Where the estate is opened.
Only if the statute's conditions are met. Read the section below.
See the tax section for the exemption or the repeal.
Living trust or probate
A revocable living trust holds assets you title in the trustee's name. You can serve as trustee while you are able.
At death, the successor trustee handles those assets. Property you leave in your own name can still go through the probate court. A pour-over will sends leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may pass through probate first.
The probate path
In Iowa, the estate is opened in the District Court.
Iowa Code section 633.10 gives the district court sitting in probate jurisdiction of estates of decedents. That jurisdiction includes the probate and contest of wills, the appointment of personal representatives, the granting of letters testamentary and of administration, and the administration, settlement, and distribution of estates of decedents, whether the estates consist of real or personal property or both.
Source: Iowa Code 633.10 (2026), Jurisdiction
Fees
In Iowa, probate compensation is a statutory maximum.
Iowa Code section 633.197 allows personal representatives reasonable fees determined by the court, "but not in excess of" commissions on the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory: for the first one thousand dollars, six percent; for the overplus between one and five thousand dollars, four percent; for all sums over five thousand dollars, two percent. Those commissions are full compensation for all ordinary services. Gross assets do not include life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate. Section 633.198 allows the personal representative's attorney a reasonable fee determined by the court, but not in excess of that same schedule.
Source: Iowa Code 633.197 (2026), Compensation, schedule of fees
Small estate
Iowa's small-estate figure on this page is $50,000 when the statute's conditions are met.
Iowa Code section 633.356 allows a successor, by affidavit and without letters, to collect items of personal property when the gross value of the decedent's personal property that would otherwise be distributed by will or intestate succession is, or has been at any time since death, fifty thousand dollars or less and there is no real property, and forty days have elapsed since death. For deaths before January 1, 2025, the section also covers the case in which real property passes to persons exempt from inheritance tax as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship. The procedure may be used only if no administration is pending.
Source: Iowa Code 633.356 (2026), Distribution of property by affidavit, very small estates
Estate or inheritance tax
Iowa has no current estate tax on the page linked below.
Iowa Code section 450.98 states that effective January 1, 2025, chapter 450 shall not apply to property of estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2025, and the inheritance tax shall not be imposed if the decedent dies on or after that date. Iowa Administrative Code rule 701-900.1 states that for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2025, no state inheritance tax is imposed, and for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2005, no estate tax is imposed.
Source: Iowa Code 450.98 (2026), Tax repealed
Questions
The answers use the same statute and court pages as the sections above.
Does a living trust avoid probate in Iowa?
A revocable living trust holds the assets you title in the trustee's name. The successor trustee handles those assets. Property still titled in your own name can be a probate matter. A pour-over will can send leftover assets into the trust, and those leftover assets may still pass through probate first.
What is the small-estate procedure in Iowa?
Iowa Code section 633.356 allows a successor, by affidavit and without letters, to collect items of personal property when the gross value of the decedent's personal property that would otherwise be distributed by will or intestate succession is, or has been at any time since death, fifty thousand dollars or less and there is no real property, and forty days have elapsed since death. For deaths before January 1, 2025, the section also covers the case in which real property passes to persons exempt from inheritance tax as joint tenants with full rights of survivorship. The procedure may be used only if no administration is pending.
How are probate fees set in Iowa?
Iowa Code section 633.197 allows personal representatives reasonable fees determined by the court, "but not in excess of" commissions on the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory: for the first one thousand dollars, six percent; for the overplus between one and five thousand dollars, four percent; for all sums over five thousand dollars, two percent. Those commissions are full compensation for all ordinary services. Gross assets do not include life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate. Section 633.198 allows the personal representative's attorney a reasonable fee determined by the court, but not in excess of that same schedule.
Does Iowa tax an estate or an inheritance?
Iowa Code section 450.98 states that effective January 1, 2025, chapter 450 shall not apply to property of estates of decedents dying on or after January 1, 2025, and the inheritance tax shall not be imposed if the decedent dies on or after that date. Iowa Administrative Code rule 701-900.1 states that for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2025, no state inheritance tax is imposed, and for deaths occurring on or after January 1, 2005, no estate tax is imposed.
Sources
These are the statute and court pages used above.