Polk County Probate Litigation Attorneys

In this video our Polk County probate litigation attorneys explain the recent changes to Iowa state and probate. The Iowa State Legislature modified a Iowa Law as it relates to the transfer of real estate. A “transfer” under Iowa Law, for the purposes of real estate disclosures, is the transfer or conveyance by sale, exchange, real estate contract, or any other method by which real estate and improvements are purchased, if a property includes at least one but not more than four dwelling units. A written disclosure usually must be given by the transferor to the person interested in being transferred the real property.

The legislature created provisions for the creation of directed trusts. In traditional trusts, the trustee is the only party responsible for managing and diversifying investments. In directed trusts, the trustee is responsible for administrative duties, but another party manages the underlying assets and is responsible for how the investments perform. The new law creates methods for appointing trust directors and protectors through the creating instrument, who have fiduciary powers.

In this video, our Polk County probate litigation attorneys explain how probate is the official manner in which an estate is settled under supervision of the court. When a person dies without an established will, an executor is appointed (typically a surviving spouse or adult child of the deceased) to gather and value owned assets, settle remaining debts, and distribute assets to heirs. Probate prevents fraud and theft after a death. Without it, debts could go unpaid and assets could be improperly distributed.

In this video, our Polk County probate litigation attorneys explain how civil cases normally fall into one of three categories: contract law (contracts and agreements between persons or businesses), family law (divorce, child custody, alimony), and tort law (property damage claims, personal injury, liability). Generally, the process of civil litigation is the same for each category, with some slight differences for family and small claims. Also, in 2015 Iowa made some dramatic changes to portions of its civil litigation process. One being its Fast Track litigation process and the other being changes in the general discovery rules for civil cases.