HF 2130 (LSB 5188HV (1) 87)

HOUSE FILE 2130

BY  COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 506)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to probate, by amending the probate powers of the clerk and conforming the probate procedures to electronic data management systems standards.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 633.22, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.22  Probate powers of clerk.
   The clerk shall have and may exercise within the county all the powers and jurisdiction of the court and of the judge thereof, in the following matters:
   1.  The appointment of personal representatives who are residents of the state, guardians and conservators for minors, the fixing and determining of the amount of the bond, or waiving the same when permitted by law or by will, and the approval of any and all bonds given by fiduciaries in the discharge of their duties.
   2.  1.  The examination and approval of all intermediate and interlocutory accounts and reports of fiduciaries under this chapter and converting and closing small estates under chapter 635.
   3.  The admission of wills of decedents to probate, when not contested, and the making of necessary orders in relation thereto, including orders for the issuance of commissions to take depositions. Proof may be made before the clerk in the same manner as is made in open court.
   4.  The making of all necessary orders in relation to the personal effects of a deceased person, where no objection is filed, and perform all other acts within the clerk’s jurisdiction, as provided in this probate code.
   5.  The approval, when notice has been waived by all persons interested, of petitions and reports, or joint petitions and reports, in respect to the sale, mortgage, pledge, lease or exchange of property pursuant to sections 633.386 to 633.400.
   6.  2.  The entering of routine scheduling orders in probate matters as established by the chief judge in each judicial district.
    Sec. 2.  Section 633.27, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.27  Probate docket.
   The clerk shall keep a book an electronic record to be known as the “Probate Docket”, which shall show:
   1.  The name of every deceased person whose estate is administered or whose will is admitted to probate, and the date of the person’s death.
   2.  The name of each person as to whom application for conservatorship or guardianship is made.
   3.  The names of all the heirs in intestate estates and the surviving spouse of such deceased intestate, and their ages whether each person is an adult or a minor and places each person’s place of residence, so far as they can be ascertained.
   4.  The title of each trust described in section 633.10 that has not been released by the court from continuous court supervision.
   5.  A note of every sale of real estate made under the order of the court, with a reference to the volume and page of the record where a complete record thereof may be found.
    Sec. 3.  Section 633.42, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.42  Requests for notice.
   1.  At any time after the issuance of letters of appointment, any interested person in the proceeding may file with the clerk a written request for notice of the time and place of all hearings in such proceeding for which notice is required by law, by rule of court, or by an order in such proceeding. The request for notice shall state the name, electronic mail address, telephone number, and post office address of the requester and of the requester’s attorney, if any, and the reason the requester is an interested person in the proceeding. The clerk shall docket the request. Thereafter, unless otherwise ordered by the court, the fiduciary shall serve by ordinary or electronic mail a notice of each hearing upon such requester and the requester’s attorney, if any.
   2.  A person does not gain standing by filing a request for notice under this section.
    Sec. 4.  Section 633.82, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.82  Designation of attorney.
   The designation of the attorney employed by the fiduciary to assist in the administration of the estate shall be filed in the estate proceedings. The designation shall state the attorney’s name, post office address, electronic mail address, and telephone number. The designation shall clearly state the name of the attorney who is in charge of the case and the attorney’s name shall not be listed by firm name only.
    Sec. 5.  Section 633.306, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.306  Record in foreign county.
   Whenever it shall appear that the testator died seized of real estate located in a county of this state other than that in which probate is granted, a complete transcript, properly authenticated, of the record entry of the order of court admitting the will to probate, and, if a copy of such will is not contained therein, a certified copy of such will shall be attached thereto, and the same shall be filed by the clerk in the office of the clerk of the district court in such other county, who shall cause the same to be entered in the probate docket, and said transcript shall be recorded in full in the book electronic record kept for the recording of wills in such county. When so recorded, such record may be read in evidence in all courts without further proof.
    Sec. 6.  Section 633.418, Code 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   633.418  Form and verification of claims —— general requirements.
   No claim shall be allowed against an estate on application of the claimant unless it shall be in writing, filed in duplicate with the clerk, stating the claimant’s name, and address, telephone number, and electronic mail address, describing the nature and the amount thereof, if ascertainable, and accompanied by the affidavit of the claimant, or someone for the claimant, that the amount is justly due, or if not yet due, when it will or may become due, that no payments have been made thereon which are not credited, and that there are no offsets to the same, to the knowledge of the affiant, except as therein stated. If the claim is contingent, the nature of the contingency shall also be stated. The duplicate of said claim shall be mailed by the clerk to the personal representative or the personal representative’s attorney of record.
    Sec. 7.  REPEAL.  Section 633.72, Code 2018, is repealed.
    Sec. 8.  APPLICABILITY.  The following apply July 1, 2018, to actions of the clerk of the probate court completed on or after that date:
   1.  The section of this Act amending section 633.22.
   2.  The section of this Act amending section 633.27.
   3.  The section of this Act amending section 633.306.
    Sec. 9.  APPLICABILITY.  The following applies July 1, 2018, to notices served on or after that date:
   The section of this Act repealing section 633.72.
    Sec. 10.  APPLICABILITY.  The following apply July 1, 2018, to probate filings made on or after that date:
   1.  The section of this Act amending section 633.42.
   2.  The section of this Act amending section 633.82.
   3.  The section of this Act amending section 633.418.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill amends Code chapter 633 to conform probate procedures to the standards of the electronic data management system as established by the judicial branch and amends the probate powers of the clerk. The bill amends Code section 633.22, probate powers of clerk, to eliminate the following duties of the clerk. It eliminates the duty to appoint personal representatives, guardians and conservators for minors, fix and determine the amount of the bond, or waive the same when permitted by law or by will, and the approval of any and all bonds given by fiduciaries in the discharge of their duties. The bill eliminates the duty to admit wills of decedents to probate, when not contested, and to make necessary orders in relation thereto, including orders to issue commissions to take depositions. It eliminates the duty to make all necessary orders in relation to the personal effects of a deceased person, where no objection is filed, and perform all other acts within the clerk’s jurisdiction, as provided in the probate code. The bill eliminates the duty to approve, when notice has been waived by all persons interested, of petitions and reports, or joint petitions and reports, in respect to the sale, mortgage, pledge, lease, or exchange of property pursuant to Code sections 633.386 to 633.400. 
   Under Code section 633.22, the clerk retains the power to examine and approve all intermediate and interlocutory accounts and reports of fiduciaries. However, the bill provides that such power is exercisable under Code chapter 633 and that the clerk may convert and close small estates under Code chapter 635. The clerk continues to have the ability to enter routine scheduling orders in probate matters as established by the chief judge of the judicial district.
   The bill amends Code section 633.27 to provide that the clerk no longer keeps the probate docket as a book, but rather as an electronic record. The probate docket must, among other things, name all heirs in intestate estates and the surviving spouse of each deceased intestate, and show whether each person is an adult or a minor, and each person’s residence. Currently, the probate docket must include such persons’ precise ages, not categorically whether such persons are adults or minors. The probate docket will no longer be required to indicate the volume and page of a real estate record in light of the nature of electronic records. 
   The bill amends Code section 633.42 to require that the requests for notice include a telephone number.
   The bill amends Code section 633.82 to require that the designation of an attorney includes the attorney’s electronic mail address.
   The bill amends Code section 633.306 to provide that the probate docket is no longer a book, but rather an electronic record.
   The bill amends the form and verification requirements of claims in Code section 633.418. It eliminates the requirement to file forms in duplicate and the instruction to clerks on what to do with the duplicate claim form. It adds the requirement that the claimant provide a telephone number and electronic mail address.
   The bill repeals Code section 633.72, which dictates the manner of service for original notices to nonresident fiduciaries.
   Finally, the bill makes its various sections applicable July 1, 2018, to the following: the actions of the clerk of the probate court under Code sections 633.22, 633.27, and 633.306; notices served under Code section 633.72 which is repealed; and probate filings under Code sections 633.42, 633.82, and 633.418.