1.

 General principles.

 Upon every judgment of annulment, dissolution, or separate maintenance, the court shall divide the property of the parties and transfer the title of the property accordingly, including ordering the parties to execute a quitclaim deed or ordering a change of title for tax purposes and delivery of the deed or change of title to the county recorder of the county in which each parcel of real estate is located.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 598.21

  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • custody: means an award of the rights of legal custody of a minor child to a parent under which a parent has legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward the child. See Iowa Code 598.1
  • deed: is a pplied to an instrument conveying lands, but does not imply a sealed instrument; and the words "bond" and "indenture" do not necessarily imply a seal, and the word "undertaking" means a promise or security in any form. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • joint legal custody: means an award of legal custody of a minor child to both parents jointly under which both parents have legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward the child and under which neither parent has legal custodial rights superior to those of the other parent. See Iowa Code 598.1
  • Physical care: means the right and responsibility to maintain a home for the minor child and provide for the routine care of the child. See Iowa Code 598.1
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. See Iowa Code 651.1
  • Recording: when applied to the official public records of a probate or other court, includes filing. See Iowa Code 614.29
  • Relative: means an ascendant, descendant, or collateral or an individual otherwise related to another individual by blood, marriage, adoption, or other law of this state. See Iowa Code 651.1
  • support payments: means an amount which the court may require either of the parties to pay under a temporary order or a final judgment or decree, and may include alimony, child support, maintenance, and any other term used to describe these obligations. See Iowa Code 598.1
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
  • Trustor: The person who makes or creates a trust. Also known as the grantor or settlor.
 2.

 Duties of county recorder.

 The county recorder shall record each quitclaim deed or change of title and shall collect the fee specified in section 331.507, subsection 2, paragraph “a”, and the fees specified in section 331.604.

 3.

 Duties of clerk of court.

 If the court orders a transfer of title to real property, the clerk of court shall issue a certificate under chapter 558 relative to each parcel of real estate affected by the order and immediately deliver the certificate for recording to the county recorder of the county in which the real estate is located. Any fees assessed shall be included as part of the court costs. The county recorder shall deliver the certificates to the county auditor as provided in section 558.58, subsection 1.

 4.

 Property for children.

 The court may protect and promote the best interests of children of the parties by setting aside a portion of the property of the parties in a separate fund or conservatorship for the support, maintenance, education, and general welfare of the minor children.

 5.

 Division of property.

 The court shall divide all property, except inherited property or gifts received or expected by one party, equitably between the parties after considering all of the following:

 a. The length of the marriage.
 b. The property brought to the marriage by each party.
 c. The contribution of each party to the marriage, giving appropriate economic value to each party’s contribution in homemaking and child care services.
 d. The age and physical and emotional health of the parties.
 e. The contribution by one party to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other.
 f. The earning capacity of each party, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children, and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage.
 g. The desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live in the family home for a reasonable period to the party having custody of the children, or if the parties have joint legal custody, to the party having physical care of the children.
 h. The amount and duration of an order granting support payments to either party pursuant to section 598.21A and whether the property division should be in lieu of such payments.
 i. Other economic circumstances of each party, including pension benefits, vested or unvested. Future interests may be considered, but expectancies or interests arising from inherited or gifted property created under a will or other instrument under which the trustee, trustor, trust protector, or owner has the power to remove the party in question as a beneficiary, shall not be considered.
 j. The tax consequences to each party.
 k. Any written agreement made by the parties concerning property distribution.
 l. The provisions of an antenuptial agreement.
 m. Other factors the court may determine to be relevant in an individual case.
 6.

 Inherited and gifted property.

 Property inherited by either party or gifts received by either party prior to or during the course of the marriage is the property of that party and is not subject to a property division under this section except upon a finding that refusal to divide the property is inequitable to the other party or to the children of the marriage.

 7.

 Not subject to modification.

 Property divisions made under this chapter are not subject to modification.

 8.

 Necessary content of order.

 Orders made pursuant to this section need mention only those factors relevant to the particular case for which the orders are made but shall contain the names, birth dates, addresses, and counties of residence of the petitioner and respondent.

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