Iowa route screening

Iowa small-estate limit: $200,000

Iowa Code 635.1 permits small-estate administration when the gross value of the probate assets of a decedent subject to Iowa jurisdiction does not exceed two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000).

Sources reviewed August 9, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch October 3, 2026.

1. Where and when

StateIowaFixed to this page. Open the navigator to compare another state.Date of deathRequired. Without it no waiting period can be tested and the route stays undecided.

2. What they left

Asset 1

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real property

Asset 2

DescriptionValue$Not entered. A blank amount is not counted as zero.Enforceable liens or mortgage$Not entered. Enter 0 if there is no lien.OwnershipThis is real propertyWill it be sold during administration?Some court charges are assessed on sale proceeds and exclude real property that is kept, so this changes the amount.

Ownership determines whether an asset usually enters probate. Choose “Not sure” when title or beneficiary status has not been confirmed.

gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory$Apply the 6/4/2% schedule to the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory, excluding life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate (Iowa Code 633.197(2)). Leaving it blank keeps the compensation undecided rather than assuming a number.

Private by design: entries stay in this browser.

Your working estimate

Iowa estate snapshot

Route check

More information is needed

Counted probate estate: not yet counted

A valid date of death is required before any waiting period can be tested.

Gross probate propertyNot yet counted

Court chargeMore information neededCourt costs in a decedent's estate (ch. 633 or ch. 635)2 asset entries have no value entered. A blank amount is not treated as zero, so the charge cannot be computed.Court charges only, for the proceeding named beside each figure. That proceeding is not always the route screened above.

Scheduled executor compensation$0Iowa Code 633.197 sets a real statutory maximum-commission schedule on the gross assets of the estate listed in the probate inventory: 6% of the first $1,000, 4% of the overplus between $1,000 and $5,000, and 2% of all sums over $5,000, received as full compensation for all ordinary services. The court may allow only reasonable fees not in excess of these commissions. Gross assets for this section exclude life insurance proceeds unless payable to the decedent's estate. Extraordinary services may be separately allowed by the court.

This route check is general information, not legal advice. It does not test every eligibility condition, creditor issue, will provision, local fee, or asset-title fact.

The clerk issues letters of appointment to the proposed personal representative; chapter 633 applies except as chapter 635 provides. Section 635.7 measures the cap on the gross value of probate assets and auto-converts the estate to full chapter 633 administration if that value exceeds the 635.1 cap. The count is gross probate assets (real and personal), not net of debts.

Threshold evidence and currency

What the reviewed source establishes

Currency: No later session-law supersession is recorded in the reviewed source set for this threshold. The edition/currentness label below is the basis for the published figure.

Controlling citation: Iowa Code 635.1 (2026) — Iowa Code 2026, Section 635.1.

Verbatim threshold text from that source:

When the gross value of the probate assets of a decedent subject to the jurisdiction of this state does not exceed two hundred thousand dollars

The Iowa route also has a separate petition and court-form handoff. Read what to open and prepare before filing.

How the Iowa screen is measured

Procedure	Administration of small estates (Iowa Code ch. 635)
What counts	The probate estate within the statute’s scope, so solely owned real property can count
Value basis	Gross value; liens are not subtracted
Waiting period	Not verified, so no number is published

Chapter 635 imposes no fixed post-death waiting period before the clerk issues letters; eligibility turns on the gross-value cap, not on elapsed days. Section 635.1 states no waiting period.

The Iowa caveats that can change this answer are listed once, on the Iowa overview.

The official Iowa path

Iowa Judicial Branch - Court Forms — Iowa Judicial Branch
Iowa Judicial Branch - Representing Yourself — Iowa Judicial Branch

What a small-estate screen can and cannot decide, and which assets never enter it, is explained once in small-estate affidavit or probate and what counts as a probate asset.

Controlling source

Statute

Iowa Code 635.1 (2026)

Reviewed source note: When the gross value of the probate assets of a decedent subject to the jurisdiction of this state does not exceed two hundred thousand dollars

What this means: Threshold last set by 2018 Acts, ch 1140; the harvested PDF is the Iowa Code 2026 edition.

Iowa Legislature (Legislative Services Agency) · Edition/currentness: Iowa Code 2026, Section 635.1 · Verified October 3, 2026

Iowa record: 6/6 verified, 25 matched checks, latest source re-fetch October 3, 2026. Source record · method · report a correction