Iowa Estate Planning Checklist

Iowa has three quirks that make estate planning here different from most states: the state bans transfer-on-death deeds for real property, uses an abstract of title system instead of title insurance, and fully repealed its inheritance tax effective January 1, 2025. Each of these shapes which documents you actually need and how you should structure your plan.

The Core Documents

1. Last Will and Testament

Your will controls who inherits your probate assets, names guardians for minor children, and appoints an executor to administer the estate. Under Iowa Code section 633.279, it requires two witnesses (age 16+), a signature ceremony where everyone signs in each other's presence, and a self-proving affidavit to avoid witness testimony in probate.

Without a will, Iowa's intestacy laws determine who inherits. For married couples with children from a prior relationship, this means the surviving spouse does not get everything — the children from the earlier relationship receive a share. Stepchildren get nothing unless legally adopted.

2. Durable Financial Power of Attorney

Names someone to manage your finances if you become incapacitated. "Durable" means it remains effective even after you lose capacity — without the durable designation, the POA dies when you need it most.

Iowa banks are known for rejecting POAs they consider stale or poorly drafted. Using a form that references Iowa Code chapter 633B and includes broad powers (real estate transactions, banking, tax filing) reduces the chance of rejection.

3. Medical Power of Attorney (Healthcare POA)

Designates a healthcare attorney-in-fact to make medical decisions when you cannot. Under Iowa Code chapter 144B, this is separate from a living will and covers decisions your living will doesn't address — choosing between treatment options, selecting facilities, consenting to surgery.

4. Living Will (Declaration Relating to Life-Sustaining Procedures)

Under Iowa Code chapter 144A, this directs your doctors to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining procedures if you have a terminal condition. Iowa's living will has a specific restriction: it cannot be used to direct the withdrawal of nutrition and hydration unless you explicitly opt in with additional language. It also includes a pregnancy clause that can pause the directive.

5. Advance Directive for Final Disposition

Iowa Code chapter 144C lets you designate who controls decisions about your burial, cremation, or other final arrangements. Without this, Iowa law assigns decision-making authority to your closest relative in a statutory priority order — which doesn't always match your preferences.

Iowa-Specific Planning Steps

Review Your Property Titles

Because Iowa bans TOD deeds, the only ways to keep real property out of probate are joint tenancy with right of survivorship, a revocable living trust, or a life estate deed. Pull the deeds for every property you own and verify how they're titled.

If property is in your name alone, it goes through probate — and Iowa's abstract of title system means your heirs will need to continue the abstract and get a title opinion from a participating attorney before they can sell. This adds cost and delay that proper titling prevents.

Check Beneficiary Designations

Retirement accounts (including IPERS), life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts pass outside your will directly to named beneficiaries. Make sure every account has a current beneficiary and a contingent beneficiary. An outdated designation — especially one naming an ex-spouse — can override your will entirely.

Understand the Spousal Elective Share

Iowa Code section 633.238 gives a surviving spouse the right to claim one-third of the estate regardless of what the will says. This applies to both probate assets and revocable trust assets. You cannot disinherit a spouse in Iowa without a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement containing a written waiver.

Consider Medicaid Exposure

Iowa uses an expanded definition of "estate" for Medicaid recovery. Under Iowa Code section 249A.53(2), the state can recover long-term care costs from joint tenancies, revocable trusts, life estates, and POD accounts — not just probate assets. If you or a family member might need Medicaid, factor this into how you title property and structure beneficiary designations.

Plan for the Abstract

If you own real property in Iowa, your estate plan should keep the chain of title clean. Improperly recorded deeds, undocumented trust transfers, or missing probate clearances create "clouds" on the abstract that can halt property sales and require quiet title litigation to resolve. Every property transfer — including moving a home into a trust — should be recorded with the County Recorder and incorporated into the abstract.

Documents Checklist

• [ ] Will with self-proving affidavit (two witnesses, notarized)
• [ ] Durable financial power of attorney
• [ ] Medical power of attorney
• [ ] Living will with nutrition/hydration election
• [ ] Declaration of designee for final disposition
• [ ] Property deed review (verify titling for each parcel)
• [ ] Beneficiary designation review (retirement, life insurance, POD accounts)
• [ ] Digital asset authorization clause (in will or trust)
• [ ] Guardian nomination for minor children (in will)
• [ ] Letter of intent (non-binding wishes for personal property, funeral preferences)

Your Next Step

The Iowa Basic Estate Planning Kit provides step-by-step instructions for every document on this list, including the self-proving affidavit form, digital asset clauses that comply with Iowa's Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, and a property deed review worksheet for Iowa's abstract of title system.

See more Iowa guides →