Iowa Household Paperwork Bundle: 3 Kits in One Download (IA Executor and Estate Kit, Iowa Small Claims Kit, Iowa POA Signing Kit)

Who it is for

Families in Iowa getting papers in order: signing a power of attorney or will, settling an estate, or taking a money dispute to small claims.

Not the right fit if

You only need one of these papers (buy that kit on its own), or nothing is in Iowa. Not a form preparation or legal service.

Why it is different

• 3 kits for 30% less than buying them one by one; each keeps its own folder in the download.
• The Iowa kits are built only from our Iowa data files: Sources, checked November 2026: Iowa Code 633.356, Distribution of property by affidavit (Iowa Legislature); Iowa Code 633.279, Signed and witnessed (Iowa Legislature, 2024); Iowa small claims data file, checked November 2026 against Iowa Judicial Branch: Instructions for Filing a Small Claims Action for Money Judgment; Iowa power of attorney data file, checked November 2026 against Iowa Code chapter 633B, Powers of Attorney (Iowa Legislature).
• Every kit in the set is written for Iowa.

What is inside

• Iowa Executor and Estate Kit. Personal property worth $50,000 or less, and no real property. For deaths before January 1, 2025, real property passing to exempt persons as joint tenants with survivorship didn't count against this. Real estate in the person's name alone takes the estate out of this procedure. 40 days. Forty days after the death. Handed to the bank or other holder. The successor gives the holder an affidavit under penalty of perjury. Only when an Iowa estate is open is an affidavit for a deceased distributee filed with the clerk. Two witnesses, who sign at the testator's request in the presence of the testator and each other. Allowed at signing or any later date, before a person authorized to administer oaths and take acknowledgments. A self-proved will can be admitted without witness testimony. The will stays valid, but unless two disinterested witnesses also signed, an interested witness loses whatever the will gives beyond what that witness would get with no will. notary or oath, official form, simplified court procedure: check Iowa Code 633.356, Distribution of property by affidavit (Iowa Legislature); if the will is handwritten: check Iowa Code 633.279, Signed and witnessed (Iowa Legislature, 2024).
• Iowa Small Claims Court Kit. In Iowa, small claims (Small claims, Iowa District Court) cover claims up to $6,500. From the official page: The total claim can't be more than $6,500, not counting interest and court costs. Where and how to file, from the official pages: File electronically, naming the county at the top of the Original Notice (the instructions say the county where you are located; check venue with the clerk). Fees: electronic filing fee: $115; service by certified mail, per party: $20. From the Iowa Judicial Branch money-judgment instructions. Sheriff service fees vary by county. Service: The sheriff in the defendant's county, certified restricted mail, or the Secretary of State for some nonresidents. The defendant generally has 20 days to file an Appearance and Answer. Lawyers are allowed. Appeal: File a Notice of Appeal (Form 3.26) with the fee; the instructions don't give the deadline, so check with the clerk. How to use the kit, the 7 confirmed Iowa facts at a glance, what we couldn't confirm (who can file, online filing) with the page to check, and a yes/no checklist: is the amount under $6,500, is it the right court, is there someone to serve and something to collect from.
• Iowa Power of Attorney Signing Kit. Get your Iowa power of attorney signed the way the state's own law describes. Must be acknowledged before a notary or other official; an agent named in it can't notarize the principal's signature. Step by step in signing order: statutory form: Start from the official form: Statutory power of attorney (Iowa Code 633B.301); notary: Sign in front of a notary, who completes an acknowledgment; witnesses: The execution section doesn't mention witnesses; agent's acknowledgment: No signed acceptance is required before acting; recording for real estate: Chapter 633B lets an agent record instruments but doesn't require the power of attorney to be recorded; durable after incapacity: Durable unless the document says incapacity ends it. Notary: "must be acknowledged before a notary public or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments." Witnesses: "must be signed by the principal or in the principal's conscious presence by another individual." Agent's acknowledgment: "as an agent under a power of attorney by exercising authority or performing duties as an agent." Durable after incapacity: "is durable unless the power of attorney expressly provides that it is terminated by the incapacity of the principal." Recording: Chapter 633B lets an agent record instruments but doesn't require the power of attorney to be recorded. Agent: An agent accepts by acting or other conduct showing acceptance. Plus a copies log.