633.78 Fiduciary written request and third-party protection. 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 aconservatorship for which the fiduciary has been appointed, or property to which a decedentor protected person is entitled, including information about property owned by a decedentor protected person that has passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint tenancyownership, 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duties.The request must contain statements confirming all of the following: a. The fiduciary’s authority has not been revoked, modified, or amended in any manner which would cause the representations in the request to be incorrect.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. The request has been dated and affirmed under penalty of perjury to be true and correct or has been sworn and subscribed to under penalty of perjury before a notary public asprovided in chapter 9B. d. he request has been dated and affirmed under penalty of perjury to be true and correct or has been sworn and subscribed to under penalty of perjury before a notary public asprovided in chapter 9B. d. A photocopy of the fiduciary’s letters of appointment is being provided with the request.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 whohas no knowledge that the representations contained in the request are incorrect, shall not beliable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the factscontained in the request. The period of time to verify the fiduciary’s authority shall not exceedten business days from the date the person received the request. Any right or title acquiredfrom the fiduciary in consideration of the provision of property or information under thissection is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the fiduciary. quest. Any right or title acquiredfrom the fiduciary in consideration of the provision of property or information under thissection is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the fiduciary. A transaction, anda lien created by a transaction, entered into by the fiduciary and a person acting in relianceupon a request under this section is enforceable against the assets for which the fiduciary hasresponsibility. 4. If a person refuses to provide the requested property or information within ten business days after receiving a request under this section, the fiduciary may bring an action to recoverthe property or information or compel its delivery against the person to whom the fiduciarypresented the written request. An action brought under this section must be brought withinone year after the date of the act or failure to act. If the court finds that the person actedunreasonably in failing to deliver the property or information as requested in the writtenrequest, 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. ion as requested in the writtenrequest, 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 thefiduciary. 5. This section does not limit or change the right of beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors to estate property to which they are otherwise entitled. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.78]2015 Acts, ch 125, §3, 7; 2023 Acts, ch 124, §1, 2, 92023 amendments to subsection 1 and subsection 4, paragraph a apply to estates, trusts, and conservatorships in existence on or after July 1, 2023, that were opened or created before, on, or after July 1, 2023; 2023 Acts, ch 124, §9 Subsection 1 amendedSubsection 4, paragraph a amended Sat Dec 23 11:23:20 2023 Iowa Code 2024, Section 633.78 (42, 3)
Iowa Legal Code