Estate Planning After Divorce in Iowa

Iowa's automatic revocation statutes provide some protection when you divorce, but they leave dangerous gaps. Your ex-spouse's provisions in your will are voided by law, but the beneficiary designation on your 401(k) that still names them? That stays active until you change it — and it overrides your will entirely.

What Iowa Law Revokes Automatically

When your divorce is finalized, two Iowa statutes kick in:

Iowa Code section 633.271 automatically revokes any provision in your will that benefits your former spouse. It treats the ex-spouse as if they predeceased you. If your will left everything to your spouse with your children as alternates, the children inherit — you don't need to rewrite the will for that specific change to take effect.

Iowa Code section 633A.3107 does the same for revocable trust provisions. Any distributions directed to a former spouse are revoked upon divorce.

These automatic revocations also terminate your former spouse's appointment as executor, trustee, or any other fiduciary role named in the will or trust.

What they don't cover:

• Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts (IRAs, 401(k)s, IPERS)
• Life insurance policy beneficiaries
• Payable-on-death (POD) bank account designations
• Joint tenancy property that wasn't divided in the divorce decree
• Powers of attorney (financial and medical) — though POA agency terminates upon divorce under Iowa law, having the outdated document floating around can cause confusion

The Beneficiary Designation Trap

This is the single biggest post-divorce estate planning mistake. Federal law (ERISA) governs most employer-sponsored retirement plans, and it doesn't care what your will says or what Iowa's revocation statute does. If your 401(k) beneficiary form still names your ex-spouse, they get the money when you die — period.

The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this in Egelhoff v. Egelhoff (2001): ERISA preempts state revocation laws for covered retirement plans. Your ex-spouse inherits, even if your will says otherwise, even if your divorce decree says otherwise.

What to update immediately:

• 401(k) and 403(b) beneficiary designations (contact your plan administrator)
• IRA beneficiaries (contact your custodian — Fidelity, Vanguard, Schwab, etc.)
• IPERS beneficiary designations (for Iowa public employees)
• Life insurance policy beneficiaries
• POD/TOD designations on bank and brokerage accounts
• Annuity beneficiaries

Documents to Rewrite

New Will

Even though Iowa automatically revokes ex-spouse provisions, you should draft a new will because:

• The automatic revocation may not cover every scenario in your original will (provisions for your ex-spouse's family, for example)
• You likely need to update guardian nominations for minor children
• Your asset distribution plan has fundamentally changed
• A new will with a self-proving affidavit prevents any ambiguity about your current intentions

New Powers of Attorney

Your ex-spouse's authority under any existing financial or medical POA terminates upon divorce. But you still need someone in those roles. Draft new documents naming a trusted person — a sibling, parent, adult child, or close friend — as your agent for both financial and healthcare decisions.

New Living Will and Healthcare Directive

If your living will or advance directive references your former spouse as the person to consult about end-of-life decisions, replace it. Name someone you trust with those decisions today.

Updated Digital Asset Authorization

If your existing estate plan granted your ex-spouse access to your email, cloud storage, or online accounts under Iowa's Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, revoke that authorization and grant it to your new executor or a trusted person.

Property Titling Review

If any real property is still titled in joint tenancy with your ex-spouse after divorce, it needs to be addressed. Iowa's abstract of title system means any ambiguity in property ownership will surface when someone tries to sell — and it's far cheaper to fix now than after a death.

Check the deeds on file with the County Recorder for every property you own. If the divorce decree awarded property to you but the deed was never updated, record a new deed reflecting the court's order. Have the abstract continued to include the divorce decree and the new deed.

Child-Related Planning

If you have minor children, your post-divorce estate plan needs to address:

Guardian nominations. If you die while your children are minors, the other parent typically has custody rights — even if you have primary custody. But you should still nominate a guardian in your will for the scenario where both parents die, or where the other parent is unable or unwilling to serve.

Minor's trust. Consider whether assets you leave to your children should be held in a testamentary trust until they reach a certain age, rather than going directly to an 18-year-old. This is especially important if you don't want your ex-spouse managing inherited assets as the child's custodial parent.

Your Next Step

The Iowa Basic Estate Planning Kit includes step-by-step instructions for drafting a new will, financial and medical POAs, and digital asset authorizations that comply with Iowa law — plus a beneficiary designation audit worksheet and property deed review for Iowa's abstract system.

See more Iowa guides →