Iowa Small Estates: the small estate affidavit
The short answer
Iowa calls its simplified route the small estate affidavit, and it is set out in Iowa Code § 633.356. It can't be used if there is any real estate. You have to wait a set number of days after the death before using it. Real estate has its own separate route in this state, with its own limit and its own wait. The card above states both. The current limit and the date we last read the statute are on the card below.
Iowa’s small estate affidavit
Iowa sets this out in Iowa Code § 633.356. It can't be used if there is any real estate. The figure itself, and the date we last read that statute, are on the card below.[1]
Iowa
- Procedure:
- small estate affidavit
- Limit:
- $50,000
- Wait:
- 40 days
- Real estate:
- separate procedure
It can't be used if there is any real estate.
A separate court process for estates up to $200,000 can include real estate.
Iowa Code § 633.356 — official page read September 18, 2026
Real estate has its own separate route in this state, with its own limit and its own wait. The card above states both. A separate court process for estates up to $200,000 can include real estate.[1]
The small estate affidavit is one piece of settling an estate in Iowa. Answer a few questions and Go Forward builds the rest of the list for your situation — the notifications, the accounts, the paperwork — in the order it needs doing.
Build my plan →Steps this page connects to: Check whether probate is required · Order certified death certificates · List what the estate holds
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Creditor claims under Iowa Code §§ 633.230, 633.410
Above the limit it is a regular Iowa probate case, and whoever the court appoints has to publish a notice to creditors in a local newspaper. The window for claims is 4 months after the second published notice, or 1 month after a known creditor is mailed notice, whichever is later.. Paying anyone out before that window closes can leave the person who paid personally liable.[2]
Iowa
- Published notice:
- required
- Claim window:
- 4 months after the second published notice, or 1 month after a known creditor is mailed notice, whichever is later.
Iowa Code §§ 633.230, 633.410 — official page read September 18, 2026
Sources
- Iowa Code § 633.356 (small estate affidavit) — Iowa — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
- Iowa Code §§ 633.230, 633.410 (notice to creditors) — Iowa — official statute or court self-help page. Read September 18, 2026.
Each state above links to the statute or court page we read, with the date we read it.
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