence to collect

Open the quoted record for the row you rely on and check the publisher's current text before filing.

  1. Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
  2. Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
  3. Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
  4. Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.

Official material

Iowa probate is handled in the District Court; there is no separate probate court.

Iowa court costs are a statewide statutory percentage (0.2%) rather than a county-set flat fee - unusually uniform across the state.

Source trail

Records used by this Iowa map

What Iowa courts publish

The statutes on this page state the rule. These are the documents the court itself publishes. Every link is probed before release, and any link that stops resolving fails the build rather than staying on the page.

Limits on court material

  • Iowa probate is handled in the District Court; there is no separate probate court.
  • Iowa court costs are a statewide statutory percentage (0.2%) rather than a county-set flat fee - unusually uniform across the state.

Checking these Iowa records against the publishers

Every citation above links to the body that publishes it, and every quoted sentence is reproduced exactly, so a text search on the publisher’s own page should land on it. Where the publisher’s current wording differs from what is recorded here, the publisher governs and this page is wrong; naming the citation and the language you see maps the difference onto a specific condition rather than a general complaint. The full procedure, including how a source qualifies in the first place and what disqualifies one, is set out once on the methodology page instead of being restated on each of the254 state records.

These records cover the cost and route questions this site answers for Iowa. They do not cover intestate succession shares, spousal and family allowances, creditor priority, tax filing obligations, real-property transfer mechanics, or contested proceedings. Where an answer would require one of those, the site says so rather than estimating.

Return to the Iowa estate guide ·All 254 records ·Dataset overview and citation ·How sources are selected