§ 633.78 — Fiduciary written request and third-party protection

Iowa § 633.78

• Jurisdiction: Iowa
• Title XV: JUDICIAL BRANCH AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURES
• Ch. 633: PROBATE CODE

Text

1. A fiduciary under this chapter may present a written request to any person for
the purpose of obtaining property owned by a decedent or by a protected person of a
conservatorship for which the fiduciary has been appointed, or property to which a decedent
or protected person is entitled, including information about property owned by a decedent
or protected person that has passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy
ownership, or for information about such property needed to perform the fiduciary’s duties.
The request must contain statements confirming all of the following:
a. The fiduciary’s authority has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner
which would cause the representations in the request to be incorrect.
b. The request has been signed by all fiduciaries acting on behalf of the decedent or
protected person.
c. Therequesthasbeendatedandaffirmedunderpenaltyofperjurytobetrueandcorrect
or has been sworn and subscribed to under penalty of perjury before a notary public as
provided in chapter 9B.
d. Aphotocopyofthefiduciary’slettersofappointmentisbeingprovidedwiththerequest.
2. A person to whom a request is presented under this section may require that the
fiduciary presenting the request provide proof of the fiduciary’s identity.
3. A person who in good faith provides the property or information a fiduciary requests
under this section, after taking reasonable steps to verify the identity of the fiduciary and who
has no knowledge that the representations contained in the request are incorrect, shall not be
liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts
containedintherequest. Theperiodoftimetoverifythefiduciary’sauthorityshallnotexceed
ten business days from the date the person received the request. Any right or title acquired
from the fiduciary in consideration of the provision of property or information under this
section is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the fiduciary. A transaction, and
a lien created by a transaction, entered into by the fiduciary and a person acting in reliance
upon a request under this section is enforceable against the assets for which the fiduciary has
responsibility.
4. Ifapersonrefusestoprovidetherequestedpropertyorinformationwithintenbusiness
days after receiving a request under this section, the fiduciary may bring an action to recover
the property or information or compel its delivery against the person to whom the fiduciary
presented the written request. An action brought under this section must be brought within
one year after the date of the act or failure to act. If the court finds that the person acted
unreasonably in failing to deliver the property or information as requested in the written
request, the court may award any or all of the following to the fiduciary:
a. Damages sustained by the decedent’s or protected person’s estate.
b. Costs of the action.
c. A penalty in an amount determined by the court, but not less than five hundred dollars
or more than ten thousand dollars.
d. Reasonable attorney fees, as determined by the court, based on the value of the time

reasonably expended by the attorney and not by the amount of the recovery on behalf of the
fiduciary.
5. This section does not limit or change the right of beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors to
estate property to which they are otherwise entitled.

Legislative History

[C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.78]