Iowa Code 633A.4403 – Trustee-written request and third-party protection
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Terms Used In Iowa Code 633A.4403
- Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
- 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
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- 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 tenancy: A form of property ownership in which two or more parties hold an undivided interest in the same property that was conveyed under the same instrument at the same time. A joint tenant can sell his (her) interest but not dispose of it by will. Upon the death of a joint tenant, his (her) undivided interest is distributed among the surviving joint tenants.
- Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
- person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
- property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
- year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1
633A.4403 Trustee-written request and third-party protection.
1. A trustee under this chapter may present a written request to any person for the purpose of obtaining information needed to perform the trustee’s duties or information regarding any of the following property:
a. Owned by the trust for which the trustee is acting as fiduciary.
b. To which a living or deceased settlor is entitled.
c. Owned by the deceased settlor at the time of death, including information about property of a deceased settlor that has passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy ownership.
2. The written request must include a certification of trust that complies with section
633A.4604. A person to whom a request is presented under this section may require that the trustee presenting the request provide proof of the trustee’s identity.
3. A person who in good faith provides the property or information a trustee requests under this section, after taking reasonable steps to verify the identity of the trustee and who has no knowledge that the representations contained in the request are incorrect, shall not be liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the request. The period of time to verify the trustee’s authority shall not exceed ten business days from the date the person received the request. Any right or title acquired from the trustee in consideration of the provision of property or information under this section is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the trustee. A transaction, and a lien created by a transaction, entered into by the trustee and a person acting in reliance upon a request under this section is enforceable against the assets for which the trustee has responsibility.
4. If a person refuses to provide the requested property or information within ten business days after receiving a request under this section, the trustee may bring an action to recover the property or information or compel its delivery against the person to whom the trustee presented the written request. An action brought under this section must be brought within one year after the date of the act or failure to act. If the court finds that the person acted unreasonably in failing to deliver the property or information as requested in the written request, the court may award any or all of the following to the trustee:
a. Damages sustained by the trust or by a living or deceased settlor’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 the trustee.
5. This section does not limit or change the right of beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors of a living or deceased settlor to estate or trust property to which they are otherwise entitled.
2023 Acts, ch 124, §7, 9
Section applies 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
NEW section
1. A trustee under this chapter may present a written request to any person for the purpose of obtaining information needed to perform the trustee’s duties or information regarding any of the following property:
a. Owned by the trust for which the trustee is acting as fiduciary.
b. To which a living or deceased settlor is entitled.
c. Owned by the deceased settlor at the time of death, including information about property of a deceased settlor that has passed or will pass by beneficiary designation or joint tenancy ownership.
2. The written request must include a certification of trust that complies with section
633A.4604. A person to whom a request is presented under this section may require that the trustee presenting the request provide proof of the trustee’s identity.
3. A person who in good faith provides the property or information a trustee requests under this section, after taking reasonable steps to verify the identity of the trustee and who has no knowledge that the representations contained in the request are incorrect, shall not be liable to any person for so acting and may assume without inquiry the existence of the facts contained in the request. The period of time to verify the trustee’s authority shall not exceed ten business days from the date the person received the request. Any right or title acquired from the trustee in consideration of the provision of property or information under this section is not invalid in consequence of a misapplication by the trustee. A transaction, and a lien created by a transaction, entered into by the trustee and a person acting in reliance upon a request under this section is enforceable against the assets for which the trustee has responsibility.
4. If a person refuses to provide the requested property or information within ten business days after receiving a request under this section, the trustee may bring an action to recover the property or information or compel its delivery against the person to whom the trustee presented the written request. An action brought under this section must be brought within one year after the date of the act or failure to act. If the court finds that the person acted unreasonably in failing to deliver the property or information as requested in the written request, the court may award any or all of the following to the trustee:
a. Damages sustained by the trust or by a living or deceased settlor’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 the trustee.
5. This section does not limit or change the right of beneficiaries, heirs, or creditors of a living or deceased settlor to estate or trust property to which they are otherwise entitled.
2023 Acts, ch 124, §7, 9
Section applies 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
NEW section