Court Safekeeping of Original Wills in Iowa
At a glance
| Statutory safekeeping route | Affirmative lifetime clerk safekeeping file; also accepts certain postdeath wills without probate petitions (§ 633.286). |
|---|---|
| Who may deposit | Living testator or person acting on the testator's behalf; after death, a custodian under § 633.285 (§ 633.286). |
| Proper court or clerk | Clerk maintains the will safekeeping file; postdeath custodian delivers to court with estate jurisdiction (§§ 633.285-.286). |
| Envelope and filing record | Sealed wrapper; clerk endorses testator, depositor, deposit date and any supplied death-notice contact (§ 633.287). |
| Fee and receipt | Sections 633.286-.289 state the filing and custody steps without specifying a deposit fee or receipt. |
| Custody before death | Clerk holds sealed will until statutory lifetime or postdeath disposition (§ 633.287); limited conservator exception (§§ 633.643-.645). |
| Retrieval before death | Only testator or person authorized by testator's duly acknowledged written order (§ 633.288). |
| Notice after death | Clerk notifies any wrapper-endorsed contact; after opening, named executor and court-designated others (§ 633.289). |
| Opening and release after death | If no probate petition within 30 days after death, public opening and court disposition order; transfer to proper-venue court on request after copying (§ 633.289). |
Requirements one by one
Deposit and wrapper
Iowa Code § 633.286 directs the clerk to keep a safekeeping file for wills deposited by living testators or persons acting for them. It also accepts a deceased testator's will from a custodian when no probate petition accompanies it. Under § 633.287, “Every such will shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper.” The clerk endorses the testator's and depositor's names and the deposit date; a death-notice contact is added if supplied.
Custody and lifetime retrieval
Iowa Code § 633.288 limits lifetime delivery to the testator or a person authorized by a written order that the testator has duly acknowledged. A conservator who receives a protected person's purported will must instead deliver it immediately to the court under § 633.643. For a living protected person, the court may open and read it under § 633.644; afterward the court reseals and deposits it with the clerk under § 633.645.
Death notice and disposition
Once informed of the death, the clerk notifies any contact endorsed on the wrapper (§ 633.289). If no probate petition is filed within 30 days after death, the will is publicly opened and the court orders its disposition. The clerk then notifies the named executor and others the court designates. When another court is the proper venue, the clerk must make and retain a true copy before sending the original there on request.
What trips people up
The 30-day period in § 633.289 runs from death, and the statutory public-opening step applies only when no probate petition has been filed in that period. A person already holding a deceased testator's will has a separate § 633.285 duty to deliver it to the court having jurisdiction of the estate after learning of the death.
Common questions
Can someone else collect the will while the testator lives? Yes, but § 633.288 requires a written order from the testator that is duly acknowledged.
What if a conservator discovers a protected person's will? Section 633.643 requires immediate delivery to the court; §§ 633.644-.645 provide the court's handling and clerk deposit steps.
Statutes and sources
- Iowa Code §§ 633.285-.289 and .643-.645: current official text, quoted with source URLs and access dates above.
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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