Deed Transferring Real Property into Living Trust - Iowa
Warranty Deed to Living Trust — Iowa
Before recording: Confirm the trust and trustee, title, any loan restrictions, and whether this is a married owner's homestead. Reserve the first page's top three inches for the recorder and use the first-page information and format required by Iowa Code § 331.606B. Complete the groundwater choice below from actual property facts; a no-hazard declaration cannot be assumed.
Prepared by: [NAME, ADDRESS, AND TELEPHONE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL PREPARER]
Return to: [NAME AND COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS]
Taxpayer for property-tax statements: [NAME AND COMPLETE MAILING ADDRESS]
Grantor: [FULL LEGAL NAME, MARITAL STATUS, AND MAILING ADDRESS]
Grantee: [FULL LEGAL NAME OF CURRENT TRUSTEE], Trustee of the [EXACT TRUST NAME] dated [__/__/____], mailing address [ADDRESS]
County: [COUNTY], Iowa
Parcel identification number: [NUMBER, IF REQUIRED]
Legal description: [INSERT COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION HERE OR REFER TO ATTACHED EXHIBIT A]
Groundwater statement — retain only if true and no condition listed in Iowa Code § 558.69(1) is known to be present: “There is no known private burial site, well, solid waste disposal site, underground storage tank, hazardous waste, or private sewage disposal system on the property as described in Iowa Code section 558.69, and therefore the transaction is exempt from the requirement to submit a groundwater hazard statement.” [IF ANY LISTED CONDITION IS KNOWN TO BE PRESENT, REMOVE THIS SENTENCE AND COMPLETE THE REQUIRED GROUNDWATER HAZARD STATEMENT WHEN APPLICABLE.]
For no consideration, [GRANTOR NAME] hereby conveys to [TRUSTEE NAME], as Trustee of the [TRUST NAME] dated [__/__/____], the real estate in [COUNTY] County, Iowa, described below, together with its appurtenances:
[COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION OR “THE REAL ESTATE DESCRIBED IN EXHIBIT A ATTACHED TO AND MADE PART OF THIS DEED”]
And Grantor warrants the title against all persons whomsoever, subject to these expressly stated exceptions, if any: [LIST SPECIFIC TITLE EXCEPTIONS OR “NONE”].
Transfer tax and declaration: The parties state that this conveyance is for no consideration and that no debt or lien is assumed by the Grantee under this deed. If those facts are true, Iowa Code § 428A.1(1) imposes no transfer tax. [ATTACH A SIGNED DECLARATION OF VALUE IF REQUIRED UNDER § 428A.1(2), AS AMENDED BY HF 2749. IF CLAIMING A SEPARATE § 428A.2 EXEMPTION, IDENTIFY ITS SUBSECTION AND PROVIDE THE SIGNED STATEMENT REQUIRED BY § 428A.4.]
Executed on [__/__/____].
Grantor signature: _______________________________
Printed name: [GRANTOR NAME]
Spouse's signature, if required for a married owner's homestead under Iowa Code § 561.13: _______________________________
Printed name: [SPOUSE NAME]
Acknowledgment
State of [STATE]
County of [COUNTY]
This record was acknowledged before me on [__/__/____] by [NAME(S) OF SIGNER(S)].
Signature of notarial officer: _______________________________
Title of office: [TITLE]
Commission expires: [DATE, IF APPLICABLE]
Official stamp: [STAMP, IF REQUIRED]
Exhibit A — Legal Description
[COMPLETE LEGAL DESCRIPTION, IF REFERENCED ABOVE]
Sources and References
About this template
- Last updated
- October 4, 2026
- Citations checked
- October 4, 2026
- Jurisdiction
- Iowa
- Category
- Estate Planning & Wills
Legal authority
- Iowa Code § 558.19(3) (2026); §§ 558.20, 558.41(1), 558.42, 558.69(1), (8)–(9)
- Iowa Code § 428A.1(1)–(2) (2026); §§ 428A.2, 428A.4–.5; HF 2749 (2026), § 1
- Iowa Code § 561.13(1)–(3) (2026); § 633A.2101
- Iowa Code § 331.606B(1)–(3) (2026); §§ 9B.15–.16
Estate planning documents decide what happens to your property, your children, and your medical care when you cannot make those decisions yourself. Wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and health care directives each serve different purposes and each have to meet state law requirements for signing, witnessing, and notarization. A document that looks fine on the page but was not executed correctly can be rejected in probate, which is exactly when it is too late to fix.
Not legal advice
This template is provided for informational purposes. We recommend having an attorney review any legal document before signing, especially for high-value or complex matters.
Checked against the law it cites
A reviewer verified this template's legal citations against the official source on October 4, 2026.
Iowa Code § 558.19(3) (checked October 4, 2026): "For a deed in fee with warranty. The same as the last preceding form, adding the words: And I warrant the title against all persons whomsoever (or other words of warranty, as the party may desire)."
Iowa Code §§ 558.20, 558.42 (checked October 4, 2026): "The acknowledgment of any deed, conveyance, or other instrument in writing by which real estate in this state is conveyed or encumbered, whether made within this state, outside this state, outside the United States, or under federal authority, shall comply with the provisions of chapter 9B."
Iowa Code § 558.42 (checked October 4, 2026): "A document shall not be deemed lawfully recorded, unless it has been previously acknowledged or proved in the manner prescribed in chapter 9B, except that affidavits, and certified copies of petitions in bankruptcy with or without the schedules appended, of decrees of adjudication in bankruptcy, and of orders approving trustees’ bonds in bankruptcy, and uniform commercial code financing statements and financing statement changes as provided in chapter 554 need not be thus acknowledged."
Iowa Code § 558.41(1) (checked October 4, 2026): "An instrument affecting real estate is of no validity against subsequent purchasers for a valuable consideration, without notice, or against the state or any of its political subdivisions during and after condemnation proceedings against the real estate, unless the instrument is filed and recorded in the county in which the real estate is located, as provided in this chapter."
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