SF 604 (LSB 1455SZ (2) 88)

SENATE FILE 604

BY  COMMITTEE ON WAYS AND MEANS

(SUCCESSOR TO SF 327)
(SUCCESSOR TO SSB 1013)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to the calculation of certain court costs in probate matters, and including effective date and applicability provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 633.31, Code 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   633.31  Calendar —— fees court costs in probate.
   1.  The clerk shall keep a court calendar, and enter thereon such matters as the court may prescribe.
   2.  The clerk shall charge and collect the following fees court costs in connection with probate matters, which shall be deposited in the account established under section 602.8108:
   a.  For services performed in short 

form probates pursuant to sections 

450.22 and 450.44$ 15.00
   b.  For services performed in probate of
will without administration $ 15.00
   c.  For filing and indexing a transcript$ 50.00
   d.  For taking and approving a bond, or 
the sureties on a bond $ 20.00
   e.  For entering a rule or order $ 10.00
   f.  For certificate and seal $ 10.00
   g.  For making a complete record where
real estate is sold  per 100 words $   .20
   h.  For making a transcript or copies of 
orders or records filed in
the clerk’s office  per 100 words $   .50
   i.  For certifying change of title $ 20.00
   j.  For issuing commission to
appraisers $  2.00
   k.  For other services performed in the settlement of the estate of any decedent, minor, person with mental illness, or other persons laboring under legal disability, except where actions are brought by the administrator, guardian, trustee, or person acting in a representative capacity or against that person, or as may be otherwise provided herein, where the value of the personal property and real estate of such a person falls within the following indicated amounts, the fee opposite such amount shall be charged.
   (1)  Up to $3,000.00  5.00
   (2)  3,000.00 to 5,000.00 10.00
   (3)  5,000.00 to 7,000.00 15.00
   (4)  7,000.00 to 10,000.00 20.00
   (5)  10,000.00 to 15,000.00 25.00
   (6)  15,000.00 to 25,000.00 30.00
   (7)  For each additional $25,000.00 or

 major fraction thereof 50.00
   l.  For services performed in small

 estate administration 15.00
   3.  a.  The fee set forth in subsection 2, paragraph “k”, shall not be charged on any property transferred to a testamentary trust from an estate that has been administered in this state and for which court costs have been assessed and paid.  For other services performed in a decedent’s estate administered under this chapter or chapter 635, the clerk shall charge and collect court costs equal to two-tenths of one percent of the value of the probate assets listed in the report and inventory. 
   b.  Court costs shall not be charged or collected under this subsection on assets which are not probate assets including but not limited to the following:
   (1)  Joint tenancy property.
   (2)  Property transferred during the decedent’s lifetime.
   (3)  Life insurance annuities, individual retirement accounts, retirement plans, transfer on death accounts, payable on death accounts, and similar assets payable to beneficiaries other than the estate of the decedent.
   (4)  Real estate not located in Iowa.
   c.  Court costs shall not be charged or collected on assets transferred to an estate from a conservatorship that has been administered in the state and for which court costs have been charged and collected from the conservatorship under subsection 4. 
   4.  For other services performed in a conservatorship, the clerk shall charge and collect court costs equal to two-tenths of one percent of the gross value of the assets listed in the inventory minus the value of the life insurance.
   5.  Court costs collected under this section shall be deposited in the account established under section 602.8108.
    Sec. 2.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.
    Sec. 3.  APPLICABILITY.  This Act applies to conservatorships, court-administered trusts, guardianships, and estates of decedents for which the petition is filed and other probate matters where filings are made and actions are taken on and after January 1, 2020.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to the court costs the clerk of probate court charges and collects in connection with probate matters. Under current law, Code section 633.31(2)(k) provides a sliding scale fee for services performed in connection with the settlement of an estate based upon the value of the estate. The bill provides that for services performed in a decedent’s estate administered under Code chapter 633 or Code chapter 635 that the clerk of court shall charge and collect court costs based on the probate assets listed in the report and inventory. The bill provides that the court costs charged on the value of those assets shall be .2 percent of the value of the probate assets. The bill provides that court costs shall not be charged or collected on assets that are not probate assets and identifies what is not a probate asset. The bill provides that court costs shall not be charged or collected on assets transferred to an estate from a conservatorship that has been administered in the state and for which court costs have been charged and collected in the conservatorship.
   The bill provides that the clerk shall charge and collect court costs for services performed in a conservatorship based on the gross value of the assets listed in the inventory minus the value of the life insurance. The bill provides that the court costs charged on the value of those assets shall be .2 percent of the value of the assets. 
   The bill takes effect January 1, 2020. The bill applies to conservatorships, court-administered trusts, guardianships, and estates of decedents for which the petition is filed and other probate matters where filings are made and actions are taken on and after January 1, 2020.