Mom died no will Iowa

[ericladewig]

Mom passed, step father first said there was a will, now says no will. At first he said my brother and I get all that was hers and we could get all of her belongings that she had before they got married. That was all we wanted. Now he does not want anybody from our family, includuing my Mom's mother, my brother and myself on his property. We have nothing. My question is are my brother and I entitled to anything more than just family heirlooms? I just do not fully understand section 633.212 of the Iowa code.

 

[dee_dub]

First off, you need to ascertain whether there is a will or not. What is this thing they step-dad originally thought was a will, and what happened to it?

If there is no will, Iowa's intestacy laws govern the distribution of your mom's estate. I assume that 633.212 is the applicable provision here (surviving spouse, and you and your siblings are not children of that spouse). What he gets is:
- 1/2 of all real property (land)
- all personal property (stuff and money) your mom held as "head of the household, exempt from execution" (this is kind of wierd - I suspect it refers to some minimal personal property exemption)
- 1/2 of all other personal property
- if all that amounts to less than $50,000, he gets whatever else is in the estate up to $50,000. If the whole estate is worth less than $50,000, he gets the whole thing.

Basically, he gets 1/2 of everything, unless everything is less than $50,000, in which case he gets it all. Plus he gets whatever personal property she held as "head of household" - I suspect that will be pretty minimal.

If you think the estate is worth more than $50,000, see an estates lawyer.