House Study Bill 96 - Introduced HOUSE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY BILL BY CHAIRPERSON ANDERSON) A BILL FOR An Act relating to the conveyance or encumbrance of a homestead 1 by a spouse. 2 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 3 TLSB 1667HC (5) 84 rh/sc

H.F. _____ Section 1. Section 561.13, Code 2011, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 561.13 Conveyance or encumbrance. 3 1. A conveyance or encumbrance of , or a contract to convey 4 or encumber the homestead, if the owner is married, is not 5 valid, unless and until the spouse of the owner executes may 6 be invalidated by a spouse who has not executed the same or a 7 like instrument, or a power of attorney for the execution of 8 the same or a like instrument. However, when the homestead is 9 conveyed or encumbered along with or in addition to other real 10 estate, it is not necessary to particularly describe or set 11 aside the tract of land constituting the homestead, whether the 12 homestead is exclusively the subject of the contract or not, 13 but the contract may be enforced as to real estate other than 14 the homestead at the option of the purchaser or encumbrancer. 15 2. If a spouse who holds only homestead rights and surviving 16 spouse’s statutory share in the homestead specifically 17 relinquishes homestead rights in an instrument, including 18 a power of attorney constituting the other spouse as the 19 husband’s or wife’s attorney in fact, as provided in section 20 597.5 , it is not necessary for the spouse to join in the 21 granting clause of the same or a like instrument. 22 3. A conveyance or encumbrance or a contract to convey or 23 encumber the homestead is not invalid under subsection 1 if any 24 of the following apply: 25 a. The nonsigning spouse’s interest is terminated by divorce 26 or other order of the court. 27 b. The nonsigning spouse voluntarily abandons the homestead 28 for a minimum of six consecutive months. 29 c. Section 614.15 or 654.12B applies. 30 d. Voiding the conveyance or encumbrance or the contract 31 to convey or encumber the homestead would unjustly enrich the 32 nonsigning spouse or any party to the transaction or the series 33 of transactions associated with it. 34 4. For the purposes of this section, “nonsigning spouse” 35 -1- LSB 1667HC (5) 84 rh/sc 1/ 3

H.F. _____ means a spouse who has not executed a conveyance or encumbrance 1 or a contract to convey or encumber the homestead, the same or 2 a like instrument, or a power of attorney for the execution of 3 the same or a like instrument. 4 5. For the purposes of this section, a document that 5 provides all of the following meets the requirement of a “same 6 or a like instrument” : 7 a. Includes information sufficiently identifying the 8 original conveyance, encumbrance, or contract. 9 b. Releases the homestead rights and surviving spouse’s 10 statutory share in the homestead. 11 EXPLANATION 12 This bill provides that the conveyance or encumbrance of a 13 homestead by a married person who is the owner of the homestead 14 is not automatically invalid if the person’s spouse has not 15 joined in the conveyance or encumbrance. Such a spouse must 16 take action to invalidate the conveyance or encumbrance. 17 The bill further provides that a conveyance or encumbrance 18 or a contract to convey or encumber the homestead is not 19 invalid under subsection 1 if the nonsigning spouse’s interest 20 is terminated by divorce or other order of the court, the 21 nonsigning spouse voluntarily abandons the homestead for 22 a minimum of six consecutive months, Code sections 614.15 23 (relating to the general statute of limitations for the failure 24 of a spouse to convey or transfer an interest in real estate) 25 and 654.12B (relating to the priority status of a purchase 26 money mortgage lien over all other mortgages) applies, or if 27 voiding the conveyance or encumbrance would unjustly enrich the 28 nonsigning spouse or any party to the transaction. 29 The bill defines a “nonsigning spouse” as a spouse who 30 has not executed a conveyance or encumbrance or the contract 31 to convey or encumber the homestead, the same or a like 32 instrument, or a power of attorney for a same or a like 33 instrument. A “same or a like instrument” document must 34 include information sufficiently identifying the original 35 -2- LSB 1667HC (5) 84 rh/sc 2/ 3

H.F. _____ conveyance, encumbrance, or contract and must release the 1 homestead rights and the surviving spouse’s statutory share in 2 the homestead. 3 -3- LSB 1667HC (5) 84 rh/sc 3/ 3